Arches National Park

Now that our tire was fixed we were good to go and see the true reason we came to Moab - Arches National Park. We got back from our ride around 1430, and we scoffed down a late lunch. Subway never tasted so good. There were only a few hours of light left, but we were excited to explore Arches in the late afternoon sun. More than 2000 natural sandstone arches can be found within the park, even though 43 have collapsed since 1970.

The arches themselves are so beautiful but there are also other rock formations, petrified sand dunes and great views of the La Sal mountains. To get into the park you wind up through some cliffs, and you get a good look at Moab. There are a few hiking trails and campgrounds, but both the desert ecosystem and the rock structures are delicate and activities are carefully regulated. In 2006 a climber scaled Delicate Arch, and doing so has been explicitly banned since.

Moab from the entry to Arches NP

Arches was wonderful to see, but it's no Olympic National Park. The mountain biking was definitely the highlight of the day. We finally did some laundry that evening, and afterwards we debated driving through the night to get to the Grand Canyon at sunrise for a proper look. With our tire fixed we would have been able to make it, but we eventually decided not to try. A wise choice I think, even though it would have made for a great story.