September 13, 2013

Arches National Park, Moab, UT

We weren’t sure what we were going to do this morning.  We knew while we were camped at Ken’s Lake over the next week we wanted to explore Arches and Canyon lands National Parks and maybe Dead Horse Point State Park.  BUT we were exhausted from our marathon drives over the past few days and also I have had a very painful toothache the last couple of days.  I have been popping pain pills and applying Oral gel to my gums that helped but I was still in pain.

Finally, at around 11AM I told Monte that I didn’t want to just sit around feeling miserable so we packed a lunch, grabbed our backpacks and took off for the visitor information center in Moab.

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty minutes later after having watched a short film and laden with an armful of brochures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we headed for the entrance to Arches National Park just up the road.

 

I stamped my National Parks Passport.  We looked at the exhibits and then viewed a short film. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the brochure we received in the Visitor Center, “The park lies atop an underground salt bed that is responsible for the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths of this mecca for sightseers.  Thousands of feet thick in places, this salt bed was deposited across the Colorado Plateau 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated.”

There are over 2,000 cataloged arches in the park ranging in size from a three-foot opening to the largest measuring 306 feet base to base.

 

 

 

 

 

There are several pull-outs and parking areas along the road in the park.  Our first stop was at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint where we sat in the car and ate our lunch before getting out to take pictures of the rock formations with interesting names like Three Gossips, Sheep Rock and Tower of Babel.

Balance Rock.

The windows Section

 

 

 

 

 

Double Arch

 

 

 

 

Broken Arch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devil’s Garden Campground Trail

We checked out the campground-it is very nice but we think it turned out for the best that we ended up at Ken's Lake because the campground in the park is 18 miles from the entrance which would have meant having to drive that distance every time we wanted to go in to town or explore other areas. 

 

Monte climbed to explore this arch 

And then scooted down on his butt to get down.

Devils Garden Trail

 

 

 

It began to thunder and lightning as we made our way along the trail.  Only a few brave (or crazy) souls were walking in the same direction as us.  Most of the traffic was headed the opposite way towards the parking lot.

We made it as far as the Landscape Arch before it began to rain.  In 1991 a 60 foot long rock slab, 11 feet wide and four feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch.

 Monte wanted to continue on another mile and a half to the Double O Arch but I was tired, cold and wet and in addition to my aching tooth, my feet were starting to burn so we turned back. 

We were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow when the rain stopped. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a short detour on our way back to see Tunnel Arch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 and Pine Arch (in my opinion one of the prettiest arches.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trail back to parking lot.

Raven looking for a handout.

It had been a most excellent day.

But the evening was horrible.  The pain in my mouth got more and more acute as the night wore on and by the time I was ready for bed the left side of my face was swollen.  If my face continues to swell up I might have to go to an Urgent Care Clinic tomorrow.