Our Last Days in Arches....

After our day of hiking Fiery Furnace, we decided to take it easy on Tuesday. We drove back to The Windows to hike the short trails around the arches located there.First stop--Turret Arch.

Then it was on to South Window Arch.

We followed the primitive trail behind North Window and around to Double Arch. At the foot of Double Arch was a group of students on a field trip. They had paints and paper for an art project.

After viewing Double Arch, we decided to drive into town for lunch.

 While in town, we did a little shopping before eating pizza at Zax.

That evening we drove to Skyline Arch just outside Devil's Garden to watch the sunset. As we waited for the sun to go below the horizon, we caught site of some never before seen petroglyphs!

Then the sun began to sink.

 It was a gorgeous sunset!

 The next day was our day to hike Delicate Arch.The trail climbs over 400 feet in elevation from the parking lot. The red rock you see behind Bob is part of the trail.

 This shot is looking back toward the parking lot.

 After you go over the rise, there is still more climbing!

 Delicate Arch is the arch on many of Utah's license plates.

 After resting and enjoying the view, it was time to head back down the trail.

 That afternoon, we enjoyed Happy Hour behind Sol.

 We only had 2 more days in the park. Our next hike was Tower Arch. It is located out a gravel road on the southwest side of the park.

 After you leave the parking lot, it is an uphill, rock scramble to the top of the ridge.

Then the hike pretty much levels out until you get close to the arch.

We hiked to Tower Arch in 2012, and we enjoyed it as much then as we did on this trip. It is one of the few hikes in Arches where there aren't a lot of people hiking with you.

 The rock formations are different everywhere you look. This was taken under the arch.

 The arch is so big, it is difficult to get it in one picture.

 This was taken with a flash, Bob looking out the arch.

 To get under the arch, you have to walk between 2 short fins, then climb some rocks.

 We enjoyed the hike and went back to Sol to plan our last adventure in Arches.

Our last day we decided to hike the primitive trail to see how far we were from the wash when we turned around on Sunday. No, we didn't take any pictures. However, we were surprised to find that the slippery ledge was the last obstacle on the primitive trail! If we had gone past that, we would have been in the wash leading to the parking lot! MAYBE next time we will be able to do the entire trail! As it was, we only missed about 75 feet of completing the loop!