Arches National Park

We took a drive through the nearby Arches park this morning. A good 4 hours for the drive, with lots of stops. Arches is known for spectacular rock formations, including many with arched holes in them. We didn't do much hiking, so only scratched the surface.

A modified Jeep, in the campground. Would be fun around Moab.

Once we were inside the park, it seemed like every car blasted by us. We figured out why, later. Parking spots can fill up, and if you want to get to a popular spot, you need to move right along to it.

Now (2024) the park has timed entries by reservation only, in the peak season,

Looking down at the park entrance on the left

Some of the rocks look like people gathering. Magi?

This tree is rerooted in several places, once toppled from the original roots

A balancing rock, of course

Some people were climbing that rock behind us

An alien mother kissing its baby?

An arch, at last

We couldn't get parked at the main area of the famed Delicate Arch, so came at it a less-common way:

 

 

 

Delicate Arch, from the rear

We did get a nice spot for a picnic lunch:

In the evening we took a back road drive along the Colorado River. This is a pretty important river all through the dry areas where it runs.

There's a lot of boondocking spots in the area

 

It's sunny again, up to 28C at 3pm. This seems usual this time of year. Even though the forecast shows chance of thunderstorms, they're pretty rare now. The people here would actually like a thunderstorm, as it's getting pretty dry. It's about the end of the wet season, which is why there is so relatively much greenery around. Very comfortable temps for sleeping last night too, it cools off quickly as the sun goes down.

We've decided to stay camped where we are through Saturday night, leaving to head further south on Sunday.