May 27, 2012

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UT

Our new motto.....

reminds me of my grandpa....... 

We began our day at Arches National Park in the Visitor Center. The kids rushed to the ranger desk to get their Jr. Ranger books as we waited for the orientation film. 

Pam and I went to the gift shop in search of postcards and walking stick medallions. Off the other side of the store, sat the niftiest sweatshirts in an awesome color of rusty orange....didn’t it need to come with me??  

same saying just on a tshirt.....

The kids grabbed seats in the theater and we watched a documentary done by Discovery Channel.  Surprisingly, it was right on but of course, they added millions years to every statement that they made.  At this point, it is fun to see our kids reaction to the evolution propaganda.  They are bold about evolution being false and I love their enthusiasm.

pretty!

We left to drive up to the very top border of the park and after driving the short distance and seeing some amazingly beautiful rock formations we arrived at the Devils Garden Trailhead.  Here we faced our first challenge of the day....parking.  All of the RV spots were taken by.....small cars!  We had to park further down in a small turnout. 

the Three Gossips 

Balanced Rock




The hike on the Devils Garden trail was about 1.6 miles and there were a lot of people enjoying the hike.  The kids climbed up on some of the rocks and stopped to draw in their Jr. Ranger books.  One of the assignments was to draw your favorite place in the park. 

we climbed to the top of the open space to the left...see the ants at the center of the pic, that's us....

hiking the Devils Garden Trailhead

Landscape Arch

the fins

Double O Arch

Delicate Arch in the left background...we are at the viewpoint across from it.....

Garden of Eden

Garden of Eden

the sun was soooo bright that we could barely keep our eyes open at Fiery Furnace

The Windows



Turret Arch...that's Gracie holding it up...

sunset at Arches National Park.....Moab, Utah