Arches National Park with a little "amuse-bouche" of Goblin State Park

 Next on our journey across Utah was Arches National Park, but, following a strong recommendation from a fellow traveler, we took a side trip to Goblin State Park along the way.  After all, even though it wasn't close to Halloween, how could we resist a state park named Goblin? It was an interesting stop. It's fascinating how erosion creates different shapes in the different areas; the delicate spires, windows and castles of Bryce, the pillars and fortress formations of Capitol Reef and Zion and here at Goblin the formations were shorter and rounder, looking more like giant mushrooms (I thought)… or Goblins (I guess)?

Then we were off to Arches, which I remembered as one of my favorite parks. I kept wondering if I would still feel that way or, now that I had spent more time in the Southwest, would I be jaded and think of it as just another National Park, interesting certainly, but really nothing extraordinary by southwest standards?

The truth turned out to be a bit of both. 

I remembered it as the best campground, with large, private sites tucked into the giant rocks that were just begging to be scrambled up. This was still true, but we have stayed at several campgrounds throughout the southwest with sites that were just as unique, if not even more spectacular. 

The arches though, are incredible. There are more than 2,000 arches in this area, more than anywhere else in the world. 

Lots of fun hiking including a day in an amazing “wilderness” area, called the “Fiery Furnace”, where you can only hike by permit (i.e. another lottery).  Oh, and to enhance the “wilderness experience” did I mention there weren't any trails to follow (yikes) and then of course, there's the imagery the name, “Fiery Furnace”,  might conjure in one's mind … It was a blast (🙄) No, seriously!

There were also beautiful sunsets and sunrises. (Yes, family, I did manage to get up to see some sunrises).

On the other hand, even though we were there in mid-september, it was still crowded. Way more people than I thought there should be!

So how did Arches 2023 compare to the Arches of my memory?  Do I still give the campsites the “best ever” status?

The campsite may have moved down just a smidgeon, but it is still in the top five.

And as for the park overall … I still love it. I didn't love the fact that its popularity has made it one of the more crowded parks, but I still love it.

On to pics …

Goblin State Park

Definitely felt like we were in a giant mushroom forest.


Arches National Park

We arrived at sunset.

Views from our campsite.

eastward views, catching the last rays  and reflecting colors off the clouds.

westward

juniper, rocks and crescent moon

Formations silhouetted against the sun 


Double Arch

Unique geometrical designs. (Although, I really thought it looked like a giant two headed bird with great beaks, just sayin')

bride and groom posing amongst this gorgeous natural splendor

Turret Arch

The lighter spot, to the left, is actually a window… (and that teeny tiny little speck on the bottom right in the arch is a person)

Another pic of Turret Arch with the window visible. Note also the person on the bottom left of the arch (for scale).

Looking over the landscape as the sun is preparing to set.

Turret Arch against the setting sun

sunset and clouds

sunset reflections and crescent moon

Wolfe Ranch

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch, a nice hike of 3 or so miles, is famous for its portrayal on the Utah license plates. 

It is hard to convey the size and scale of these sandstone formations. (That's me under the arch.)

Some pics of the sandstone formations from the hike. I was fascinated by the sense of movement the stone evoked.

Martin's favorite, Twisted Donut Arch!  Teehee (Personally I thought they should have named it Cruller Arch.)

Petroglyphs

Bighorn sheep, people riding horses and dogs


“Park Avenue” early evening views …   with a tiny speck of a crescent moon 

Queen Nefertiti 

The Three Gossips 



Fiery Furnace pics. It really was a spectacular day of exploring and hiking down in “the furnace”.  We hiked for about six hours and were completely exhausted, but we didn't even quite go four miles! Haha! Clearly more exploring than hiking…

The descent into the Fiery Furnace …

rabbitbrush, juniper and sky

There were lots of interesting animal tracks …

These are paw prints of some kind …

I think this is some sort of a beetle, maybe a stink bug. Notice how regular the spacing is between the “steps” or … maybe it's a little mouse or ???

Lizard

(note the tail dragging through the center of the tracks)

This trail was a dead end, but it did have this cool little natural bridge.


Skull Arch 

Besides being a gorgeous shot of the “fins” in this wilderness, this is also another  scale shot.  Look closely toward the bottom right, that's Martin just in front of those green bushes. There was no going over these fins for us, we just had to find a way around. (We felt somewhat safe because they knew we were in there and if we didn't come back out, hopefully someone would come to look for us …) I personally get lost in a malls, but I wasn't concerned because I was with Martin, my very own human GPS ❤️.  It was such an amazing experience to be down hiking in these sandstone formations.

Sometimes the way through really didn't look big enough …

but with some shimmying and sliding and occasional backpack passing … 

we made it through.

Kissing Turtles

Surprise Arch 

(We found it! Teehee!)

.

Another day we hiked the Devil's Garden Trail (these names, oi vey!)

I thought this hole carved in the sandstone would make a perfect reading nook. Martin said he thought I was too big for it … I guess I would fit better if I were about six inches shorter. Haha!

Landscape Arch 

a little window

The color of these leaves caught my eye

remains of flowers, pretty enough to be flowers in their own right

Navajo Arch

Navajo Arch had a great surprise if you went through it, a beautiful green juniper tree. It seemed like a secret tree, a sacred tree, a tree of life. A gift to those who went through the arch to see what was around the corner.

So many arches …I've forgotten the name of this one. I met a nice family from France here: Dad, Mom and two teen-twenty something kids. For some reason, when I'm far from home and hear people speaking French, I think they might be from Quebec. So I ask them where they are from, am surprised (everytime 🙄) when they say they are from France, proceed to explain that I thought they might have been from Quebec and am disappointed because they usually look at me like I am completely insane. 😅😂🤣     This “very nice family” had a conversation with me and at least “pretended” to understand what I was talking about when I babbled on about Quebec!

Double O Arch (the pic is only the top O. There's another O below it but they were too many people to get both in the pic)

Our campsite ❤️

Pine Tree Arch

One of our last days we hiked out to Pine Tree Arch and this one … whose name escapes me. Another beautiful day.


Not a lot of fauna here. We saw some deer, cool tracks and lizards.  This was a new lizard for us, a Leopard Lizard .


The Three Gossips and the Sheep at sunset

 Yes, Arches National Park is beautiful, stunning, jaw dropping.  I feel like I need more adjectives to convey the emotions and imagery these parks provide to me and inspire in me. ❤️


Next stop: Dead Horse Point State Park, UT


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