Utah - Arches National Park

Moab, Utah

We only spent a few nights in Moab, so we really just "skimmed the surface" of things to see and do there.

standing beneath Double Arch

At the top of our list was a visit to Arches National Park.  This park is famous for its many natural sandstone arches.  One of the more famous ones is named Delicate Arch.  The image of this arch is on the Utah state license plates.

Delicate Arch

When we were paying our entrance fee to get in the park, we decided to go ahead and get an annual pass.  It is $80 and it grants you (and your family of course) access to any national park or monument for one year.  We have had ours for about a month now, and it has already paid for itself.  Any parks that we visit in the next eleven months will be free.  Love that!

As always, our first stop in the park was the visitor center.  The kids got their Jr. Ranger books and we checked out all of the displays.  I think it helps to read all of the informative boards and such before going out into the park, it prepares you for what you are about to see and do.

 The drive through the park is really interesting.  We saw so many different rock formations.

left - The Three Gossips...right - The Organ

Balanced Rock

We did the short hike to the Double Arch.  It was fun to go under it...the kids liked climbing around on the rocks.

After touring the entire park, hiking to see the Landscape Arch, and eating our picnic lunch, we made it back to the visitor center just in time for the kids to turn in their books and get their badges. 

Moab on Dwellable