Arches National Park

We took a weekend trip to Arches National Park.  The first arch we hiked to was Double Arch.  It ended up being my favorite arch.

Double Arch

Double Arch

While hiking, Camden kept complaining about his cheeks.  We think they were a little burned from swimming every day last week, and the sunscreen we had just put on was making them hurt.  After we wiped off that sunscreen and put on a different sunscreen, he was a little better.  We also had him wear a hat the rest of the trip.

 

The hike to Turret Arch and the Windows was in the same area.  It was also one of my favorite little hikes.

Turret Arch

North and South Window

 

Both kids really liked the hike to Sand Dune Arch.  They liked playing, rolling, and falling into the sand.  We had a hard time getting them to want to leave this area until the wind started really picking up.  It was almost like a sandstorm trying to get out of that little canyon.  We couldn't open our eyes to see where we were going, and the kids started trying to spit sand out of their mouths.  It made it difficult to hike out of there.

Sand Dune Arch

On the way to Sand Dune Arch when there was zero wind

Playing in the sand in front of Sand Dune Arch.  The wind is just starting to blow.

They both liked the hike for Balanced Rock. It was short, had more stone steps, and also had little raised rock walls lining part of the path that Camden liked balancing on.

Camden balancing on the small wall on the path around Balanced Rock

Ciera climbing down the stairs on the Balanced Rock path

Camden would frequently just sit down on the ground for "rests."  He also liked finding the shaded areas with sandstone walls that he could lean up against.  I don't blame him.  It was hot, and the shaded sandstone was cool.

Ciera loved being able to hike the trails by herself.  She didn't even like to hold our hands.  Whenever she would pose for pictures, she would squat and pull this smiley face.

We did have to put her in the hiking carrier for the longer hikes.  She almost always falls asleep whenever we put her in there.  I wish I would have captured a picture of her zonked out.  It was quite hilarious at one point when she had her head hanging out resting on her arm.  Quite a few people got a laugh out of it.  Here she is on the way to Landscape Arch.

Landscape Arch

There were a few other arches we saw, but I wanted at least one picture of Delicate Arch since it is the one featured on many Utah license plates. 

Delicate Arch