Arches National Park

This park is one of my favorite places. It is a beautiful place with amazing rock formations and wonderful hiking trails. Wednesday morning two friends, Amy and Alex, and I headed to Utah. We arrived Wednesday afternoon, got lectured about wanting to find a free camping spot in the back country. It was a moral issue we were told by the ranger :) and headed to my favorite arch: the delicate arch. This arch is a huge arch just in the middle of this big rock. The view behind it is a gorgeous mountain range. The day we were there, hardy anyone else was there. It was so peaceful. I could have sat there staring at it all day. Check out these pictures of this awesome place!





We found a great little campsite in the middle of this canyon that was so beautiful. It was a great campsite: so great that the mosquitoes loved it too! My little x-terra looks right at home. I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of camping is being gross and dirty and it is perfectly acceptable. I love not having to do my hair, look in a mirror, wearing the same clothes for three days straight! I love the smell of dirt, campfire smoke and sweat. It is a smell of a good day.






The next day, we hiked the fiery furnace, which is a special place that you have to get a permit to hike it. It is basically a bunch of huge rocks that you just get to climb around on. There is no trail, you just get to explore and climb on all kinds of cool rocks! We spent a long time wandering around and climbing. We only saw other people one time when we were there. The rest of the time was quiet and peaceful.





After that we decided to hike to the Double O Arch. We got to see some other cool Arches along the path. Again, we got to climb on these huge rocks and it was quiet and peaceful. We took the primitive trail back. Wow! That was the only word that we could say because it was so beautiful. It was a pretty difficult trail: 8 miles of intense climbing and hiking, but again quiet, and peaceful.






If you haven't noticed quiet and peaceful seem to be a re-occurring theme of our time in Arches. I so badly needed to get away. To sit in the quiet and stillness. To get away from my to do lists, to get away from my constant cell phone ringing, to get away from my inbox full of emails. I have been so busy that past two weeks that it has consumed my thoughts and my time. It was wonderful to just be: to enjoy God's creation, to hear his voice, to feel his presence. My friend Amy and I were talking about the city and how its activity and noise drown out the voice of God. She said she doesn't think that is the way we are to live life. I have to agree.

I could feel myself as we were coming down the mountain back into Denver begin to make mental lists, worrying about how I was going to get everything done. The rest of the day was spent running from place to place. I find myself longing for our quiet little campsite, our little tent as a home, and our simplistic way of living for those two days. There is something in me that longs for the quiet, longs for the adventure, longs for the beauty of the outdoors.