April 12-15
We were blown away by the beauty of this place! Six months ago, we had attempted, multiple days in a row, to reserve a campsite in this park without success. You can imagine how grateful we were last week to find that a site that fit us became available. After driving through this campground of smaller sites, we realized just how utterly unlikely this was. We were pinching ourselves during our whole stay here. It was dream-like.
We hiked to many arches: landscape, double-O, (not to be confused with) double, sand dune, skyline, and of course, the iconic Delicate Arch at not quite sunset. The kids loved all the hiking over rocks. There were so many jaw-dropping sights. And sounds, too: we were blessed by a group of students who started singing hymns while spread across double arch just as Lev and I were perched just on the other side of the lower arch.
Other highlights: Eliza enjoyed all the beautiful flowers that have bloomed after the rains. Matt snagged our early bird child, Simeon, for a sunrise hike on our last day. All the kids made their third Junior Ranger pledge at their third National Park. Matt finished and mailed off our taxes on April 15. Whew!
We have been enjoying a true vacation pace with Matt off work and the rest of us off school (but not off learning). To top it off, no camper or van repairs have been required.
Above: At Ken’s Lake Campground 10 miles south of Arches.
Above: Our campsite at Arches.
Junior Rangers again!
Above: Double Arch, the site of songs of praise.
Above: Frolicking in the Garden of Eden
Above: Wow! On Double-O Arch hike
Above: No words to describe how it felt to walk down to Delicate Arch. There were quite a number of people about, so while we would have loved to linger under this magnificent arch, we didn’t. We did eat our PB & J supper and hang out in the vicinity above it for a good hour, though.
Above: sunrise hike for our two early birds.
A tight squeeze near Sand Dune Arch.
USon8wheels - a travel blog 