Arches 2023

The last time we went to Arches, Miriam and Eliza were just tiny. Holland and Darcy were just twinkles in our eyes. We were excited to plan a trip to this awesome national park with our kids in such different stages, and for ourselves, to be honest. I have noticed that this kind of trip really fills my cup--awe-inspiring nature, family time, hiking, low crowds, time with fun friends. So I was even more excited to go on this trip when our friends, the Davises, agreed to join us. 

We decided to share a rental house so we could spend more time together and have a kitchen. I don't know if that is really what the Davises preferred, but we talked louder about what we thought sounded fun. I think they enjoyed it. The rental house ended up being nicer than what we thought it would be. That is always a happy surprise. Everything felt very new and well kept. My older girls loved, loved having the extra large bunk bed to share. I think it was a queen over queen or something like that. They felt pretty ritzy. 

Holland stayed in a regular bunk bed room with Sophie and Oliver. There were fun times had in that room for sure. Darcy and Brielle stayed in their parents' closets. Darcy actually still talks about this seven months later. She tells me she wants to go back to Arches and sleep in that closet. She LOVED it. 

Both of the adult rooms were great too. I really liked being able to have a nice dinner there with everyone and put the kids to bed. Then the adults stayed up later to play board games. It was a great time. On our dinner night we made grilled chicken and roasted veggies. Everyone seemed to be a fan. :) 

The next day we headed into Arches. We tried to be really deliberate about this trip. For starters we wanted to avoid bad crowds and unreasonable heat. That is why we went in mid-late April. If anything it was a little bit chilly, especially with the wind. Maybe the crowds wouldn't have been a big deal anyway because Arches is now timed entry tickets, but we still played it safe by going not in peak travel season. We also went during the week. We drove down on a Sunday afternoon (I can't believe it is only 3 hours away from our house now!). We stayed Sunday night, visited the park Monday, stayed Monday night, visited the park Tuesday, and drove home on Tuesday night. This way we were able to minimize days off work and school, while also not visiting on a weekend. 

Since we planned this trip well in advance we were able to get the timed tickets that we wanted. We got started in the park with our hardest hike of the trip. We wanted to do it while it was less hot (morning time) and when the kids were fresh and less tired. This meant that we were hiking Delicate Arch first thing. What a fun hike! And so fun to do it with friends! My girls were true to their normal habits of climbing on top of every boulder that they could and yelling, "Mommy take a picture of me!" while doing an awesome pose. It was a great hike, with lots of different terrain to hike along. I loved it! 

Wanted a picture even on this little boulder. When did my older girls start looking so big compared to younger kids?

This is such a Holland pose. 

I love how dramatic Delicate arch is. No sign of it until you turn the corner around the cliff, and *bam* there it is. So much more huge than you'd think. Also, the cliffs and pit are so much steeper and sheer than you'd think. It doesn't feel that safe for kids despite so many families hiking this trail. We had to stop at the seating area opposite the arch to have a snack and take in the view. Then we waited our turn for our photo under the arch. It is a little scary to walk over there, but way cool. We took each other's photos and then because she is a gem, Erica took our family's photos again in order to get a better angle. Bless her. 

Our family's wingspan isn't long enough to reach across the base. I bet if we went again in 10 years we might be able to reach all the way across.  

Fun little arch we climbed to on the way back down the trail. Right near the top. 

The view from that little arch.

Petroglyphs.

The sign describing Delicate Arch:

Carved in Entrada Sandstone, this free-standing arch is composed mostly of the slick rock member. The top is a five-foot think later of Moab Tongue. A remnant of an ancient fin, the arch today has an opening of 45 feet high and 33 feet wide. 

Water and time have sculpted Delicate Arch and erosion continues to slowly wear away the features of the mature span. Although it will eventually succumb to the same forces that created it, this majestic arch now stands as an iconic feature of the American West. 

Here is the viewpoint from across the valley. 

Viewpoint to the Fiery Furnace. 

