Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Our Utah Adventure, Day Five, Part III: Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, and Landscape 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,  HEREHEREHEREHEREHEREHEREHEREHEREHERE,HERE,  HERE, HERE, and HERE!

Welcome to the sixteenth and FINAL post of my Utah travel series!  First, a big thank you for those who stuck it out for all sixteen weeks!  Second, a big apology to those who thought I dragged it out 
too long.  I did this series hike by hike instead of just a generalized overview of the three Utah parks: Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches.  The main reason I did this is because this is what I prefer when I start researching an area I want to travel to.  I want to know what trails other hikers took because I don't want to waste my time on a trail that is not for me.  The average travel post is very generalized and just gives a brief overview of the destination and usually gives recommendations on where to eat and stay.  I could care less about where I stay or eat.  We save money on our trips by driving instead of flying, and by staying at more inexpensive hotels and eating only one meal a day out.  We definitely do NOT eat that one meal at an expensive restaurant.  When we travel, we are running about exploring like crazy and spend very little time in our hotel room.  Spending a lot of money on accommodations is not important to us.  But, spending our time wisely is important to us, as we never seem to have enough time to see everything we want to see.  So, when I come home and write these posts, I have that in mind.

Now, onto the last day of our vacation.  On day five of our vacation we were up before sunrise and saw Balanced Rock, hiked the Windows Trail, checked out the Skyline Arch and the Sand Dune Arch.  But we had one hike left before we could jump in the car and make the long drive home, and that was to see "Landscape Arch".  Landscape Arch is probably the second most famous arch in Arches National Park, with the "Delicate Arch" being the most well known.  We were unable to see this arch on our first visit to the park in 2016, and because we knew it wouldn't last much longer (it's expected to break soon), we really wanted to see it while it was still intact.


The Landscape Arch trail is a moderately easy trail on a hard-packed surface with some elevation gain.  There are short side trips to Tunnel and Pine Tree Arch, but you have to hike down to get to those arches and it's quite the steep climb back up.


I thought the terrain on this trail was different from the rest of the park.  It seemed more rugged and natural.


From Landscape Arch you can also take another trail to see Double O Arch, but this trail is very primitive and is a difficult route that requires lots of rock scrambling with steep, exposed slopes.  My husband and son started this trail to explore it a bit, while I stayed behind and rested at Landscape Arch.  The picture below shows my son in front, leading the pack on the start of the trail from Landscape Arch.


As for Landscape Arch, this is an arch not to be missed!  It's the longest arch in the park and the fifth longest arch in the world.  You can only take the trail up to a fence to view the arch as it is so delicate they don't want visitors hiking underneath it in case it collapses.



The arch is 306 feet long but spans only 11 feet thick at its center.


We enjoyed hiking this unique trail to Landscape Arch, but by the time we arrived in this area, it was already mid-day so it was hot and busy with other hikers.





A side trail spurs off the main trail and leads you to two more arches:  Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch.  Pine Tree arch is a gorgeous arch because it provides a window to the extraordinary landscape of Arches National Park.


The picture below shows the other side of Pine Tree Arch, named after the Pine Tree growing in front of it I assume.


And the last arch is Tunnel Arches.  This one is viewed only from a distance.  It has a viewing platform below.  It is a quite tall, thick fin of sandstone with a tunnel in the middle...hence the name.


And that concludes my Utah Travel post!  One of my regular readers, Ellie, asked me to do a post on which park and hike was my favorite.  I decided not to do yet another Utah post, but to let you know here which ones were my favorite and why.  Zion National Park was my absolute favorite Utah park and the best National Park I've been to yet.  The beauty of that park is unparalleled to any place I've ever been to before.  And my favorite hike was also in that park:  The Narrows!  Hiking the Narrows was one of the greatest thrills of my life.  It is such a unique trail, because you are walking in a river the entire time, but again, the beauty of that trail is like nothing I've ever seen before. 

That being said, I'd like to briefly summarize all three parks for you.  Zion, although the most beautiful, is the least family friendly.  There are a few easy trails like the Pa'rus Trail,  Riverside Walk, and Lower Emerald Pools that anyone can hike and are wheelchair/stroller accessible, but most are for the adventurous who are not afraid of heights as the trails are steep with lots of drop offs.  The MOST family friendly park is Arches.  Although there are a few strenuous trails here (like Delicate Arch) most of the arches you can see right from the road, or a short .5 round trip hike from the parking lot.  Many of the trails are paved or hard-packed sand so they are stroller friendly.  Bryce Canyon falls somewhere in the middle of the two parks.  Anyone can drive right up to the parking lot of the canyon rim and see the canyon and take the paved Rim Walk.  But all the rest of the trails require hiking DOWN into the canyon, and you know if you go down you have to climb back up to the rim.  Some people may find any trail, other than the Rim Walk, difficult because of the steep climb back up.  However, there are many nice short walks down into the canyon, my favorite being "Wall Street" that less adventurous hikers can take.  For those who like a more challenging hike, there are plenty of options there too; our favorite challenging hike in Bryce was "Peekaboo Loop".

