Summer tales – Arches National Park

I am recapping the three weeks of fun that I had with my family this summer.
See all related posts under the category:  summer tales.

Today (07/30) was absolutely hands-down amazing. I had been looking forward to hiking in Arches National Park (near Moab) since the day my Mom and Dad had started planning their visit.  I had always wanted to go to the National Park with them and this summer we made it happen.

After a nice breakfast we got ready to head to the park entrance. We paid for our “7-day-pass” and made a quick stop at the Visitor’s Center.

On our way into the park, we first stopped to pay a visit to the “Three Gossips”.

Across from there, “The Organ” stands across the beautiful blue sky..

The park is just amazing, you guys. I couldn’t get enough of the views, urging my Dad to stop at every possible (and impossible) corner to take pictures. We took hour first longer hike at the “Devil’s Garden”. It was about a half-mile hike to the impressive  “Landscape Arch”, one of the many arches the park is known for.

It was pretty hot and my Mom had to get some rest in the shade, while my Dad, Basti and I decided to hike a little further to get a glimpse of the  “Double O Arch”.

Don’t you love my sun hat?

It was so amazing to be up there, on the top of those rocks, close to touching the sky! Moments I will never ever forget!

Meanwhile we could tell by our growling tummies that it must have been after lunch time, so we took a break at one of the many picnic areas. We had an ice-chest full of fresh baguette, deli meats and cheese, crackers and drinks.

My personal highlight of the day was the hike up to “Delicate Arch”. I had been up there once before on my trip with my geology class in College. It was an amazing experience and I really wanted to take this hike with my Mom and Dad as part of my summer goals. “Delicate Arch” is my personal favorite of all the arches in the park – if nothing else, for the sweet, overwhelming surprise that awaits you at the end of the strenuous hike, when you make the last turn around the last corner.
First we stopped at the Vista Point, which is located at a lower elevation and which makes the “Delicate Arch” look so measly small.

This turns out to be more of an optical illusion, though. Unfortunately, my Mom didn’t feel up to the arduous hike in the heat and decided to wait in the car for us. I was a little bummed as I really wanted to have the experience with both, my Mom and my Dad, but we knew that there was no point in pushing my Mom over her personal limit. Basti, my Dad and I conquered the 1,5 miles and 480 feet vertical elevation in 40 minutes and were NOT disappointed.

The view was worth any minute of exertion  and when we turned the last corner on the trail, “Delicate Arch”  came into view right in front of us – a majestic and spectacular wonder of nature.

Due to the popularity of this arch, the place is usually always crowded and there is no chance in hell to snap a picture of the arch without any other people in it. But you guys, we got really lucky! There were only a handful of people around, who left after a few minutes and we had the arch all to ourselves for quite a while in all its beautiful glory.

We took a butt-load of pictures, which I honestly would have liked to show you all, but trust me, you would have fallen asleep by the end of this post (unless you’re as much of a geology geek as I am).

We made it back to the car (and my Mom!) in about 30 minutes and as if we hadn’t seen more than enough in one single day, we made a few more stops on our way out of the park. One stop that you might recognize was the “Balanced Rock“.

Tired  and exhausted, but totally pumped up by the incredible day, we arrived back at the hotel around 7 p.m. and took a quick dip into the hotel pool…

… and then headed out to dinner at Eddie McStiff’s, Moab’s well-known brew pub and restaurant.

We ended the night with 86°F, a light breeze and a delicious dinner on the patio of a great restaurant, including live music from Aotearoa with real earworm potential.

… stay tuned for more.

P.S. I am posting this on my Mom’s birthday! It makes me think of her even more and I wish I could hug her today!