After visiting the Grand View Point Overlook, my friend said I could only visit one more spot before we made the journey to Arches because she was tired of looking at rocks and wanted to see pretty formations of rocks. So, I said, "Let's do Mesa Arch."

I raced her to the arch (and won!) and realized that this was the famous arch that I've seen in so many pictures on the net and on Instagram. Whoa! Too bad we didn't arrive around sunrise, which is when the sun peeks through the arch. