Day 17 (6/17/14): Gypsum, CO | Moab, UT

We headed out of Colorado today and were happy to be leaving the mosquito-infested campground in Gypsum, CO. Our next destination was Utah to see Arches National Park. We checked into our campground in Moab about 10 miles from Arches, dropped the trailer and made our way over to the national park.  RVing is a fantastic way to visit National Parks! Don’t have an RV (yet) though? You can rent one here: National Park RV Rental!

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from Arches National Park as I’ve never been a fan of desert landscape, which probably has something to do with the fact that I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV.  The scenery surrounding Vegas is extremely dull and monotone, so that’s what I always think of when it comes to desert landscape.  However, Arches National Park was incredibly scenic with multi-colored rock formations in various sizes and shapes. Warning: photo overload ahead! 🙂

We first stopped at the Balancing Rock where a large boulder precariously balances atop a scrawny spire.  Next, we drove to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint where we hiked a short distance to get a view of the arch from a mile away.  It was hot and ridiculously windy, so we decided not to hike the entire way up to Delicate Arch. Okay, okay…we also happen to be out of shape, and the distance was intimidating. Haha!

We then made our way to the Sand Dune Arch where we squeezed through a narrow passageway between boulders to reach the overhead arch.  The wind started blowing more wildly though, blinding us with sand, so we didn’t spend too much time at that location.  However, from there, we hiked across a grassy field to the Broken Arch. There was a fabulous view from the arch. Definitely worth the long walk!

The Double Arch was our final stop as well as our favorite. It was massive! We got there later in the day when the sun was shining through the various arches.  Luckily the wind had died down for the moment, making it easier to enjoy our surroundings. The sheer size of the pothole arches was an impressive sight!

We met a family at the Double Arch who happened to be from the same area in Utah that Justin is from. They even ended up knowing someone that Justin also knows. What a small world! The family lives in North Carolina now. Hopefully, we can get together with them when we make it out that way.

Overall though, we loved the desert landscape of Arches National Park with its different textures, rock formations and varying shades of red.  If you’ve visited Arches National Park, what was your favorite area and/or arch? What did you love about it? Feel free to share any tips or top-secret spots for others to check out!

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