An Adventure to Arches National Park

Paul and Marinda at Turret Arch

Back in April, the National Parks Service did a free admission week to all parks across the nation. I figured that was something I should take advantage of and worked out that the parks in Moab would be the closest for me to reach. That was good news, because those are the Utah parks I haven't visited yet. So I started thinking through my options on how to make a trip down there.

Because it only takes just over 3 hours to get to Moab, I figured that I could make it a day trip if I was willing to put in a long day of driving and hiking. I would have done that, but I knew it wasn't an ideal situation. I knew it would be better to drive down one day, camp that night, then drive back the next day, giving plenty of time to enjoy the area. But I'm not really willing to camp on my own, so that threw a wrench in things. It just doesn't seem like a safe plan overall.

A cool car at the Devil's Garden trail section in Arches. I want to travel as much as these folks have.

Then I realized that BYU was ending finals the same week. That gave me the idea that maybe Paul and Marinda would like to come along, thereby solving my problem with camping alone and making the trip more pleasant. This seemed like a winning plan, so I checked with them to see if they were interested. Marinda was eager to go, but at first it looked like their work schedules wouldn't allow them to make it. Camping on a weeknight didn't really work for them, but I had the State Convention on Saturday, so I couldn't camp on Friday. I started to think through how to best execute my initial day trip plan, but Marinda came back and said that they could get off work for Friday, meaning that we could leave after they finished work on Thursday.

Once plans were set that we would be camping, I started working out how to get everything set for that adventure. Fortunately, thanks to Trek, I already had basically all the camping equipment that could be desired. In fact, I have enough camping equipment that I had options on several things. I dithered over which tent and which sleeping bag to bring, but I eventually decided to go with the tried and true equipment I'd used on Trek. In the end, I rather wish I'd chosen exactly opposite, but I'll go into that later.

Marinda and Paul at Sand Arch standing on some of the deep sand that surrounded it.

The one thing I didn't have previously for camping was firewood. I knew from my research that wood is pretty scarce in Moab, so we needed to bring some along from up here. I looked into potentially getting some from a few folks in my ward, and when that didn't work out, I started looking into buying it. That avenue was either expensive or simply a hassle, so I decided to find other options. The best approach I could think of was just trying to forage for wood in the parks here in American Fork. I wasn't sure how successful that would be, but I decided to try it anyway. I was pleased to find a good number of reasonably sized fallen branches I thought would suffice. None of them were the thick logs you usually put on a fire, because you really need a saw or something to come up with those, and that wasn't an option. Instead, I collected enough medium sized branches that I could break down with my foot to supply what I figured would be a fire to last a few hours at least.

On Thursday, I wasn't set to pick up Paul and Marinda until mid-afternoon, so I reckoned I would have time to get a number of things done. I did have a good amount of time to work with, but unfortunately, I tried to cram more into that time than I should have. Packing everything up took longer than anticipated. There were lots of little things to take care of, like cleaning some stuff out of my car and such, that made that whole process much more time-consuming. I also felt some misgivings on how much wood I'd collected the day before for the fire, so I decided to go by a different park and collect some more. That also took more time than I'd anticipated.

The main thing I was hoping to save time for was a trip to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. My membership there was set to expire that Saturday, so I knew it was the last day I would have a chance to enjoy a final jaunt there for free. I wanted to leave a few hours for that excursion, but I only had about an hour by the time I got there. That barely left me time to do a relatively fast-paced walk through of the place.

I was very surprised how crowded it was considering it was during the workday on a Thursday. I prefer it when the place is relatively deserted, but during the Tulip Festival, I suppose that isn't easy to come by. I'd visited the gardens back in April and enjoyed some spring flowers at that point including a lot of beautiful daffodils and a few tulips that were up early. It was pretty astonishing to see how much change there were between the first time I went this Spring and the last time. Whole beds of flowering tulips had died away and been replaced by fully flowering tulips. Many of the trees were full of beautiful Spring blooms as well the second time, so that was also delightful.

