"Spring Break" Mini-Getaway {Arches}

On Friday (23 April) morning we woke up, packed up, and hit the road (with breakfast in the car), with the goal of getting to Delicate Arch before the crowds. We pulled into the parking lot at 8:15 and were able to snag one of the last four or five spots (which we passed by initially, along with four or five other cars, because they were marked for RVs only, but the rangers said we could park there since everything else was full, so we did - whew!).

We had two main goals for the day: see Delicate Arch, and play at Sand Dune Arch. And we were successful at both! It was crazy to see the train of people climbing up the rock to Delicate, and to watch the line of people waiting their turn to have their group shot on or under the arch. It was kind of nuts! 

Sand Dune Arch wasn't as crowded, but it was weird in it's own way: usually I see families parked out underneath the arch with sand buckets and shovels just playing away. This time, everyone trudged through the sand, snapped a pic, and left. We sat there for a long time watching people repeat the sequence and only one or two other groups even sat down in the sand to enjoy it. Oh well, we had fun.

After lunch, and another stint in the sand, we headed to Landscape Arch. It was warm and the kids were tired and we kind of had to drag them along, but I think they were happy to see that long, skinny arch stretching across the expanse. That was our last hike for the day. We drove through the Windows parking area and spotted a few more arches from the comfort of our car, before heading out of the park. (I'm glad we got there early for many reasons, not the least of which was the humongous line waiting to get in through the gate as we were leaving at 3 pm!)

We had a couple more stops on our way home. First was the dinosaur tracks on BLM land just off the highway out of Moab. We had been there 11 years ago with the Thornley's but I thought Sam would especially get a kick out of seeing real dino prints in the rock. We all did! It's just too cool! And at dinner time we ordered pizza online and picked it up in Price to eat as we drove home. Gotta keep the Friday Night Pizza and a Movie (or Audiobook in this case) tradition going, even on a road trip!

Sam conked out shortly after we ate and we drove quietly home and enjoyed sleeping in our own beds that night.

We didn't need cairns to mark the trail
along the rock - just follow the trail of people!

We made it! Just my second time being here and it
had been 11 years since I was first there! It is pretty
awe-inspiring.

See that line of people? They're all waiting their turn
for a photo op under the arch. Insane!

What a view!

Photo op attempt gone awry!

Side tour to see the petroglyphs on the way back to the car.

Hangin' out at Sand Dune Arch.

You can see Broken Arch from the trail to Sand Dune
Arch. This is as close as we got to that one.

Landscape Arch Camoflauge.

I love this color pallette!

Sauropod (plant eater) prints!

And this one is a theropod (meat eater!).

He was tired, but it was too bright driving
into the setting sun, so he took matters into
his own hands and was out like a light.

This one wasn't sleepy till much later.
Typical. :)