Days 3 & 4: Arches National Park

After a refreshing night of sleep at Mesa Verde, I woke up early to pack up my campsite and drive to Arches National Park.  It was only a few hours to Moab, and the scenery along the way was absolutely gorgeous!  When I arrived at the park, I was disappointed to see a sign saying that the campground was FULL!  However, I decided it would be worth a drive up there just to check it out...luckily I found a spot because someone had cancelled due to the high temps!

After setting up my camp site, I went off to explore.  Unfortunately it is impossible to capture just how amazing the park is...but here are my best attempts!

On a lot of the trails, they use rock cairns to mark the way.

Balanced Rock 

After a long day of exploring, I attended the nightly program at the campground, where a park ranger told us the story of a family who had moved from Pennsylvania to Arches.  It was a lot of fun!  Then it was bedtime.  The next morning, I got up early and packed up and went on a hike through Devil's Garden.  That was my favorite place - the Double O Arch hike was tough, but absolutely gorgeous!  

I definitely want to go back to Arches and spend more time there, but it was time to get on the road.  I pulled out my map and settled on driving a few hours up to Rifle, CO.  It was a small town, but very nice.  I checked into a hotel (was in need of a shower and a place to do laundry) and spoke with the desk clerk about places to hike.  She recommended I check out Rifle Falls State Park, so I got my stuff into my room, through on a hat and some sunscreen and headed back out.  The place was super crowded, but I still loved it.  

That night I had dinner at Sammy's, a local brewery and I spoke with the bartender, an avid hiker, and he recommended that I check out Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs.  More about that amazing place in the next post!