Sunday, May 24, 2009

More Arches and Bridges

Despite the clouds and forecast for rain, we went back to Arches NP  yesterday and hiked the trail to Delicate Arch. It starts at the old Wolff Ranch, and climbs a mile and a half from there. Much of the hike is up steep slickrock, and even though the park brochure says it is a strenuous trail, you would never have guessed by the number of people on it. It was a fairly tough climb, and we passed lots of unhappy, crying kids.  We are going to miss our quiet winter camping now that school is out.P5230083 Since you can walk right under the arch, it is a photo op for everyone, so we sat up at the top for 10 or 15 minutes enjoying the views and hoping there would be an opening where you could take a shot without any people in it.P5230068  P5230073 P5230075

That moment never came, so we started to head back down when I looked over and noticed there was nobody under the arch. By the way, this is the one that’s pictured on the Utah license plates.

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The rain and clouds appear to be over, so this morning we went down the road from our campground and hiked the Negro Bill Canyon Trail. It’s a pleasant 2 mile hike along a pretty stream, with shade a good part of the way.  There are several times you have to cross the stream but there were rocks to step on at most of the crossings. The guy in the kilt is staying at our campground, and he was wearing the same thing yesterday. You have to really be confident of your manhood to hike in a skirt!P5240086 The trail ends at Morning Glory Natural Bridge, the 6th largest natural bridge in the country. Since the bridge is only 15 feet from the canyon wall, it is hard to see, but you can get under it and get an idea of how big it really is.

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And finally got some pictures of our lovely riverfront site with the sun shining.

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2 comments:

  1. Hi Jim and Gayle: Glad you're seeing Arches! It's one of my favorite places. Isn't southern Utah an incredible place? Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches, and on and on. By the way, you can rent a jeep in Moab and take that road you see snaking along down below Dead Horse Point. It's incredible to look UP at the point. You guys are having an incredible time. Wish we were there!

    Joe B.

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  2. Hi Joe,
    Glad you made it back home safely. Sounds like you had a great trip. Hope we can meet your wife next year when you come out west. Yes, we love Utah and will definitely return to do and see the things we missed this time.

    Gayle

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