Lakaw is a journey is a step is a move. I love to travel around the world and this is my travel and travel gadget site. Welcome and Enjoy!

Visiting Delicate Arch - Moab, Utah

0 comments | Thursday, April 10, 2008

Last weekend, I had one of the best travel experiences ever. I was with my colleague/housemate/Big Brother/Ukrainian friend Val for a road trip from Brookings, South Dakota to Moab, Utah. Did I mention in my last post that it took us more than 15 hours of driving?

Utah, USA is home to the magnificent freestanding natural arches located in the Arches National Park near Moab [see map].

When Val and I decided to go to Utah, I never had hesitations and said yes, knowing I'd be seeing natural wonders in all its glory. I thought it was already time that I had to end the longing and the childhood dream of seeing the red rock formations only Moab can offer. I never regretted the decision.

The most widely-recognized landmark in Arches National Park is the Delicate Arch. Because of its very dramatic shape, it is the most famous of the countless arches in the park.

I've seen the Balanced Stone Arch, the Two-eyes (the North and South Window), the Double Arch, and all other naturally-formed arches, but nothing beats the Delicate Arch. Redish, made of sand-stone, curved delicately atop a mountain of rocks, the delicate arch makes people drop their jaws in awe and leaves everyone asking how it manages to stay in great curved shape for years, maybe centuries.

Have I mentioned the hiking to the Delicate Arch? Wohoho! Indeed you need to sacrifice a bit of your time and effort to see this amazing structure. It is located 1.5 mile (2.4 km) from the parking area at Wolfe Ranch. Converted to hours, that would take about an hour each way or a round trip of two hours. The trail wasn't easy as I thought it would be.

Val and I had to climb slopes most of the time. Good thing was, we were not alone during the hiking. Other tourists, young and old, were there -- just as eager as we were to see the Arch. No worries about the rugged and brushy terrain. No worries about the unmarked trail near the top [was Val lost too? LOL]. No worries about legs shakin' and sweat fallin'. I tell you, worries would vanish at the blink of an eye when you reach the peak!

The Arch cannot be seen from afar. It is hidden from sight. That makes it so very exciting for everyone.

At the top, I couldn't help but mention the words "wow", "awesome", "oh my God" at the sight of the Arch. Val mentioned the same words, however, with the word "freakin'" preceding each of them. Finally, the 52-feet tall Arch was right in front of me!

Photos. Photos. Photos of the Delicate Arch. We need to take as many photos as we could. Imagine us exchanging our cameras all the time for picture taking. We had all the views taken, all the poses made and all the possible sides of the arch shot.

The journey back to the parking lot was easier. In fact, I was singing going down the slopes. Once in a while, Val and I had this “shouting” moment, when we just have to shout in cadence without any reason at all but for fun. People looked at us. Then we giggled in silence.

As we were about to reach our car, I noticed an unpaved road that leads to a view of the Arch. But what the heck! I liked the hiking better than getting there via a short cut. If you happen to visit the Delicate Arch, get out of your car, ready your walking shoes, and follow the trail. It is worth it.