On the way to Sandstone Arch.

My older girls had a ball rock scrambling down the canyon. They kind of disappeared for a while but were so thrilled to show us where they climbed.  

This is such a fun arch to play at. 

The littles played in the sand for so long. John was a gem and dug holes/tunnels in the sand with Oliver. 

The Dads stayed with the sleeping babies while the moms and older kids went on a walk along Park Avenue. 

The three gossips recreated in cute girls. 

How many rocks can they climb and get a photo on top of? Answer: many. :) 

So fun to be there with my bestie!

I can't believe how sheer those walls are and how thin they are. It is astounding really. 

Missing John and Darcy. 

After that first day in Arches we went back to the rental. Erica made taco salads for dinner, and the kids swam in the pool. We put the kids to bed and played more board games. Basically my perfect day. 

Someone feeling silly the next morning on the drive into the park.

The next morning we headed straight to the far end of the park for the Devil's Garden. That is kind of an awful name. And the Fiery Furnace. Who named these things? We set out on a hike for Landscape Arch. Although theoretically a much easier hike than Delicate Arch, this hike was much more difficult. It was so windy and cold! We all bundled up as much as we could and set off. On our way to Landscape Arch, we did a small offshoot to see Tunnel Arch. It was pretty high up on the cliff so it looks smaller than it is. Something interesting about this arch is that the trail actually passes along the other side of the cliff than the view point is, but you really can't see it. 

From the NPS website: Adventure waits for sightseers, hikers, and thrill-seekers in Devils Garden. Here you’ll find arches, spires, and a large concentration of narrow rock walls called “fins.” Fins form when rainwater erodes parallel fractures caused by the uplift of salt deposits below the surface. Fins eventually erode and give way to the formation of arches like Landscape Arch, the crown jewel of Devils Garden. 

Next up was Pine Tree Arch. This one feels extra cool because you can walk right up to and through it. The kids liked rock scrambling around it also. My favorite view of this one is actually from the back. 

What a cool arch!

After Pine Tree Arch there was Landscape Arch. This one is particularly note worthy because of how large and thin it is.  How is that even still standing? 

From the NPS website: Landscape Arch is the longest arch in North America with a light opening of 306 feet (93.3 meters). This awe-inspiring expanse is only 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter at its narrowest. Large segments of the arch came crashing down in the 1990s – proof that the park’s landscape can change dramatically in a instant. 

I believe that the the arch to the right of Landscape Arch is Partition Arch. It is cool to get them in the same photo. 

I love seeing these two hiking together. Pretty view of the fins too. 

We had to stop and play at the sand dunes near the parking lot.

In the Devil's Garden there is a really nice picnic area that we had an early lunch at. 

Next up was a walk to Tapestry Arch. This was a fun one because of all of the rock scrambling available to the kids. 

Cool little slot canyon. 

From the NPS website: 

Why are there so many arches at Arches?

Arches National Park has the densest concentration of natural stone arches in the world. There are over 2,000 documented arches in the park, ranging from sliver-thin cracks to spans greater than 300 feet (97 m). How did so many arches form?

First, you need the right kinds of rock.

Sandstone is made of grains of sand cemented together by minerals, but not all sandstone is the same. The Entrada Sandstone was once a massive desert, full of shifting dunes of fine-grained sand. The grains are nearly spherical so, when packed together, they formed a rock that is very porous (full of tiny spaces).

In contrast, the Carmel layer just beneath the Entrada contains a mix of sand and clay. Clay particles are much smaller than sand grains; a lot of them can pack together and fill in gaps between the sand grains, making the rock denser and less porous than a purer sandstone.

Crack it into parallel lines.

Deep beneath the surface lies a thick layer of salts. Squeezed by the tons of rock above it, the salt flowed and bulged upward, creating long domes. The rock layers covering these domes were forced to crack, like the surface of freshly-baked bread, into a series of more-or-less parallel lines.

Next, add the right amount of rain.