Mama owl is sort of sitting on her hatchling.

Perhaps the most fun surprise of the visit was seeing some other visitors pointing down at the waterfall area in a particular way. I didn't think much of it at first, as people often gawk at the waterfalls, but I happened to hear someone mention an owl, so I went to take a look. It turned out there was a mother owl who had nested on one of the artificial cliffs of the waterfall and had raised her chicks there. It was fun to watch her sitting on a couple of those growing chicks for awhile, especially since I've had a love for owls since 3rd grade.

I regretted having to make the trip to Thanksgiving Point a fast one on that occasion, especially since I likely won't return for awhile, but I was glad I was able to squeeze in a little time at least for one last excursion before my pass expired!

I made a mad dash from Thanksgiving Point to Provo to pick up Marinda and Paul. We quickly got their stuff loaded up and grabbed some food before hitting the road. After going through Spanish Fork Canyon, we crossed a lot of the pretty barren and empty land in eastern Utah. There really weren't many towns of any size, and even those were pretty few and far between. I was just glad that I wasn't in need of any gas over the 3 hour trip. As we got close to Moab, the scenery started to get pretty beautiful.

There was still some light by the time we reached Moab, fortunately. I was a little anxious about how late we had left as we were planning to grab a first-come-first-served campsite on BLM land along the Colorado River. I wasn't sure how quickly those sites would fill up, though I'd read a few places online that the farthest camps don't tend to get full. As we rolled into the area, I was really crossing my fingers that the internet hadn't mislead me.

Balancing Rock

We drove right past the first two camps, as all the reports I'd read indicated that the camps closest to the main road would fill up first. Even at the third and fourth camp, however, we were having little success. I knew that the other camps were much farther down this side road, and though reports indicated that the farthest camps rarely fill up, I wasn't eager to go driving so far away as the light was fading fast. Paul had gotten out of the car at one location to see what he could scout out, and he thought he could finagle something at that camp. So he suggested leaving him at that camp while I drove down to see if there was anything to be had at any of the earlier campgrounds we skipped. I wasn't enthusiastic about finding anything else, but left Paul and Marinda at that camp and went off to see what I could learn.

At the campground I stopped by, I happened to run in to a nice older couple. I asked them if there were any spots available there, which they confirmed were all taken. I then asked if they knew much about the area and if they knew anything about the farther camps. They'd camped in the area before, but said that they would always find their campgrounds around 3 PM or earlier. To their knowledge, things filled up pretty quickly from that point. They didn't know much about the farthest campgrounds, but they didn't express a lot of confidence in finding room there. They suggested that they had seen people just camp in some of the roadside pullouts and other illicit spots. I decided not to waste any more time, but just to return to consult with Paul and Marinda.

The campgrounds on the Colorado River truly were fabulous. Despite the headache, it was worth finding a spot there.

When I got back to their campground, I reported what I had learned and suggested that our best shot might be to get moving down to the far campgrounds as quick as possible. As it turned out, Paul had found a little, makeshift camp area where someone had made a fire at some point in between two established campsites. He'd talked to the campers on the one side, who said they weren't using that area, but didn't know anything about the people at the other campsite who weren't there. I wasn't entirely keen on just creating our own spot, especially since we wouldn't have the chance to talk to the closer camp of people, but there did seem to be some space there and dusk was already setting in. Reluctantly, therefore, I agreed to start setting things up though I was still filled with foreboding that the other people would suddenly show up and insist that we leave. I just crossed my fingers that there wouldn't be any complications with this somewhat shady plan.

Skyline Arch

We got things set up in pretty quick time. Because I'd put up and taken down my tent multiple times for Trek, always needing to be fast about it, I was pretty adept at working with it. Still, once it was up, I was rather regretting not bringing my smaller, untested tent instead simply because my Trek tent was much bigger than I needed and our campsite was very small. By setting it on the edge of the space, however, I was able to leave some reasonable space for a campfire and such.

