Arches National Park

Oh, yes, we did do THIS!
We hiked to Delicate Arch and it was stunning  Really quite unbelievable.  And quite freaky at times.  For most of the family, this has been the highlight of the National Parks portion of this trip.

We got an early start and it didn't take long for the group to divide according to speed.  This is the tail end.  Bethany was so kind to hold George's hand almost the entire way round-trip-- about 3 miles.

Cannon and Faith were buddies along with Abe and Peter.  They were the middle of the hiking party.

And Peter just loves to hike-- loves to sleep on hikes, that is!

Clark was the vanguard, reaching the arch a full half hour before the rearguard.

Enjoying a little snack at the top.  The freaky thing is that besides the little patch just before the arch, there is no flat area to walk on.  The rock is all steeply sloping down in to a big pit/crater.  Sometimes it's best to just disregard the danger and move forward.

I was very touched by how nurturing Bethany was with George.  She stuck with him and when he fell a couple of times and got a tiny scrape, she stopped with him and kindly poured a little water on his wound.  I didn't realize that water was only surpassed by band aids in making an ouchie go away.

Bethany with her trademark crane pose.  The freakiest one is yet to come!

Georgie cracked us up when he liked to do "The Mowgli" down hill on the rocks.  He started this the day before at Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands.

For as strong and steady on her feet (and head) as Faith is, she was the most unsettled by her dangerous surroundings near the Arch.  She did eventually loosen up and venture out to it, but she preferred sitting and observing.

It's good to take a moment to contemplate.

When Peter did wake up, he was so happy.  He loves being perched on Abe's back and going adventuring.

I know I am not a super outdoorsy person, but I so much enjoyed being outside in beautiful weather, in beautiful surroundings, having wholesome recreation with my family.  I don't know that life gets much better than this.

 After a little rest we headed to Devil's Garden hike.  Truth be told, we didn't fully understand how long this hike would be, and it was markedly longer than we anticipated, but once we were going we weren't going to turn back. We had some children near mutiny by the time we reached the destination point of Landscape Arch.

There were several impressive arches to see along the trail.

This is Landscape Arch.  I guess Faith wasn't one of the mutineers since she was willing to be photographed.  It wasn't really the time to push for a family picture.

I don't know the story of this picture, but I like it.

Sweet Pete was completely tuckered out by the end of the second hike.

 Balanced Rock.  How amazing is that?

I know this is pretty much the same picture, but I loved them both so much I couldn't choose between them.  I love them both.  And I love these two boys. 

On the way out of the park Abe wanted one more picture with the sign.  By this point, shoes and socks and sand had been removed from aching hiking feet and the girls didn't want to put them back on.

Tuesday evening we drove to Tuba City (about an hour outside The Grand Canyon ) to stay for the night.  But we stopped at the Church's Historic sight of Bluff Fort.  There we watched a video about the Hole in the Rock story of pioneers in Utah.  The kids did a little scavenger hunt and earned magnetic rocks.  They were thrilled and it broke up the drive.

The Fox family gives Arches National Park two very big thumbs up.  Once again, I cannot believe it has taken us this long to come for the first time.  I most definitely hope to come back sooner rather than laster.