Arches National Park (Moab)

Mick'nSarah

Mick'nSarah

Junior Ranger
http://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

We visited Arches on Halloween day 2010, and it was amazing. It was someplace we had always wanted to check out. We had about 4 hours that day to devote to the park, before moving on to our next location as we were working our way back to the PNW from picking Dottie up in WI.

The park offers loads of hiking and exploring, both short stints, or longer treks. For folks who enjoy photography, there is lots to shoot. There are also a variety of different types of animals to see.

The roads could be a bit narrow and turns a bit tight, but Dottie did great for us, and I was wondering how larger RVs do it.

There is camping available, but we chose to stay just down the road from the front gate at the Moab Valley RV Resort. A great campsite, and it has a pool and spa (the night we were there is was super windy though, and the Oregon Ducks were playing, so the lad and I hunkered down in the cabin with my mom until it was time for bed).

We didn't get to see all of it, but we did 2 hikes (1 longer, and 1 shorter...that was all my 3-year old could handle before nap time), and we saw a lot of it.

I look forward to traveling back and spending more time exploring in the future. Great place to go!

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Very nice pictures. Arches is on my list of places to visit in the very near future, hopefully this spring or the fall 2011. NP campgrounds are generally nice but with very few amenities and no hookups, personally I've always liked them but they can be crowded.
 
Thanks very much! It is a hobby. I fell in love with the place...after this trip I was feeling very dry and was happy to get back to my humidity. I loved Arches though and wished we had more time there. We will at some point, but I think we will try for Yellowstone and Glacier first. I will be hitting folks up for places to camp as we get closer. Thinking that might happen next year...my husband had a double hip replacement this year (one reason for the trailer) so we are trying to limit the driving trips to shorter distances for the short term. Can't wait to hit the open road again.
 
Great shots Sarah. We passed through Arches way back in 1984 when we had only 2 kids. We'd love to get back out that way and spend more time hiking around.
 
It is beautiful and I feel lucky I had the chance to drive across a lot of it. I have been very fortunate in my life to travel as much outside of the US as I have (both for pleasure and business), but I have wanted to see more of the US now that I have a child. I want him to see more of it too. See how others live within our borders...it really does vary. With my husband being a Brit, our son will get trips to Europe every so often (when the flights are a good price and we have the time). Luckily we can just pack a few things now, and hit the road. Oregon is a big place to explore and we have a lot to see, but the redwoods are calling and so are a few other national parks. I think our first big trip will be Yosemite next year. This summer will be shorter trips. Really looking forward to it! Thanks for the compliments!
 
Jenn,
If you get a chance stop by Kodachrome Basin State park in South Central Utah. They do have showers and also some of the sites have electrical hookups. In my 50 years of camping all over North America it ranks as one of my top 3 campgrounds. By the way National Geographic Magzine gave it that name in the late 40s due to the fact that only the new Kodachrome film of the day could adequately catch the colors of the place.

While it may seem tempting due to the fact that it saves you 200 miles of driving do not take the Cottonwood Canyon Road back to Page. This time of the year this is strictly a 4WD road, actually it is most times of the year. I enjoy hiking slot canyons at the right time of the year and in late summer Cottonwood is great for that kind of activity. Take care and hope to see you soon.
 
Jenn,

Was wondering where you would show up next. Great spot. Jim and I were considering doing our Death Valley run during spring break, but this area has me rethinking that plan.

And that Kodachrome Basin, Leo and Janene, sounds fantastic. We had planned to hit southern Utah sometime soon. Maybe this next year is it.

Camp on, everyone.

Sue
 
Sue,
If you are planning a trip to this part of Utah the best times to go are spring and fall. In the Southwest it gets pretty toasty in the summer, and you have flash floods to contend with as well. These events usually start in late June and run through early August. If you are into hiking slot canyons like I am a flashflood can ruin your day.

If you use Google you will find lots of info on Kodachrome and the Grand Escalante Staircase area of South Central Utah, and if you are not already you will become a confirmed desert rat like we are. BTW our 550 Ultra was the hit of the campground and we met a lot of very interesting people conducting the daily tours. All of the camp sites at Kodachrome are ideal for teardrops and as I previously mentioned some are provided with power. However the most scenic and private sites are un-powered. One plus is that you can also reserve your site on line which is a real plus since you can get a photo of each site, and the place is quite popular during the spring and fall. We were last there in late September and while the temps were warm during the day the nights are cool even in summer due to the low humidity.
 
Agree with Leo on hitting the back roads. They look fine and are when they are bone dry. But the least bit of moisture and it is like being on a skating rink. Been there, done that and watched a BLM truck on a downgrade unable to stop slowly like slow motion slide down the road, past my 4x4 and go head on into a butte wall. No damage. Asked him when the road was better going north and he said at the top of the grade. Me at the bottom, him sliding by, and I couldn't get up a wimpy 3% hill.

Asked him about going back and he said 'Follow me I'll show you a short cut.' And off we go through the bottom of the creek, through an old ghost town set, past petroglyphs that we would never have seen. An adventure. When it was all said and done an $20 later at the wishy washy finding the truck under all of the mud we have a great memory.

The slots are great fun. Any rain in the forecast don't go. 8 years ago in the popular Antelope Canyon half a dozen folks got swept away.
 
Gary,
Looks like you like the same kind of roads that we do. Many of the roads in this part of the country are made out of adobe, which when dry and hard are almost like driving on pavement, however any and I mean any moisture and they turn into a surface covered with grease. As for the slot canyons if there is rain called for within a 20 mile radius of where you are going, don't go. I got caught in Canyon de Chelly while on an archeology trek about 10 years ago it was raining hard about 10 miles up canyon when we left, by the time we got to the mouth of the canyon where it is about 1/2 mile wide, the water covered the entire width of the canyon, and came right up to the bottom of my windshield. Had it not been for our trusty Navajo guide we would have lost our vehicle.
 
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