Arches National Park

David and I have been talking about doing this road trip for quite a while. We’ve been living in Colorado for nearly four years, and still haven’t ventured to our nearby neighbor, Utah. Moab is just under six hours away, and further west is nothing but public land. With a bucket list of seeing every national park in the country, we figured it was time to see the ones close to home. So we planned a two-week road trip through the American Southwest Desert, visiting six national parks and one national monument.

The first day of our trip was spent getting to Moab. We have driven west on I-70 so many times that it just felt like another day in Colorado. But the second we crossed the Utah border, it was like someone flipped a switch and immediately dropped us into the desert. It was a completely different landscape; so vast, and infinite, nothing in sight for miles. As soon as we exited the interstate, we jumped out of the car to take a look around. We were on a small, bumpy road that traveled straight into the horizon. It had only been a few hours into our trip, and we were already awe-struck by the desert terrain.

Hwy 128 was a curvy 31-mile road that followed the Colorado River through gorgeous red rock mesas. We pulled over at a few overlooks, and had a quick lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We also took a couple detours down some small dirt roads. One offered an amazing view of classic desert rock formations in the distance. Another led to a river entry, where we arrived just as a group of people and their dog floated by on a raft.

We reached Moab by late afternoon. It was a small, rugged town where everyone was here to have an adventure. Whether dressed in climbing gear, or driving down the main drag in dune buggies covered in dust from off-roading, Moab was used as home base. We walked to Jeffrey’s Steakhouse for dinner, where we ended the day with great food, served by an extremely enthusiastic waiter named Chester.  

The next morning we ate breakfast at our hotel and spent the entire day in Arches National Park. The park’s entrance instantly threw us into steep, dramatic switchbacks that zigzagged in between giant red rock walls. Dave and I wanted our first hike to be Delicate Arch, the most iconic symbol of the American Southwest. The trail itself wasn’t very distinct; sand and rock boulders don’t exactly make a clear-cut path. The trail signs were the only things confirming we were going in the right direction. The 64-foot, freestanding arch stood majestically on the edge of a sandstone amphitheater, with the La Sal Mountains as its backdrop. It was the perfect way to kick off our trip. 

Arches Scenic Drive ran alongside large jagged rock formations. Dave and I hiked to a few more arches along the way. Sand Dune Arch was hidden behind huge rock boulders. To reach it, we had to squeeze through a narrow opening, and hike in incredibly deep sand. The actual arch was so small that we almost walked right by it!

We hiked a short, flat trail through shrubs and dried up tree stumps to a viewpoint overlooking Skyline Arch. Its name was quite fitting, it literally dominated the skyline stretching over 71-feet across. 

At the end of the scenic drive was Devil’s Garden, a large collection of rock fins and natural arches. We hiked to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in North America at 306 feet! 

We then drove through the Windows Section of the park, where a sprawling juniper forest surrounded several beautiful arches – including the one in the opening scene of Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade! Back in Moab, Dave and I cleaned up and explored the town. We browsed a few shops, and picked up some souvenirs. We then grabbed burgers at The Spoke before turning in for the night.