Utah Day 6 – Delicate Arch & Canyonland

A trip to Arches National Park isn’t complete without a hike to see the Delicate Arch. Pictures of Delicate Arch can be seen everywhere in Moab. It is an icon of Moab as well as Utah. But as I stood in front of the Delicate Arch after a somewhat strenuous 1.5 mile hike, I suddenly realized none of the pictures successfully depicted the magic and elegance of THE ARCH. I don’t know how nature did this wonder, a perfect arch standing majestically on the edge of the cliff. I also wonder how long this master piece will be standing there for the future generations to admire.

The trail began with Wolfe Ranch Cabin, which was built by John Wesley Wolfe in 1906. It was built as a family dwelling and now owned by the US government.

Along the trail, some areas were quite challenging with quick ascending on smooth rocks. In the near distance, there were some small arches.

We finally reach the Delicate. The view was extraordinary. There were some people, but not very crowded.

People were very patient and courteous. Everyone stood in line outside of the photography area waiting for their turn. Our family photos were indeed family photos with the arch only.

On the way back to the parking lot, we took the small detour to see the petroglyph.

Canyonland National Park

Canyonland National Park is the largest national park in Utah, however, the Maze and the Needles areas were not as accessible. We only visited the Island in the Sky. It was about 40 minute drive from Arches National Park. Alex decided he needed to run on that day, so we dropped him off 5 miles before the visitor center where we watched documentary and visited the gift shop.

We hiked to Mesa Arch. After seeing the Delicate Arch earlier today, none other arch would be able to compete.

We drove the paved 20 mile scenic road and enjoyed the spectacular views with massive canyons, buttes, domes and Colorado River and Green River below.

Pizza dinner at Antica Forma was wonderful. We each ordered a pizza and shared. Mine was a specialty pizza with pistachio white sauce. It was probably the best pizza I ever had.

After dinner I went back to the Arches hoping to see the sunset. Unfortunately it was very cloudy in the park. Balanced Rock, which was one of the best viewpoint for sunset in the park, was a bit underwhelming. Here is the view I was hoping to get, Photoshop can do wonders lol.