23.04 - Day 99 - Arches National Park
Tuesday 23rd April - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah (Day 99)
The heat we felt yesterday when we arrived at Arches National Park made me glad I’d reserved one of the timed entrance spots between 7-8am. Plus having the ticket helps legitimise getting the kids up and dressed, a bowl of cornflakes inside them, teeth brushed by 7:15 am. Although Field Station Moab doesn’t do breakfast, we’re grateful for the urns of tea and coffee to fill out flasks in reception.
Despite (my) worries about queuing to enter the park 10 minutes up the road (when we arrived yesterday there were posts on the road leading to the boom gates indicating length of wait time, some indicating an hours wait), the timed ticketed system appears to be working as there’s virtually no queue and soon we’re heading up the switch bands up into the park proper.
I’d looked at the map and notionally said it didn’t look very big - I should have known better; this is America after all and Bigger Is Better. The curving road weaves us between giant sandstone outcrops, sometimes clumped together, sometimes several miles apart.
After 15 miles we stop at the Windows section, where after a dusty track a few hundred metres long we’re faced with the North Window arch soaring above us. The sandstone provides good grip for scrambling up under the arch itself, similarly with the South Window next door.
Facing us is Turret Arch which we also clamber into - all these giant natural structures we’re sharing with only 20 ish people. Walking back past the car we’re already down to just T-shirts, the impact of being in the rising sunlight is immediate. In fact it’s before 9am and Seb is already complaining of over-heating, though thankfully within 30 minutes that complaint is forgotten.
A few hundred metres the other way is Double Arch; two chunky arches in a V shape from a bird's eye view creating impressive light shining down between them.
Another 10 miles to the far North of the park to Devil’s Garden. It’s certainly busier here as it’s the jumping off point for a number of arches. We’re here just for the Landscape Arch, which is approached by a 1 km walk through the rock fins created by the rock splitting as it was pushed upwards millions of years ago. The water and wind have done their work finding spots to erode creating the 2,500+ arches in this park.
Landscape Arch spans 100 metres making it the largest in the park and an impressive spectacle. 30 odd years ago large chunks of the underside (80 tonnes? 160 tonnes?) collapsed leaving the arch looking today even more impressive that it can support itself, but concerning enough to the park rangers that the trail under the arch has been closed ever since.
Seeking shade for morning tea there are several covered benches scattered nearby where one of the many jumpy, twitchy chipmunks we’re seen more confidently approaches seeking a snack of his own.
We’ve decided to split the day in the park up for some respite from the sun, but first we drive to near Delicate Arch - the emblem appearing on many Utah based car registration plates - opting for more food in a shady spot with some other explorers. Kate’s accent is quickly picked off as Australian, the kids benefiting from some generosity in the form of cookies and Oreos.
It’s a short but uphill exposed walk to a view point of Delicate Arch - though it seems a bit far off compared to the other arches. Next time (?) Perhaps we will tackle the 3 mile round trip walk under the arch itself.
Leaving the park we stop to collect the kids Junior Ranger badges, excited for their 5th badge. Back at Field Station we take advantage of the outdoor pool, Sienna and Seb roping in 12 year old Rosie to play some of their pool games such as guessing which of the two of them jumped in whilst the 3rd person faced away.
To take advantage of the park we collect takeaway food and drive back in for a picnic overlooking Balanced Rock after which we walk around the precarious structure of a 10 metre high boulder balanced on a 30 metre plinth.
For scale, look closely at the photo above to see me having scrambled up. Back in the room after playing Corn Toss by the pool and firepit it’s more games of Phase 10 and bed.
