We drove past Arches in the morning and we noticed the line to get into the park was still pretty long. So we decided to just go into town for breakfast and try the park again later in the day.
In town we found this place called Jailhouse Cafe which called itself “Moab’s breakfast place.” While we waited for a table, Dawn & I walked over to Moab Coffee Roasters which was about a 3 minute walk up the street. I got a cup of their cold brew which was good enough to drink without any sweetener. Breakfast was good too. I got a multigrain waffle with fruit & walnuts and a side of scrambled eggs. The restaurant got its name from the fact that the building used to be the town courthouse/jail. The room where they held the prisoners awaiting trial is still there!
After breakfast we stopped into a couple shops and the visitor center. I asked them about the hike to Delicate Arch and they advised to wait until about 6pm to do it. On the way home we drove through Arches just to get a lay of the land. We stopped to see Balanced Rock since it was just off the road. Then we went home for a quick nap.
At about 5:30 we headed back over to Arches all geared up to do the 3 mile round trip hike. It was still hot, but really windy, so that helped. The hike up was very steep and I had to stop a couple times to rest, but Jimbo ran up most of the way!
We stopped to see the Petroglyphs. These were done by the Ute people around 1600 AD. Next, we came across a small “window” in the rocks and climbed up to get a better look. To our surprise you could see Delicate Arch through it! It was so big and incredibly beautiful, especially in the afternoon sunlight. I know people say it was formed by millions of years of water & wind erosion, but the way those two base rocks are sitting on the earth look just like they were placed there on purpose to me! I can just picture God forming them like a child making a sandcastle. So amazing to behold God’s handiwork!