It doesn’t get much more iconic American West than Delicate Arch – does it? But let me start from the beginning.

We had a big Saturday planned – a road trip out to Moab, Utah, which isn’t far from Dan and Danielle’s home in western Colorado. We split up between two cars – Dan driving Steve and the kids in Danielle’s car, and Danielle and I in Dan’s truck with the dogs, Ollie and Marlin. Dan planned a few stops to show us some of the sights on the way… and we had a few (or six) unplanned stops to tend to a carsick dog. By the time we got to Moab, everyone was relieved to get out of the cars and onto the sand. First stop was sliding down a giant sand dune; the kids and dogs needed to roll around in the dirt after being cooped up in the car. A few big slides and we were on our way to the day’s main stop.

Even the views from the car were epic! We stopped by the visitors’ center to quickly grab Junior Ranger booklets for the kids, and then we were on our way again. Dan had his heart set on showing us an American treasure.

Danielle kept apologizing for the clouds. Clearly we brought the marine layer with us from the east coast.

The hike to Delicate Arch was pretty much the biggest adventure we planned for the week. At about three miles round trip, with 480 feet of climbing and some exposure, it’s within our kids’ range but getting close to their limit. (Their record as of now is four miles, but that has to be broken up with a picnic at the two mile point or they turn into hangry little monsters.) Delicate Arch was doable, but absolutely in the “adventure” category for them.

We went at their pace and took plenty of breaks to check out the views and admire how far we’d come.

I couldn’t get enough of the incredible desert landscape! There’s something about the muted colors and dramatic, windswept rock. It gets you right there, ya know?

Eventually, we hit the exposure part, and it really wasn’t that bad. We instituted a hand-holding policy for the kids – you must be touching one of your adults at all times until we release you. Nugget claimed Uncle Dan.

Around a corner and – there it is! WOW.

We decided today was not our day to clamber over the lip and scramble down to the arch itself. Happy to stay right here, drinking in this view. Maybe we’ll get up close and personal next time. We hung out scanning the horizon, snapping photos, and getting our Christmas card picture (photo credit to Dan).

Eventually, reluctantly, we tore ourselves away from the arch – it was not easy – and headed back down the trail. Dan and Danielle wanted to show us Danielle’s favorite arch and we couldn’t leave the dogs loitering for too long. As we descended the trail, the sun came out and lit the desert, bringing out the bright reds and oranges of the sand and rock.

So, so stunning!

Next week, still in Arches – we see elephants! Curious now? Stay tuned!