The fire was the next order of business. All the wood I had collected was brought down, and pretty quickly, Paul and I had a decent little blaze going. I went off to take care of a few other things and was dismayed to learn when I got back that all the wood I'd brought was already thrown on the fire. I knew that didn't bode well for the long-term longevity of the fire, so I started to consider how we could keep it going. Apparently, not only was the wood I'd collected not thick enough, it was also mostly from pretty trashy, quick-burning trees, meaning that it went up fast. I started scouring around our little camp area and found a big, think log I knew was the kind to sustain a fire, but it was also much longer than one would wish for a fire lot to be. Still, with some help from Paul, I still got one end of this thrown into the fire in hopes of sustaining our flame longer.

Making s'mores on the tiny fire

Knowing that the lifespan of our fire was probably pretty limited, we broke out the s'mores stuff pretty quickly and got to work. Fortunately, I'd thought to bring my camp chair, so we had that to supplement the big rock and the dirty ground that were the only other seating options. Even so, we had a pretty good time enjoying a campfire treat.

I find camping to be quite pleasant, especially in moments spent simply enjoying time with others around a campfire. It was fun to hear the calming sound of the river running by, literally a stone's thrown away from us. We could also see the red cliffs in front of us pretty well lit up even in the darkness. The couple that I'd talked to had mentioned that the full moon was out that week, and I gathered that all the light we were seeing must somehow be the result of that, though we couldn't see the moon yet.

In fact, the moonrise only broke after Paul and Marinda had turned in to their tent. I was still putting out the coals of the fire, which happily ended up burning just as long as we needed it, thanks in large part to the large log we'd found. I could see the light growing fast in the rear cliff, so after the fire was out, I just sat in my chair in the dark and watched the full moon gradually break out from behind the rocks. It was delightful to simply take some time to watch God's creation working in it's majesty for a while. Most of the time, I don't pay much attention to the moon phases, but in that remote area, it was clear how much difference the full moon made, It lit up everything with surprising brightness. Still, I was glad that it wasn't so bright that we couldn't see some constellations and even several shooting stars earlier in the night.

Bright and early in the morning

Shortly after seeing the moonrise, I put out the fire and went to turn in for the night. Sleep, however, was a much more difficult prospect than I might have hoped. It started when our missing neighbors finally rolled into their camp at about midnight. I don't know what there deal was, but they proceeded to talk and laugh very loudly for hours. I could hear every word of their conversation as my tent was right near their camp, so that was exceedingly annoying. Eventually, I gathered they had no intention to stop anytime soon, so I put in the earplugs that I'd fortunately though to bring. I didn't want to use them because it was so nice hearing the Colorado rolling past and the crickets singing and other nature sounds, but blocking out the talking was essential. Poor Marinda and Paul heard the talking very clearly much of the night, apparently, but they didn't have the benefit of earplugs like I did.

The other issue that contributed to a poor night of sleep was that the sky started lightening very early. I'm very sensitive to light when I sleep, so as soon as it started to get light, I was awake. That started happening very early, and by 6:00 AM, I realized that I wasn't going to get any more sleep, so I just got up and started packing things up. Marinda and Paul managed to sleep more than I did, so I had basically packed and stowed all my things in the car by the time they got up.

A morning view of the Window Arches.

Once camp was entirely broken, it was time to get on to Arches. We stopped by the visitor center and got a bit of advice and checked out their displays a bit. Then it was on to see the different arches. The first section we came to included the Window Arches and Double Arch. This was my favorite section of the day, as it turned out. We parked with no trouble, though I'd read the lots tended to fill up quickly, and quickly made the short hike to the two Window Arches. Starting early clearly had not just benefits when it came to parking, but also in regards to the beautiful light. It was fun to see those arches in the early morning. I also really enjoyed seeing Turret Arch on that short trail.

