Arches National Park & Canyonlands National Park

The fact that it has taken me this long to talk about our Utah trip is insane. Our honeymoon trip down the coast sparked the road trip aspect of #meadadventures, but this specific trip is what made them what they are today. It was on this trip that our main sights were National Parks, we camped out every night, and showered less (more like not at all). I won't spoil it any further, here we go...

We started with the usual land in a new city, rent a car, and find food. This time the city was Salt Lake City, UT, the car was a Jeep, and the food was dinner at the Red Iguana. I'll start by saying that the sign for the Red Iguana claims that they have "killer Mexican food", and that is no false advertisement. After dinner we found a hotel for the night and before settling down, went to the hotel's observation deck to take in the views. It was starting to get dark, but we were able to get a glimpse of what was to come.

After breakfast the next morning we went back up to the deck to check out the view with daylight, and it got us even more excited to hit the road. We made our way towards Moab with Arches National Park as our first destination. Tommy did some research on camping in this particular park, and everything he read advised reserving a campsite in advance. Arches has only one campground in the entire park, Devils Garden Campground, and is known to fill up pretty quickly with only 51 campsites. This was the first trip that involved camping in the National Parks, and not wanting to mess up on the first night, we made our very first campsite reservation online. That turned out to be a good thing because the campground was full by the time we reached it that afternoon. I will forward the advice we were given with a very insightful #meadadventures tip: If you are heading to a busy National Park and the option to reserve a campsite is available, do it! After taking many trips revolving around National Parks, I would advise planning out your itinerary and reserving your campsites regardless the amount of time in advance. If something were to come up or your plans change, it is easy to cancel and you will get the majority of your money back. We explored around our campsite, set up our tent, and started our exploring of the park with a hike. The Devils Garden Trail was very close to our campsite, and it was on that trail that we were able to see the Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and the famous Landscape Arch.

This was our first exposure to the desert and the intense heat so after seeing some major points along the trail we decided to turn back. Once in the car we made stops at the overlooks for Balanced Rock and Park Avenue before following the road out of the park to Moab for dinner. That night we ate at Peace Tree, grabbed fire wood from a grocery store, and then went to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail to watch the sunset. It wasn't a long trail to reach the viewpoint, and when we reached the end there weren't nearly as many people there with plenty of room to spread out. (We could see across the canyon and it looked like a lot of people took the hike directly to the Delicate Arch.) #meadadventures tip: If we were to do it all over again, we would definitely make the actual hike straight to the Delicate Arch for sunset. We were still very new to this so the viewpoint felt like the better choice at the time. However, the viewpoint trail is still a really great option if you don't feel comfortable making the hike back to your car at dusk or are wanting a quick option with less people.

That night we built a fire and were exposed to something else that the desert has to offer (other than the heat), a sky full of stars with zero light pollution. In the middle of the night we both woke up and decided to get out of the tent to look up, and when we did it was so clear that you could even see the milky way. I'm pretty sure that is the exact moment when we both fell in love with the desert.

The next morning we had plans to meet up with Tommy's cousin, Serah, who actually lives in Moab. The three of us sat at Love Muffin Cafe and had the best time catching up, getting tips from her about our next park, and discussing how awesome Moab is. It was hard to leave, but she had to get back to work and we had to get a campsite. Canyonlands National Park is actually just up the road from Arches and it didn't take us long to get there. Once inside the park we decided we would test our luck by seeing if one of the more popular (but small) campgrounds had any sites still available. Making our first drive through the Willow Flat Campground did not look promising...all of the sites were occupied except for the allotted handicap site. We parked in that site to look at a map and figure out what our next campground could be when we read a sign stating that, "if all sites in the campground were full that this site could be reserved without handicap tags". We both looked at each other with shock and quickly did what was necessary to reserve the spot.

From the campground we made the short drive to the Green River Overlook, and decided that without a doubt this would be our sunset spot. From there we drove to visit the Grand View Point Overlook, and after looking around noticed a sign for the White Rim Trail. The hike itself is a very easy 1.6 mile trail (round-trip), and is worth every step. Yes the view point is beautiful, but the hike will take you out to the end of a plateau that surrounds you on three sides with endless views of the canyons. We were the only ones at the end of the trail so we decided to sit on the rocks to take in the views and enjoying the peaceful silence.

When we finished the hike we felt like two raisins. We were discovering very quickly that the desert heat is no joke, and the warnings they give about staying hydrated are to be taken very seriously. Having skipped the visitor center that morning, it now seemed like the perfect time to dodge the sun and fill up our water bottles. After cooling off we crossed the road from the visitor center and walked the Schafer Canyon Overlook Trail. By this point we were ready for dinner, and so we headed back into Moab to walk around. The heat was so intense that our tour was cut very short. We went to Zax where we shared a pizza before heading back into the park. The Green River Overlook was pretty close to our campsite and the temperature was finally becoming pleasant, so we ditched the car and walked. It was there that we sat on a giant rock and enjoyed the most incredible sunset to end the day.

The morning alarm went off very early, and it was still dark out when we got dressed and headed to the Mesa Arch Trail. By the time we arrived to the trail head the sky was starting to get brighter, and when we reached the arch we found a handful of other early risers. When the sun finally peered over the canyon wall, the lack of sleep and chilly temps were all worth it. I can't put into words just how incredible the view was, but maybe a picture can...

During the entire hike back to the car I was in shock that I had just started my day like that. We grabbed coffee at a campground just outside of the park, and hit the road towards our next stop, Capitol Reef National Park. #meadadventures tip: Even though Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are within a few miles of each other, they are entirely different experiences. Take at least a day for each because they truly deserve their own time. If you miss out on a spot in the campgrounds within the parks, there are tons of other private campgrounds in the area. If you aren't into camping, Moab offers other accommodations and is right down the road. I can promise that you will not regret spending time in this area!