After Capitol Reef NP, the next stop on the “Mighty 3 of 5” tour for RC, TC, and I would be Arches National Park north of Moab. On the way however, we made a small detour to Goblin Valley State Park for a quick look-around and a short hike.

We arrived at Arches a bit before noon and only had to wait 20-30 minutes to get in, which was rather surprising. We headed to a picnic area near Balanced Rock – a very popular attraction – to find a place to eat lunch and found several unoccupied picnic tables – another surprise. Each table came with a raven that stood by ready to snatch anything that fell on the ground or was unattended for a few seconds. They are very well-adapted for tourists.

After lunch we headed deeper into the park, stopping at all the viewpoints and seeing the sights that we could see without much of a walk. I think a couple days would be needed to see it all but we only had that one afternoon so the coverage was a bit superficial. Still, I felt satisfied with what I saw.

We spent the evening in Moab with dinner and a bit of walking around. Moab is kinda the center of a recreational universe and would be an interesting place to spend some time.