Chris and I packed up and headed south to Arches National Park this weekend. SO beautiful -- everywhere I looked was amazing, and I kept taking photo after photo, knowing full well that a two dimensional image could never come close to capturing the views we saw.
We took our bikes, and the first day we rode through about half of the park, riding 20 miles of road and stopping to hike small trails to spectacular arches. We ate our lunches under this towering arch, enjoying the vibrant colors of the landscape.
The contrast of the delicate balance of the arches and rocks and the harshness of the desert terrain struck me. The landscape is in a constant state of change, and although we didn't see Balancing Rock tumble, we were in awe that we are lucky enough to have seen it in this moment of its temporary life.
We camped on BLM land, and soaked in the silence created by this vast expanse of land.
We could see no one, and no one could see us.
We drove the back way into the park the next morning, navigating through dirt roads and muddy ditches.
We hiked a 3 mile trail in a remote part of the park that was
unmarred by the scores of tourists in other more popular areas.
It was beautiful.
We ventured to the north end of the main road of the park, and hiked 7 miles through a series of arches.
We scrambled up to Delicate Arch before sunset.
Yesterday, we drove home through mountains and fall leaves and ate lunch at a park in a small Utah town.
But not before standing inside some dinosaur tracks...