For next week's Travel Post I'm going to share a little nature center in Illinois that I visited with the grand kids
last fall;  then, I will reveal where my husband and I plan to vacation in 2020!

Until then, 

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

46 comments:

  1. Your photos are so pretty! Really looks like some of the landscape you come across in Horizon Zero Dawn!

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    1. Thank you! I’m not familiar with Horizon Zero Dawn. I’ll have to look that up.

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  2. WOW That nature is stunning. I would like to visit it. I hope so that you have great time.

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  3. Considering how close we are to Utah, it's amazing we've never explored this area. I am hoping we will soon!!
    XOXO
    Jodie

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    1. You know, that is shocking. We always had to drive right through Colorado to get to Utah as always spent some time vacationing there as well. Arizona isn’t far either, so you can make it there.

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  4. I would definitely have wanted to see that arch too if I knew it wasn't going to last much longer. Another beautiful travel post!

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  5. I've certainly enjoyed your photos sharing this part of the world! The scenery is stunning and seems to go on forever :)

    I'm so glad to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

    My Corner of the World

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  6. Estupenda información ! Espero tu opinión sobre mi reciente entrada ! Nos leemos ! 😘😘😘

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  7. WOW! Love the rugged landscape. Truly jaw dropping!

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  8. Another beautiful trail, you've really took a dream of a vacation! I think it was a great idea to do each trail in a different post with more details instead of just summerize it. And I too could care less what we eat on vacation and want to hear more about the area of vacation instead. Can't wait to hear where your next vacation is going to take you!
    Thanks for telling which one your favorite park was, I really hope to visit that area one day, although I don't think we will be visiting the Narrows trail as I don't think I'm made for hiking through water :(

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    1. It really was. I’m so glad you enjoyed this trail and I can’t wait to reveal our 2020 vacations!

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  9. it's a shame that you can't go under the arch but good you got to see it before it did fall! :) I got to see the 12 apostles on the great ocean road a few years ago - I'm glad I did as over time they change and some fall into the ocean!


    Hope that your week is going well and you have a nice weekend ahead of you :)

    Away From Blue

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    1. Thanks Mica! That’s great you got to see them before they fell.

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  10. Wow, these pictures don't even look real! I love the scenery. What a special place to visit.

    Shauna

    www.lipglossandlace.net

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  11. Enjoyed seeing your pics! I pinned this! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 9, open February 1 to 26.

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  12. WOW! great pictures and scenery is breathtaking <3 i love it!

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  13. What a beautiful arch and trail. You are really getting in some nice nature walks and I'm sure it is great exercise, too!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. Thanks Carrie! Yes, and somehow after all that walking I came home from vacay and still gained 7lbs!

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  14. I love seeing those huge Utah arches. So beautiful. Photo #8 reminds me of a submarine!

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    1. Oh yes, it certainly does! Thanks for visiting.

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  15. Amazing arches and beautiful scenery! It's a shame one of the arches is expected to collapse. Visiting from Best of the Month.

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    1. Yes it is. I know, but they are constantly evolving and new ones are constantly being formed too.

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  16. That Landscape Arch looks so fragile. We are in the Arizona desert now but won't be going to any picturesque spots this time around. We are enjoying Arizona State softball in Tempe. - Margy

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    1. Oh, lucky you to be out of the snow and cold. We're going to get six inches of snow tomorrow.

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  17. Oh I love the tunnel arches. I'm glad you got to see the Landscape Arch before it collapses. Wouldn't it be neat to be able to see it the way the first explorers did?

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    1. Absolutely! My husband and I talk about that all the time.

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  18. Such an amazing place and your photos are stunning. Enjoy in your trip.

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  19. I am definitely pinning this post to my National Parks Pinterest board to refer back to all your posts about the Utah's National parks because we have not yet visited any of them! Up to now my favorite NP's are Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier, as well as Rocky Mountain NP, which we've visited the most of all since we moved to Colorado. I can't wait to see how Zion, et al, compare. Every park has its own unique beauty and we are looking forward to seeing as many in Utah as we can.

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    1. Thank you! We have been to Rocky Mountain National Park and loved it. Someday we hope to make it to Glacier. And Yellowstone and the Tetons are next on our list!

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  20. Beautiful photos of my favorite state! I got to visit the Bryce Canyon area a couple years ago with my parents. I was not able to hike the trails, but we were able to see lots without hiking. Found you at the UNLIMITED MONTHLY LINK PARTY 9

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    1. It's my favorite state too! Bryce Canyon is a great place to see views and not hike.

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