Arches National Park

Double Arch

Plethora of Arches, Asians, and RV

Delicate Arch

After a restful morning of snacking on quinoa and tea at Moab’s Love Muffin Café, I drove into Arches National Park mid afternoon.  The clouds in the desert in the afternoon turn a vibrant blue which complements the orange sandstone.  I have been to the eastern Utah desert many times, but I had never stopped by Arches.  I was really impressed by the diversity of the landscape and sheer size on the stone monuments.

Realizing all the campsites were full, and I had nowhere to sleep for the evening, I convinced a ranger to let me poach on a no show campsite.  I set up my tent and went for a run in Devil’s Garden where I was surprised by the number of Asian tourists. At each American landmark, I passed herds of foreigners.  They were entertaining and stylishly dressed for such a desert climate.  As I finish my run in the campground parking lot, I was reminded of the “American” part of the American road trip:  large RVs, an abundance of obese and/or pregnant women, and generators blasting above the simple sounds of nature.  I must have a weird sense of humor, but I kind of love the paradox of the national parks and the people who frequent them.
After settling into a windy night in my tent, I am met with trip obstacle #2.  I am severely afraid of the dark.  I had kind of ignored this fact, because if I rationalized it, I probably would have talked myself out of doing a 2 month solo road trip.  No quick solution to a lifetime of anxiety of what might happen when the sun goes down.

The next morning I got an early start and explored the Devil’s Garden area where I had run.  I saw the Landscape Arch which is almost 300 ft long and as thin as 6ft at its narrowest bend.  The sheer physics of this arch is phenomenal not to mention the geological circumstances that created it.  Next, I did a really pleasant hike to the Double O Arch, not be confused with the more accessible, Double Arch.  The Double O Arch is 2 arches stacked on top of one another.  After lunch, I went to the most photographed arch, the Delicate Arch.  I was pleasantly surprised by the arch, but also the general landscape that created a platform for the arch with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.  I finished the day with the popular Windows, Double Arch, and Fiery Furnace.

After a day of hiking and dodging tour groups, I had a stout at the Moab brewery, met some older travelers, and settled into the Lazy Lizard Hostel.