Landscape Arch
It was another gorgeous day, one of the warmest we’ve had since the very first day or two of our trip. The sky was its deep desert blue mixed with the occasional brilliant white cloud as we toured for the second day in Arches National Park.
We drove up to the north end of the paved road, stopping first on the edge of the road below The Fiery Furnace and then at Skyline Arch. We didn’t stay long, but by the time we got to the Devil’s Garden trail parking lot, it was almost full. We took one of the last spots, right near the exit.
The first part of the trail, up to Landscape Arch (which is the largest arch in the world), is good. From here on though the trail is much rougher, going over some very steep sandstone fins with sheer drops off the sides. We took short side trips in to Partition Arch and Navajo Arch. The former is a double arch that frames views out over the valley below. I went all the way to Double O Arch, which really was hardly worth the effort, as it is an interesting enough figure eight arch, but not really as spectacular as some of the others we saw today.
We ate a late lunch back at the parking lot, on the one picnic table we found in the shade. We’d thought the parking lot was crowded when we arrived, but by now it was jam packed with cars lining the road for at least a mile before the parking lot even started.
Double Arch
We drove to the Windows area, where there are a lot of arches, and from my perspective the most interesting and impressive ones we’ve seen. I particularly found Double Arch intriguing, with a very interesting shape.
We built a fire and roasted “smokies” tonight for supper. Unfortunately, we haven’t found tasty smoked sausages here like we get in Saskatchewan. Perhaps they exist, but we haven’t had any luck in our search. The ones we had tonight were a bit better than wieners — just.