Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park

On December 13, 2014 Stephen and I stopped off at Arches National Park in Utah while on our Papa.Bravo.Fourteen road trip.

Ever since I bought the FJ in 2012, Moab, UT has been on my list of places to visit and wheel. Before the road trip started, I was very eager to make the stop in Moab. I knew there is so much to see and do there, but I really wanted to visit Arches National Park and make it to the Top of the World on this trip. If time allowed, I would attempt to see other places too.

Since we made the drive from Texas to Utah straight through, neither one of use really had any good sleep. The most sleep I had was a few hours at a very sketchy rest stop in New Mexico.

We decided to get a hotel room once we made it to Moab. After passing through part of Colorado we finally reached Utah. shortly after that, we arrived in Moab! It was very late at night when we got there. By the time we found a hotel, we were tired, hungry, low on fuel and I was a bit delusional.

Once morning came, we ate breakfast, loaded up the the FJ and set out to explore Moab. Originally my plan was to visit Top of the World and then hit Arches National Park. Before doing that, we found a Starbucks so I could get me some wake up juice and then drove to the old hospital in town where Steven was born.

The weather started to change for the worst. The clouds began to drop and it started raining. We asked some locals if they knew how the heavy rain would affect some of the trail there. There advice was to avoid Top of the World, especially since we did not have another vehicle with us. They also said the view would be hindered by the low clouds.

Sadly we skipped Top of the World and some other trails due to the weather. We decided to spend the day at Arches National Park before getting back on the road. We spent most of the day there. It rained the whole time we and at one point it even started snowing, which changed the scenery.

Because of the time of year and the weather, the park had very few people there, which made it more enjoyable for us. We were able to get better pictures and did not have to mess with crowds or traffic within the park.

Even though our time was short in Moab and the weather did not corporate with use, we still had a great time. It was neat to see Moab like this. Most of the pictures I've see were all clear, sunny days. Even though most of the good scenic views and the arches themselves were blocked by the low clouds, we still got to experience the beauty in Moab.

My next trip to Moab will be in the summer and I will allow myself more time there...and actually wheel.