Road Trip: Arches National Park

(April 27th, 2007)







And pulling into Arches, I quickly realize that my "Moab plan" is, sadly, not going to be completed. The campgrounds at Arches National Park have been full since 7:30am (it's now a touch after 4:00pm). Additionally, all of the hotels, motels, RV parks, and supposedly most of the outlying campgrounds are full too. Why? An unfortunately combination of a few conferences and (more importantly) a huge antique car show (that would explain all the old cars with really nice paint jobs). The park ranger gives me a list of "primitive" campsites in the area (no water) and wishes me luck. With my evening plans completely shot I decide to call an audible and see how much or Arches I can see in one night. Even though I'm extremely sore from mountain biking a little afternoon hiking would be a nice break from the noon sun.

So I head out into the park and quickly realize why Arches National Park is so famous. And no, it's not because it's the most beautiful park in the area (Bryce Canyon, for one, is way, way better). That's not to say Arches isn't gorgeous, but it has two other big things going for it. First of all, the park gate is only about 10 minutes from downtown Moab. And downtown Moab has a lot of hotels, motels, etc. You know, places where a family can relax, play in the pool, and otherwise enjoy a vacation. This immediately makes Arches a more vacation-friendly park.

Secondly, Arches National Park doesn't really have much hiking. Everything in the park can be driven to and, as I've already learned, Americans don't want to hike. Most hikes are between 0.5 and 1.0 (round trip), which works out great for me cause I can barely walk and it's late. I decide to check out a few of the smaller loops before going to the icon of the park, the Delicate Arch, for a sunset viewing.



The hike out to the Delicate Arch is one of the longest in the park at 1.5 miles (each way) and is actually a moderately strenuous hike. But the arch, well the arch is worth it. And sunset is a great time to be there, the arch slowly lights up into a brilliant red as the sun goes down. And if you position yourself just right you can get a great picture with the moon hanging inside the arch. I tried to get a few of those, but sadly some light clouds moved in, hiding the moon just a little.

After hanging out with the crowd for nearly an hour I decided it was time to head back to Moab and figure out where I was going to be sleeping. I drove around for over an hour, checking out primitive sites to see if there were any opening. Nothing within 10 miles of Moab. The next cluster were 20 miles further away, down a slow road, and I didn't want to drive out there only to find out there was nothing left. It was time for plan C. I drove around until I found a quite residential street with a couple cars on it. I pulled behind a car, put the back seat down, and attempted to get comfortable in the back of my car for the night. Fortunately no cops came by and I survived my first night in my car. Unfortunately the back of my car is firm and just small enough that I couldn't sleep with my legs straight, so I had to curl up on my side all night.

It's now bright and early Saturday morning and my shoulders are sore from sleeping on them. But since I was forced to spend another night in Moab, I may as well enjoy the reason it's so busy: the Moab Auto Show.