Utah & Colorado MTB Trip
Day 11 Arches National Park

Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers form sheer vertical walls resembling sky scrapers on a city street.

We spent the morning shopping for gifts and souvenirs in Moab.

After lunch, we loaded all our luggage into the van and checked out of Pioneer Spring B&B. We drove to Arches National Park for an afternoon of hiking and sight seeing. We didn't have a lot of time to spend in Arches, since we all had early flights out of Grand Junction the next morning. I really wish we spent more time in Arches.

Arches National Park is a very unique and wonderful place. It deserves more than the half day we spent rushing from one rock formation to the next.

The Windows section contains many very large arches. We hiked up to North Window Arch. The 51-foot wide by 93-foot high opening reveals a nice view South to the LaSal Mountains.

Balance Rock rises 138 feet above the desert floor.

We saw the Fiery Furnace. These towering Red rock fins resemble large flames. The National Park Service requires a special permit to hike there. You saw the Fiery Furnace in the background of friends2.jpg on the first page (click here to see it again). No one can visit Arches National Park without seeing Delicate Arch. As sunset drew near, we parked at the Delicate Arch trailhead. The 1.5-mile trail terminates at Delicate Arch. The trail passes Wolfe Ranch, a well-preserved pioneer homestead. Being impatient, I wanted to get to the Arch as soon as possible.

Steve, Lorraine and Dave stopped to listen to a National Park Service Guide describe the history of the ranch and the people who lived there. The guide showed us a Ute Indian petroglyph. This petroglyph shows riders on horseback. The horses indicate the petroglyph is relatively recent. The Utes did not acquire horses until the early 1700's. Then, our guide showed us some really old Paleo Indian petroglyphs and pictographs dating back 10,000 years. Unfortunately, my camera back opened accidentally and I lost the frames containing these petroglyphs. In my haste, I almost walked right by these wonders. As I said earlier, Arches is full of wonderful discoveries. Slow down, relax give it plenty of time.

Delicate Arch

The trail traversed slick rock and gradually climbed. At the end the trail follows a narrow ledge skirting a slick rock fin that conceals Delicate Arch until the last possible moment. Delicate Arch sits on the edge of a large Navajo Sandstone amphitheater. About a hundred people sat here quietly watching the sun set on Delicate Arch. To me, the experience seemed almost spiritual.

We hiked back to the van in the dark. We got in the van and drove to Grand Junction. The following morning, we flew home to our families and our jobs.

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Introduction
Day 1 Porcupine Rim
Day 2 Slick Rock Trail, Gemini Bridges and Dead Horse Point S.P.
Day 3 Colorado National Monument
Day 4 Jughandle Loop
Day 5 Telluride Colorado to Last Dollar Pass
Day 6 Uncompaghre Plateau
Day 7 Uncompaghre Plateau
Day 8 Uncompaghre Plateau
Day 9 Gateway Colorado and John Brown Canyon
Day 10 Sand Flats Road to Moab
Day 11 Arches National Park