After crossing the parking lot, we made our way to the double arch. This is a very interesting formation. It seems entirely unique to me how it has two connecting arches so perfectly formed. I'm not sure there is anything like it anywhere else in the world. The hike to get there was, again, very short and pleasant. I'm sure my enjoyment of that section was enhanced by the fact that there were only a few other people there when we were there. That gave seeing those arches a nice, solitary feel as we didn't run across too many others. As we continued through the day, the crowds gradually increased.

Double Arch in the morning light.

Next we ended up at an overlook for Delicate Arch. I really wanted to do the Delicate Arch hike, but it would have taken quite awhile and seemed like something that Marinda probably couldn't do very safely, so I had to give it up. I still really want to do that hike at some point, but it will have to wait for another time. Still, it was nice to see it even from a distance after a much shorter hike. That trail was also pretty nice because it had quite a few nice wildflowers along it.

After that, we moved on to the main section where a number of arches are located. There, we saw Sand Arch after a short hike through deep sand to work out the calf muscles. Next was a longer hike over to Landscape Arch, which is in some ways the most impressive arch in the park due to it's awe-inspiring length. In fact, it is the second longest natural arch in the world. It is also a very thin arch, thanks to a large section of rock that fell off of it in the 90's. Who knows how long it's going to last with the remaining bridge of rock, but I'm glad we saw it before it completely falls.

There were a number of other arches in that section, but I only saw a few of them as most required quite a bit of hiking to get to, which Marinda and Paul weren't up for. On the way out of the park, we also stopped by Balancing Rock for a bit and took some pictures. I could have stayed quite awhile longer seeing things, but Paul and Marinda were ready to leave, so I agreed we could get on the road. It would have been nice to see some other things, but I'm grateful that Paul and Marinda came so that I could see more than I would have been able to on my own otherwise.

The trip back was pretty uneventful. Until you get to about Helper, that road between Moab and Provo is pretty dull. As we were going up the canyon, though, we ended up getting stuck behind a truck carrying a huge piece of equipment, likely some sort of mining device. It was so big that it took up both the slow lane and the passing lane as it slowly labored up the hill. It had a huge line of cars stuck behind it for a long way before it finally took a pull-off so that all the cars could actually get past.

Paul and Marinda needed a bathroom stop in Spanish Fork Canyon, so we stopped at a rest stop built where they used to house the helper engines that pushed trains up the steep canyon. As long as we had to stop, I was glad it was there, because there were plenty of interesting things to keep me occupied while Marinda and Paul went to the bathroom. The old wheelhouse has been filled with a lot of informational plaques and even still has one pretty antique engine to look at.

Landscape Arch

Unfortunately, while we were at the bathroom stop, the big equipment truck had a chance to catch up and pass us right as I was pulling out. It was a total bummer moment to get stuck behind that behemoth again, but fortunately, it didn't take as long to get free the second time. Still, it was an annoyance. I was very eager to get home. Paul and Marinda slept through most of the trip, so I was stuck in silence through most of the monotonous length of the trip, and not having slept at all well the night before made that a challenge. I was ready to get home and get to bed. Fortunately, after dropping Marinda and Paul off, I had cell reception again at last, so I was able to get some peppy music to keep me alert for the rest of the ride home. Still, I slept very quickly and well that night.

Since I've moved here, this was my first kind of wild adventure that I've hatched up and executed. Doing it felt rather empowering. It's nice to know that I have the ability to execute my ideas, even if they don't always turn out perfectly. The minor risk involved in taking the trip was richly rewarded, and I was so pleased with the results. I got to see some amazing things and have unique experiences that I would have missed out on by playing it safe. Though all my plans weren't fully realized, I couldn't imagine it having gone off with so little complication. I'm really glad that it all turned out so well. In fact, it turned out so well, that I'm sure I will take it into my head to attempt something else vaguely harebrained before long!

Tunnel Arch. Marinda and Paul were too tired to take the short trail down to this one, so I ran down and saw it on my own.