Arches National Park

Our alarms went off at 4 AM on Tuesday morning. We got dressed and made coffee in the dark before setting off to Arches National Park. The drive to the park took about 20 minutes, and there were no rangers around to take our pass. Lazy bums. Another 30 min drive got us the the parking lot for The Windows Section. The sky was beginning to lighten so we set off on a very short hike up to the North Window. It was cold and very windy, but the views were amazing! There were a few other people there to see the sunrise, so we found a seat and waited for about 15 minutes for the sun to peak over the canyon walls in the distance. This was definitely worth the early morning!

Aaron and me in front of the North Window Arch

Panorama with the South Window Arch

Turret Arch

We also got to see the South Window and the Turret Arch after the sunrise as those are also within the Windows Section. We didn't stay in the park for long because I was still not feeling well from the day before and the early morning wasn't helping my case. We got back to the campsite at about 8 AM and spent most of the day resting. We got our laundry washed in the coin operated machines located at the campsite and went into town for a few odds and ends we hadn't thought to pack with us.

I was feeling much better after resting all day, so we decided go back into the park to watch the sunset. We made dinner and then started back toward the park at about 6 PM. The Visitor's Center was closed again, so I had missed my opportunity to get a stamp on a National Parks Passport (super bummed!), but the park wasn't very busy at that point, which was a plus.

We decided to take the hike to Delicate Arch, which is the most famous arch in the park.  The hike was 3 miles round-trip, and had some pretty steep climbs, but we took it slow and I had on good hiking shoes, so we made it just fine.  I told Aaron I was channeling my inner mountain goat. The view once we got to the top was spectacular!

We didn't wait for sunset because it was very busy at the top and we wanted light for the hike down, but we did take the time to stop and look at some Ute Indian petroglyphs (wall art) of a horse rider and some big horn sheep. Finally, we drove farther north to see the Devil's Garden, but we had very little light so we couldn't see much.

This morning we made breakfast and packed up our campervan. We left Moab at about 10 AM and made it to our hotel by Grand Canyon National Park at about 5 PM local time (Arizona doesn't practice daylight saving time). The travel was easy and Aaron was able to drive the whole way. The only thing of note on the drive was our lunch break in Tuba City, AZ. Once we got to the park, our first stop was at the Desert View 

Watchtower for our first view of the Grand Canyon! While I was there I got a National Park Passport and a stamp, but we also realized that my selfie stick was broken. I guess we will have to get creative with the sign pictures until we can get a new one. We did, however, get to walk all the way up to the top of the tower to get the views from the highest point on the South Rim (over 7,000 feet!)

Art on the walls of the Watchtower

Tonight we got dinner at a local restaurant and wandered around the town of Tusayan for a while. Early bedtime tonight and tomorrow we get to see more of the Grand Canyon!

Some elk we're grazing right in the middle of town!