On average, the park receives 8-10 inches (18-23 cm) of precipitation a year. That might not sound like much, but it's enough to keep the engines of erosion working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Drops of rainwater soak into the porous Entrada sandstone easily and then slowly dissolve the calcite bonding the sand together – in other words, rotting the rock from the inside out. Water puddles just above the denser Carmel layer where it erodes a cavity, like food trapped between your teeth. In winter, water trapped between the two layers expands when it freezes and pries the rock apart.

If the park received too much precipitation, the sandstone could erode so quickly that arches might not have time to form. If it never rained here, the engines of erosion would stop.

Make sure your rocks don't rock & roll.

Luckily, earthquakes are rare in this area. If the ground shook often, these massive outdoor rock sculptures would splinter and collapse. The fact that over 2,000 still stand, waiting for visitors to discover them, tells us this area has been rather geologically stable for at least 50,000 years.

Lastly, pick the right time to visit. (You did.)

The rock layers visible in the park today were once buried by over a mile of other rock that had to erode first to expose what lied beneath. Visitors one million years ago might have seen an endless flat plain dotted with vegetation. Imagine a visit 100,000 years in the future, when the Entrada and Carmel layers have fully worn away. What new rock shapes might you discover then?

After we finished up in the Devil's Garden area, we went down to the Windows area. Wow, that is such an impressive grouping of arches. First we walked up to Turret Arch. Maybe I am crazy, but I swear it looks like the shape of a skull. 

It was so fun to do all of these little hikes with our friends. The very best part seeing Holland and Sophie hike together. They are so stinking cute. On this hike they kept talking about crushes and getting after us for listening in on their conversation. 

Maybe Eliza and Miriam were talking about crushes too, but probably just about books. 

I liked this shot, seeing both Windows through the Turret Arch. 

Further from the back side of Turret Arch. 

Across the valley to Double Arch. 

I guess Turret seems nicer than skull shaped. Do you see it though?

Next we went over to the North and South Windows. We had a ball rock scrambling around there and exploring. We had just finished looking around the second window when it started to snow! 

Peekaboo!

I spy John!

I spy Miriam!

The section of stone with an arch underneath seems so substantial. Kind of nerve wracking if you think about it. 

I love him.

Kids exploring all over. 

Next we walked over to Double Arch, which is the most impressive to me beside Delicate Arch. 

How is this even real? 

Always have to find a good place to sit and snack while exploring national parks. 

Miriam and John trying to give me a heart attack with the reckless climbing.

I had to get a view of the top. 

The view out the other side. 

Trying to get a skyline shot, but these other people getting down moved as fast as glaciers. Honestly this was the only place in the whole trip where other people bothered me. I really think our plan for avoiding crowds worked like a charm. 

One last landmark before driving home that evening. We stopped by Balanced Rock. 

From the NPS website:

Balanced Rock, one of the most iconic features in the park, stands a staggering 128 feet (39m) tall. While this formation may appear to be an epic balancing act, it’s actually not balanced at all. The slick rock boulder of Entrada Sandstone sits attached to its eroding pedestal of Dewey Bridge mudstone. The exposure of these two rock strata layers are ideal for the formation of arches and balanced rocks.

Balanced Rock defies gravity but this won’t always be the case. Eventually, the 3,600 ton (over 4 million kg) boulder will come tumbling down as the erosional process continues to shape the landscape. In the winter of 1975-76, Balanced Rock’s smaller sibling “Chip-Off-the-Old-Block” collapsed, proving that there is no better time than the present to see this awe-inspiring giant.

 

We had to play with some perspective. 

I had to take one last shot. These clouds were amazing. The whole area was delightful. 

Unfortunately on our way home there was an accident on US 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon. This delayed us maybe a half an hour, but the Davises had stopped to eat somewhere so they were even further behind. They got home after midnight I think. I feel bad about that. But obviously I would call the whole trip a delightful success. I hope they thought so too.