Arches National Park

July 2011 - Doug, Nicolas and I decide to head out on a day trip across the state line into Utah. I have been to Moab and Canyonlands before, but still hadn't made it to see the arches. I heard that some of them were a trek to get to, but that some of them were close enough to see without having to hike too far. I was very excited to go, and try out my camera with some new landscape. I brought my lammie along for a pic with an arch. As it turned out, it was a bright sunny day in Utah. At near 100 degrees we are hiking around in desert terrain, not the brightest thing to do on a summer day, but it was later in the evening, if you haven't ever experienced a sunset in the Arches, It's a must do in your lifetime. It's simply breathtaking, (pun intended). While there are several Arches near the road, the best ones are a bit of a hike away. I decided when we neared the end of the park where the ones are that you've seen in national geographic are, that I would simply try to hike up to Delicate Arch. We didn't take the main trail, I knew better than to try that, so we went to the "view area" trail. There was a short 100 feet tail down to view it from near the parking lot, and a high road, was quite a bit farther, I forget how far, needless to say, I didn't make it that far, but I did try. There were these rock stairs that were Breathtaking for me, They did me in, but I insisted upon climbing them, just to see if the view was better at the top.
I decided once up the stairs that this was something of a milestone. I hadn't really made it too far, I couldn't see the arch from where we stood, but in 100 degree heat, these stairs were momentous, so I left LAMmie at the top and snapped a pic between tourists. We then started our decent to the lower viewing trail, it was a bit more "handicap" accessible than the high road, but I would like to think I tried.

Here's a shot of LAMmie from the lower trail, still beautiful from below, and made for a rewarding finish to my hike. I appreciate my husband & son on adventures like this, if they feel they missed out on something by hanging out with me, they sure wouldn't say. Besides a sunset is much better when shared.