Utah's National Parks—Arches
The second National Park on my friend Rachel and I’s road trip itinerary was Arches. I’ve probably visited this park more than any of the others, but I never tire of it. It’s such a beautiful park, filled with a variety of arches so close together. It would take days to see them all, and even after many visits, I have yet to see everything.
We started the day early, to beat the crowds and the heat, with the hike to Delicate Arch. This is definitely the most iconic arch within this park, and the hike is moderate. There is a viewpoint from the road, but the hike is definitely the better option. Since it was Rachel’s first visit, I had her walk under the arch, so she could grasp the full scale of it, while I took her picture from the other side.
Next, we drove to the end of the park to visit the Devil’s Garden. Here we hiked to the Double O Arch, which I had not done, before. It is a much more challenging hike (rated “difficult”), which gave us a few scares and then some good laughs. But again, this hike was absolutely worth the effort. We climbed onto the backside of the Double O Arch, then up to the top, which offered a window-view through the top arch out onto the park, below.
Once we had finished our lunches, we made our way over to the Windows Section, which is at the opposite end of the park, where we explored until we were both unable to take another step. We eagerly climbed back into the car, and made our way to the hotel for dinner and an early night. With another busy day to come, we needed plenty of rest!
sweatshirt - Backcountry // leggings - Eddie Bauer // sandals - Teva // backpack - Target (similar) // t-shirt - c/o Parks Project // denim jacket - ASOS