Not-So Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch

My mom had knee surgery last year to repair a torn something-or-other. Since then she has been working hard to bring her knee back to its prior reliability and goodness. This has not always met with great success. This did not stop her today.

Mom and Dad came by the trailer around 8:15 and we all had breakfast, packed lots of water, some snacks and headed out to see Arches. The forecast for today was a high of 96 and lots of wind, with gusts up to 50 mph. After stopping at the visitor’s center to pick up Elise’s and Honey’s Junior Ranger packets, watch the movie — a very slick one done by the Discovery Channel, by the way — and reconnoiter, we headed up the very steep and curvy road to see some of the over 2,000 cataloged arches in the park.



Since it was going to be so hot today, we decided to blow past the overlooks and viewpoints and head straight for the day’s hike, Delicate Arch. The hike begins at Wolfe Ranch which was worked for 20 years. This is remarkable because it’s in the middle of the desert. We can’t imagine how the Wolfes managed. The first half mile of the trail stays in the sand, winding through sage bushes and juniper. We took a detour to a small group of petroglyphs depicting big horn sheep. After this first section the trail leads onto the slickrock: wind and water worn sandstone.



Delicate Arch can be seen from a great distance if you know where to look, but the trail leading to it carefully keeps it hidden until the very last moment. Then you walk along a protruding edge of a tall fin of rock. As you come around the end of the fin, the arch stands huge before you just on the other side of a smooth bowl of sandstone. From this viewpoint it frames the distant La Sal Mountains. It is a happy site. The arch is huge and widens at the bottom, inviting other names such as Lady’s Bloomers and Cowboy Chaps. It’s not so much delicate as dramatic, standing as it does in an otherworldly landscape. We enjoyed it for as long as we could, but the wind picked up something fierce and we didn’t bring anything to tether Elise to the ground.

Since it was such a hot hike and there had been very little shade, we decided that would do it for our first day and we would retire to the campground pool for the afternoon. So we did. We may have mentioned in an earlier blog how dangerous Angels Landing in Zion NP can be when there are boy scouts nearby. Well, same goes for the pool. Troop 127 worked hard to drown each other while we huddled fearfully in the shallows or stayed in the safety of our lounge chairs. Another close call.

Surviving peril can give you an appetite. We took ours to Moab Diner. It is a proper diner, not unlike the one we enjoyed with my brother Shawn in Vacaville, CA. The key component: breakfast served anytime. Moab Diner claims to have the best green chile in all of Utah. We got a bowl with tortillas for all to try. It was good, inspiring Bobby to have the green chile omelette, which is a cheese and bacon omelette smothered in green chile. He left nothing on his plate. Even as we ate we vowed to return here for a second go later in the week. They also have Dreyer’s (same as Edy’s) ice cream and serve it up in generous portions.

We didn’t quite get enough of Arches, so we returned to the park after nightfall to take a look at the night sky. It was pretty impressive despite a bright half-moon. We saw the Big Dipper and Scorpio. Dad told us that Scorpio is never in the sky at the same time as Orion. You may think there is some logical scientific reason for this, but actually it’s because they are mortal enemies. Orion (ancient Greek hero) was a boastful hunter who said he could kill every animal on Earth. This angered the goddess Earth who sent the giant scorpion to sting him. It gave him a lethal sting, but he killed it before dying himself. So basically they don’t get along.

It was neat to see the desert at night. We were surprised at how much light the half-moon provides. No doubt, it’s helpful for all the creatures that make their living at night. Fortunately, mountain lions pass through the area now and then, but don’t live here. We were plenty tired when we got back and went to bed, hoping for another great day tomorrow!


The Wolfe’s root cellar, only slightly smaller than their cabin