Ockey Family Adventures: Moab Day 1: Arches

We were excited for Spring Break because we had a hotel booked in Moab. Mom was playing some piano numbers for Easter Sunday, so we didn't leave until Monday, but we still had plenty of time. On Monday morning, we got an early start as we had a timed entry reservation for Arches National Park. We got in about 11 o'clock and only waited for around 30 minutes at the gate. As soon as we got to the Visitor Center, Mom made lunch in the parking lot.

This was what we drove through on the way to Moab.

Mom thinks the weather in Spring is hilarious!

Once we got inside the park, we stopped to do a short, famous hike that we'd never done before. This was a little walk called Park Avenue not too far from the gate. With the reservation system, we had no problem finding parking. Then we walked the trail downhill. It was really beautiful winding through the towering red rocks, and we enjoyed the nice, easy walk. When we got near the bottom, Dax and Mom headed back up to the top, while the rest of us walked down to be picked up at the bottom.

Mom is a champion van lunch maker.

Park Avenue was really pretty.

We enjoyed this hike.

The towering rocks made for great pictures.

The three wise men and a few teens!

We love being in Arches!

Our next hike was one we'd had our eye on for a long time. Tower Arch is a 2.5 mile hike that is very doable, but requires an 8-mile drive on a dirt road. The road is often closed or rough, so we've never made this trip. This time, though, the road was in really great condition. We had no problem with the drive, and we arrived just after noon. The hike started out almost straight uphill, but we enjoyed this part of the park that we'd never seen before, and there were very few people on the trail.

The fins and rills in the rock were gorgeous against the blue sky and the drifting clouds. We went along slowly, enjoying the easy walk until we reached tower rock. It was really impressive, sitting like a massive round frame, just right for pictures, and we took a lot of them. There was a massive tower behind the arch that soared hundreds of feet into the sky. There was also a small tower standing just in front of it, and we weren't sure which gave Tower Arch its name. Still, we enjoyed this arch, and another smaller arch that the boys found nestled into the wall next to it.

The views on this trail were amazing!

We also loved the clouds!

There were some great rock features.

We survived climbing through the sand.

So many great photo spots!

Mom and Dad are still doing good at taking pictures together.

This is the bonus arch that the boys found.

Seriously the views were amazing.

There was a tiny slot to walk through in front of the arch.

The arch was pretty big!

Look at the gorgeous views through Tower Arch.

Mom was the only one who would take pictures in the arch!

But she got some good ones!

Heading back to the van and eating Dum Dums!

The hike back seemed a lot longer, but we still had a few miles to go. Mom wanted fresh pictures of Landscape Arch, as we hadn't done that hike in a long time. It's only a mile each way to the arch, we managed that pretty quickly and easily, including the short detours to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. We could have gone farther, but we decided to head out of the park for dinner.

Pine Tree Arch

Someone saw us taking this selfie and offered to take a picture for us....

This is their photo! Ummm. . . Thanks?

Tunnel Arch.

I like the hike through Devils Garden, but apparently Seth does not.

Landscape Arch is pretty cool!

We couldn't get over the blue sky, clouds, and red rocks!

After a short detour to see the Windows and Double Arch, we drove back to Moab. There was a wait at Moab Diner, but the boys were really hungry, and the food was really good. Everyone finished up pretty quickly, and we rewarded ourselves with ice cream.

The ice cream portions were huge!

Mom had one more hike in mind. This one was on the north end of town where you cross the river, and it visited some petroglyphs. It was very short, and we found out these petroglyphs can easily be seen from the road, though we'd never noticed them before. We enjoyed them for a few minutes, and then found our way to the hotel. Seth and Dax took a short swim, and we got ready for bed. It was a long, fun, day.