Day 23: Arches National Park, day 2

We woke up early this morning and got into Arches National Park by 6am. We wanted to hike the Delicate Arch trail before the heat. By the time we got there and got started it was 6:45am, but we were still happy because we were hiking as the sun was coming up and it was much less hot than yesterday. It was a great hike and I'm so glad we did it. It was a little tough at times, but not bad, and nothing like going down into the Grand Canyon (still our toughest hike)! We weren't going to go over closer to the arch because there were so many people, even at 7:30am, but we decided to go get in line. We ended up behind a nice family from Massachusetts so we took their photo and they took ours. The hike down was wonderful and we were thankful to have gone up early before the heat of the day. At the bottom there are more petroglyphs on the walls that were even more clear than at Capitol Reef.

After that, we hiked to a bunch of other arches. First, Sand Dune Arch was a fun walk between rocks with lots of sand. Then we hiked to Broken Arch, which was hot because there was little shade, but the arch was great. It isn't actually broken completely, just has rocks in front of it that have fallen. Then we saw Skyline Arch from not far off the road. Finally, we hiked to Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Landscape Arch in Devil's Garden.  Landscape Arch is the 5th largest arch in the world. While we were there we saw a deer hanging out by the trail and I filled out a survey about the reservation system for the University of Utah. I personally like the system if the park is so overcrowded that you can't park, explore, etc., however, it also makes things a little trickier and less available to visit unless you plan well. I was able to plan so I liked it. In the Sequoias it was so busy, we were not even happy, in that case, I think they should have a reservation system in place. Anyway, I was asked for my opinion and I gave it. :)

After getting up early and doing lots of hiking, we went back to the campground and we all swam and played games. Then we showered, did one last load of laundry, had an early dinner, and relaxed in the AC for a much needed rest. It was a great day.  Arches is one of our favorite national parks!