Arches National Park

Garden of Eden in front of the La Sal Mountains

Last weekend we went to Moab, Utah - the launching point for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  While we didn't make it to the latter (next time, more days!), we did get to explore parts of Arches with the kids.  The views of the La Sal Mountains beyond are beautiful, and the park... Wow.

Parade of Elephants

The place is stunning, unreal.  The scale of the various formations blows the mind.  Also incredible: the amount of ground you can easily cover, even with little kids.  I'd love to do a long hike next time, but there are tons of spots to get out, hike a mile (or less, or more) and see amazing stuff.  The kids absolutely loved it, and had a blast scrambling on the rocks.

Turret Arch in the sun

North Window

In just a couple of hours, we were able to see quite a bit.  First, a short hike along the bottom of the Park Avenue formations.  The drive to our next little hike - around Balanced Rock - had sweeping views of the Petrified Dunes.  We went from Balanced Rock to the Windows Section, where we climbed around North Window, South Window and Turret Arch. No question, we will be back to see the rest.

Balanced Rock

Park Avenue