Nebraska/Utah Trip 2016 - Day 17

We got an early start this morning and arrived at the Arches National Park Visitors Center just down the road at 8:00 am.  We watched a 15 minute film about the park and its unique geological history and toured the exhibits in the center.

We then started our tour of the park, an 18 mile out-and-back trip along a payed road with numerous side roads, viewpoint stops and pull-outs where you can stop and take pictures of the spectacular rock formations.  There is also a small campground at the turnaround point. There are also a variety of hiking trails rated accordingly as easy, moderate and difficult, some of which require permits and/or National Park tour guides.

The park is very popular.  There were numerous tour buses with foreign tourists, mostly Asian as well a lot of rental RVs.  We also heard a variety of other languages spoken during the day.  Despite the crowd, we were able to find a parking spot whenever we stopped to take pictures. We were also able to get the pictures we wanted without a lot of other people in the way.

  The arches and rock formations in the park are fantastic and after awhile, bordered on sensory overload. There are over 2,000 arches in the park, most of which you cannot see from the road.  There are many you can see however, and even hike out to them if you wish to do so.  We took one short "easy" hike which wasn't exactly easy for us in the bright sunshine and 90+ temperatures. The red rock arches are made of sandstone that is constantly eroding, creating a landscape that has changed over the centuries and will continue to do so in the future. Here is a link to more information about how the arches and rock formations were formed and continue to evolve:

Arches National Park Geology

After finishing the driving tour and almost running out of digits in the camera, we traveled back into Moab for a light lunch.  We found the Moab Brewery and we each had a bowl of soup and split an appetizer.  I also had one of their craft beers which was very good.

The plan for tonight is dinner in Moab at a BBQ and Blues restaurant then maybe a free Bluegrass concert in town.

We travel to Bryce Canyon National Park tomorrow where we will stay for three nights.  The weather forecast remains great with slightly cooler temperatures predicted in the Bryce Canyon area.

Day 17 Pictures