Arches everywhere, and none of them even related to fast food!

9/11:

This morning we went back to Arches - very excited about that! There is so much to see in that park and the majority of it is accessible by some pretty cool hikes. I brought Jane up the plateau today - wasn't going to leave her behind for anything again!

Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to be very enthusiastic about Arches as well so parking was absolutely terrible. For our first hike of the day we wanted to do Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in Arches (have I said "arch" enough?). The road to the Delicate Arch overlook had been washed out by the recent rainstorms, so everyone was trying to cram themselves into the weeny parking lot for the 2-mile hike. One parking spot opened up and my dad was gracious enough to give it to me. He and my mom went on to another part of the park, Devil's Gardens, while I made the hike up.

The hike was long and hot but overall beautiful. Once I had finished climbing up the same rock for half a mile (it was a really, really big rock) I got to some really cool sandstone formations, all shaped by wind and water. Erosion at its best! Finally I got to Delicate Arch, a beautiful and exceptionally rare free-standing arch. The sun was in the wrong spot for lighting it properly, but it was still easy to appreciate its beauty:

Yes, I am actually in this picture... I just look weeny

A bunch of baby arches waiting to be born!

I hiked down very quickly, stopping along the way only to see a very cool series of petroglyphs:

Sheep and people on horses! Neat-o

And then it was on to Devil's Gardens, the location of Landscape Arch and several other arches. And for the record, I don't see why it is that the Devil gets all of the super cool rock formations and stuff. Anytime something is named "Devil's xxxxxx", it's going to be cool. Why is that? Is the coolness of the rocks supposed to corrupt you or something? I suppose I must be corrupted.

Anyways, I wanted to hike up far enough to reach my parents, who were going to be at Landscape Arch. Well I got there and they weren't there - found out that they had continued hiking on to some more cool formations!

The Devil's Gardens

Landscape Arch! Skinniest rock arch I've ever seen, looks very fragile

I met them halfway up a rock face and they told me that I should really go see Double O Arch - so I did! Meanwhile, they hiked back down to go see some other overlooks. My mom's leg was still bothering her so she didn't want to do any hikes that were too strenuous.

The way to Double O Arch was actually almost cooler than the arch itself (but not quite). There were miles and miles of sandstone fins, all waiting to be shaped into natural bridges or arches!

The coolest.

I had imagined that "Double O" meant two arches side by side, but instead it was two arches stacked on top of one another (kind of like two donuts)! Really awesome the way that the stone eroded.

Crazy business!

I found myself a nice shady spot to watch the arches (you know, in case they moved suddenly or something) and eat lunch. And of course, as soon as I had my peanut butter sandwich out, the chipmunks appeared. So here's a picture of a chipmunk:

And here's one from when I managed to bewitch one into temporarily standing still:

I wasn't about to give up any of my lunch to any kind of animal, no matter how cute, so they had to go away hungry. I finished up my food and headed back down the hill. I've noticed that I hike at exactly the same speed going up as going down, and that speed is apparently exceptionally fast for hiking. So I end up passing a ton of people on the way up and down hikes. But of course I stop and take pictures at really scenic spots, or stop to sit and stare at the sky / rocks / bushes / mud, so I end up passing everyone multiple times. Not sure if that's a terribly ineffective or very effective way to hike!

It was now early afternoon and we had to get to Bryce Canyon, a 4.5 hour drive. Jane and I took off down the highway and my parents followed (though they were 30 minutes or so behind by accident due to a miscommunication). We took the interstate instead of the scenic road, but driving anywhere in southern Utah is scenic so that didn't really matter.

We rolled into Bryce late in the evening and stopped at the lodge to grab some food. I had a Bison Burgundy Stew, which would have been exceptionally delicious except for the fact that it appeared to be made entirely of meat. Normally that wouldn't be a problem at all, but... eating approximately 32 ounces of bison in sauce with the occasional potato thrown in did get a little tiring. Oh well!

We went to bed early in anticipation of waking up for one of the famous Bryce Canyon sunrises. Because we got in to the park so late we had no idea what we would see - and what better way to first lay your eyes on some incredible scenery than to see it by the light of sunrise? We are hoping for a great view with some nice clouds and not too many people crowded around. We'll see what we actually get! Kelly signing out.