RT2011: Arches National Park

Arches National Park. I have the best childhood memories of this place. My dad came here all the time when he was a kid - I think he knows every hidden canyon, cave, trail, and nook and cranny in the entire park, not to mention which plants are edible, how to get water from a cactus plant, the best way to catch a lizard (without pulling it's tail off) and where to find flint arrowheads. And I came here all the time with him when I was a kid. We had the best time camping, hiking, jeeping, and exploring. And to this day, whenever I get together with my sisters we reminisce about the "if only mom knew. . ." adventures we had at Arches with dad.
So you can imagine how fun it was to go with my own kids. The babies made it hard to do a lot of hiking and exploring but the boys definitely got a taste of the red rock country with it's spectacular sandstone arches, pillars, canyons, and fins. They are eager to go back. . . and so am I!





The visitor's center is awesome, now that Arches has become such a worldwide tourist attraction. It's a museum in and of itself. The kids spent hours exploring there. I LOVE this shot of the boys - especially Clayton and Isaac. You can imagine the dialogue following this scene. . .
One of my favorite arches is called Sand Dune Arch. The arch itself is hidden inside a canyon and not that spectacular but the endless soft and shaded sand dune is well worth the short hike.




Here are a few (painful) clips of the kids rolling, playing and *belly-flopping* down the dune. Isaac complained for days that his back hurt. Is there any wonder why?

You can always tell the people who had the most fun at Sand Dune Arch because they come back caked in sand from head to toe. . .

And despite our best efforts, we still got sand in and on everything.
Eliza loved running around barefoot.
Just outside the park is a canyon I remembered as a kid full of petroglyphs. Of course we had to do a little off-roading to get there. . .
and we may of passed a ghost town. . .
and gotten a little lost along the way. . .
but eventually we found them. Just like I remembered.