Our Utah Adventure: Day Five, Part II: Sand Dune and Skyline Arch

 This is a continuation of a travel series to Utah.  To start at the beginning, go  HERE.  The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE,HERE,  HERE, and HERE!

Day Five was our last day of vacation before we had to head home.  This has been a LONG travel series, as we did a lot in five days.  Next week will be the very last post.  I know some of you are probably cheering "Hip, Hip, Hooray" right now, as it has taken me so long to cover everything.  

On our last day of vacation, after we watched the sunrise at the Windows Arches, we got back in our car to see some of the arches we missed during our first visit to Arches National Park.

The first arch we came upon was Skyline Arch.  This arch you can see right from the road, you don't even need to get out of your car.  But my husband and son being the adventurers they are, wanted to get as close to this arch as possible so we parked the car in the small pull off.

It's a short 0.4 mile round trip trail to the base of the arch.  My hubby and son were disappointed that there was no way to get closer to the arch.  This is a HUGE arch, and there was no way to climb up for the boys.  The height of the arch is 33.5  feet and the span is 71 feet.

In the photo below you can see the boys standing at the base of the arch.  That gives you a lot of perspective at how tall this rock formation is.

An interesting thing about this arch is that it didn't always look like this.  Arches are constantly changing due to erosion.  In 1940 a huge boulder suddenly fell out of the arch essentially doubling the opening.

Another arch we stopped at was a fun one.  The irony is, when I read the description of the arch and trail to my husband, he didn't even want to stop!  He didn't think it would be worth it.  But it ended up being one of our favorite arches because it was so different!

This arch is called "Sand Dune" arch.  The reason it is called "Sand Dune" is because you literally walk in very deep sand to reach it.  The sand can be kind of taxing on the legs to walk on, but thankfully it is a very short 0.3 mile trail.

This arch is a hidden gem.  You would never know it was there if not for the trail guide.  The arch is hidden and surrounded among very tall rock formations.  The trail leading to the arch is so mysterious and fun.  You have to first walk through this narrow opening.

My son had fun crawling up all the rock formations as usual.

This arch is so unique.  You feel like you discovered a magical place when the trail widens out and the arch is revealed.  I loved the way the light shone inside.

You are not allowed to climb on any of the arches in Arches National Park, but you can climb other rocks and of course explore the area up around the arch.

This last picture shows a typical hiking day of the Johnson Family.  I'm usually sticking to the trail, while hubby and son are running off the beaten path and rock climbing.

Next week I will finish up the series with a few more arches, one of them being the famous " Landscape Arch".

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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