The Delicate Arch trailhead is about halfway through the Arches National Park. It was already in the 80s by the time we got there, so it was a good thing we had filled up our hydration backpacks.
Up first on the trail was a mention of the Wolfe Ranch, where a pioneer and Civil War veteran from Ohio decided to move to in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The ranch is right at the trailhead, so we had barely started the three-mile and two-hour hike to Delicate Arch. It was one heck of a trip to the Delicate Arch. For those of you who have never been there, you walk uphill for a mile and a half with very little shade opportunities and fairly steep inclines at times. The views along the way are breathtaking, but so is the intense heat and the sun beating down on you.
Eventually, we came around a corner on the trail and the Delicate Arch comes out of nowhere. It is truly hidden in the park, so we weren't going to see it without hiking.
Some folks seemed to be risktakers as they hiked on a pretty steep rock to get to the arch. None of us were that brave (or stupid). After hanging out near the arch for about 20 minutes, we decided to head back to our car and continue our road trip. Fortunately for us, a mile and a half hike uphill to your destination means a mile and a half hike downhill to get to your return point.
The last thing we did was walk along a rock embankment near the Wolfe Ranch that showed some petroglyphs (Ute rock art).
It was a great way to end our stay in the Arches National Park. And considering that it was only about 11 am by the time we were ready to leave, we knew we could do a quick visit to Bryce Canyon before arriving in the Grand Canyon.
As we were getting ready to leave, I struck up a conversation with a man from Alaska in the Delicate Arch trailhead parking lot. We both talked about how we thought it was crazy that the other had driven so far to Utah. He had mentioned that he had done the trip from Alaska once before and asked where we were off to next. When I said we were considering a quick detour to Bryce Canyon before the Grand Canyon, he gave us the thumbs up. When he asked North Rim or South Rim for the Grand Canyon, and I said North Rim, he gave us the thumbs up again.
So off we went to Bryce Canyon. The trip to Bryce continued to amaze us, and we couldn't pass up a stop to enjoy a view from the top of a mountain in some insane wind.
We made it to Bryce Canyon National Park in the early afternoon. Cara and Lauren did some research on the way to the park, and we figured we could do a small hike to soak in the beauty of Bryce Canyon before leaving for the Grand Canyon. We chose the Navajo Trail.
It was roughly a mile hike down to the valley of the canyon before making the trek back up. How nature creates something like this is truly fascinating. Fortunately for us, the views and landscape were amazing to see and take in. Unfortunately for you, these pictures don't do Bryce Canyon justice.
Along the hike, Cara even made a new friend!
And, no, we did not feed to pet the chipmunk, but it was not afraid of humans. We did see another hiker letting a chipmunk drink from it's water bottle. It was pretty hilarious to see that.
When we got back to our car to leave for the Grand Canyon, we saw that we would get in around 7:30 in the evening to our campsite. Our campsite, located in the in the Demotte Campground, was only 7-8 miles from the entrance to the North Rim. The trip to the Grand Canyon was just as interesting as the others. Northern Arizona was filled with a lot of desert land and straight highways.
As we got closer to our campground in the Kaibab National Forest, we saw evidence of the 2000 wildfire (fortunately there was some new growth making its way through the burned trees). There was also an active wildfire in the forest, but it was to the east of us. With the wind blowing east, we were OK.
After pulling into our site, we decided that we'd have enough time to set up camp (the boys would do that) and the eat dinner (the girls would work on that) before going to the Grand Canyon to see the sunset. The goal was to leave by 8:30.
It ended up being 8:40, but there was still daylight. We'd give it a shot!
However, we found out that even though the entrance was only 7-8 miles away, the actual view areas were another 15 miles into the park. As we approached the park, we talked it out, and decided that we wouldn't make it in time.
We turned around...
So close to three national parks in one day!
We got back to camp, cleaned ourselves up, and played some farmer's bridge before going to bed. We did a little research of the Grand Canyon National Park and came to a conclusion on what trail we'd hike in the morning.
But that is a story for another post.
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