Last week I went on my travel study to Moab, UT.
For those that know nothing about Moab it is a tiny town surrounded by 2 national parks: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. We mainly went to Arches of the two but we had many adventures.
The trip began last Wednesday with a 6 hour drive to Moab where we stayed in this lovely little motel. Surprisingly not as scary as I thought it would be but the tv's in the rooms were definitely a lot older than me.
Our first trip started about 30 minutes after we arrived where we headed right into the park to hike to Delicate Arch. It is quite a hike and quite a view.
This view is actually pointing away from the arch to show that there is a huge drop off on the other side. FYI not a huge fan of heights and no railing...but it was beautiful! (More pictures of much better quality coming later).
One of the nine other students on the trip, Adrianne. We became fast friends and hiking buddies.
The next morning we awoke at the lovely hour of 4am (having gone to bed around 11:30pm).
By time people started arriving in the park we had been there for at least 4 hours...no biggie.
This was at Pine Tree Arch where we watched the sun rise.
That afternoon we went to Sand dune arch which I only have pictures of on my actual camera but it was BEAUTIFUL!
Then in the evening we went to the Window Arches, Turret Arch and a few more.
I stayed late to do some night photography and got some pretty cool shots. Sadly they are on film and I do not have any copies with me to scan in but I will later, promise.
This time I didn't get to bed until midnight when the full(ish) moon was high in the sky.
The next morning we got to get up at 3:50am....the moon was still up and fyi 4 hours of sleep really just feels like a longish nap. This time we went to Dead Horse Canyon which I have no pictures of on my phone because I was mostly asleep. It was a beautiful but surprisingly cold sunrise.
Later that day we did get a nap which was as long as our sleep the night before. Then headed off to Hanksville where we were going to camp.
It was too windy to set up camp so we went to Goblin Valley that evening where is was even more windy so we didn't stay long past sunset. We also managed to get sand and dirt in EVERYTHING.
We got back after dark and set up camp and passed out.
Luckily Saturday we got to sleep in to save up our rest for the hardest, craziest, most beautiful hike of all.
Horseshoe Canyon.
I recommend using the bathroom before you go because there is at least an hour drive on the bumpiest road ever and you'll likely have to pee when you get there just from all the jostling.
It is 7 miles round trip and 5 of those miles are in the sand where you descend almost 800 feet into the canyon.
FYI hiking in the sand is much more difficult.
The first mile or so is just climbing down into the Canyon which isn't too bad.
Then you get to the floor and hike another 2 1/2 miles in. Along the way there are 4 or 5 panels of barrier canyon styled rock art which if I remember right is thousands of years old.
The final panel (well most of it) seen below is BEAUTIFUL! Much more amazing in person but this can give you a little feel.
Those figures are often a few feet tall.
It was breath taking and well worth the hike!
The hardest part was getting out though.
Warning the trail to get up and out of the Canyon is kind of hard to see. Half of our group missed it at first and we may or may not have lost one of the teachers for about 3-4 hours...it was pretty scary...
Also I recommend going in the late afternoon because it isn't as hot and there is more shade.
This is me after the hike feeling like a beast hiking that 7 mile trail!
We didn't get home until 1:30am.
Sunday we woke up, broke camp and headed to see a little more rock art and the Little Grand Canyon.
It was beautiful but at this point I was just ready to get home and see Garett.
5 days is far too long and I missed him like crazy.
Here is panorama of the canyon. You should be able to click on it and see a bigger version.
It was pretty but I'm not a fan of heights so I didn't get too crazy.
We finally got home around 8pm where my husband welcomed me home with marinated steak and potatoes and it was delicious! (Isn't he the best?) Of course I had to go back to school the next day and play catch up but it has all worked out. Now I am FINALLY getting to relax and slowly catching up on my sleep.
(Side note, a lot of places in the middle of nowhere have pretty good cell reception and I find that odd).
Anyway that is all I have for now. I'll post later though it might not be until the end of the semester (4 weeks) but I will post eventually.
It was an adventuresome trip. To quote myself when asked why I chose this trip and what I liked about it.
"It seemed more interactive than going to a bunch of museums and looking at pictures and then it ended up being much more interactive than I thought".
It was great but next time I'd like to go with my husband and family.
Hope all is well with y'all and I'll try to post more in the coming weeks.
-Megan
