Relaxing Morning and Then Time in Arches National Park

All 4 of us spent a lot of the morning catching up with family and doing some necessary work on the computer.  Ken and I talked to Lanie and Jamie, packed lunches, and then Ken paid bills and checked accounts.  So, the 4 of us only left the CG at 10:30 and drove into Arches National Park.

Utah has a special 4 day fall holiday weekend so all the children are off school starting today until Monday.  As a result, the line to get into the park was very long.  They did have people with National Park Passes enter through a different area, so we were in the park rather quickly!

Some pictures along the way -

We drove right to the very back of the Park so we could do the 1.6 mile round trip hike to Landscape Arch.  In 1991 a huge chunk of stone fell off of the arch, a total of 180 tons of rock fell to the ground!  The arch also has a large crack on the left hand side, so it makes one wonder how many years it will take to the arch to be broken.

How much longer can this remain an Arch?  Note all the fallen
rock under the arch  on the right side!

From the Landscape Arch we could see people continuing on the trail to view to more arches - Partition and Navajo. Reaching those required climbing a rather steep rock formation and we were up for the challenge.  It was a very interesting hike.  At one point I had to crawl for just a very short time, but it sent my back into a spasm - down right painful. 

Okay, I think I can do this climb!!

From the top it looks rather steep!

After getting to the top we took the trail to the Partition Arch.  It had a small area where you could see light through it, but it sort of looked like a cave.

Approaching Partition Arch!

You can see light coming through, but it really does resemble
a cave!

I completed the hike, but I waited for them to return from Navajo Arch.  It gave my back a chance to relax.  We probably went an additional mile or so to see the other 2 arches.

What a panoramic view through Navajo Arch.  I really
wish I would have seen it up close!

Going down the rock formation was a bit challenging but actually easier than I anticipated.  By then my back was feeling better, thank goodness!

Getting ready for the downward climb!

The rock formation in the middle is the one
we went up and then down!  (What goes up
must come down!)

Upon returning to the parking lot we drove to a picnic area nearby to enjoy our picnic lunches.  We decided to head back to the CG but stopped at Canyonlands By Day and Night to inquire about their jet boat rides.  So tomorrow morning at 11 we will be going on a 1 hour boat ride on the Colorado River through some of the canyons.  It will be a fun time.

We were back to the CG by 4:45 and I decided to rest and give my back a "break".  Ken made salads and then he grilled salmon and a pork shop.  We went over to Ernie and Noela's at 6:30 and enjoyed eating together.  After discussing tomorrow's activities over a cup of tea, we played one game of Skip-Bo which the men won!  Not good!!!

Back to Waldo by 8:30 so I could work on this blog and download photos.  It has been another special day with special people!