Moab is an incredible place, a fun and high energy town sitting right at the base of Arches National Park. A congregation of outdoor enthusiasts from hikers, to bikers, climbers, off-roaders and oh yeah more Westys (the van like ours) than you knew were still up and running.
Moab proved to be a great place to catch up on little things like laundry, grocery shopping and installing a new sink faucet in our van. The original sink handle/pump broke off mid pump a few weeks back and had been out of order ever since. That translated to us doing dishes and washing our hands with the spigot of a three gallon water jug hanging over the edge of the side door. A process a little less discreet in a Walmart parking lot or on the side of a road! Needless to say it was very nice to have a sink back!
I was surprised by the contrast from Arches to Canyonlands. Arches was exponentially busier, had very little hiking in comparison and was much, much smaller. The landscape was stunning! It was quickly apparent why Arches is such a popular destination.
Delicate arch, famous for its fiery glow at sunset, was a site to behold. Time got by us and we arrived to the Delicate Arch trailhead quite late. The trail was 1.2 miles with a 500ft. elevation gain that the brochure said would take an hour and fifteen minutes hike one way. The trouble we only had 20 minutes...and believe it or not, we made it! Sweaty and panting we turned the corner at the top of the trail to witness one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. We stayed until it got dark and the stars came out. Which seemed like a great decision until the hike down...
That hike did prompt us to upgrade our headlamps, so we don't have to repeat that fumble down the mountain with a broken headlamp and phone light!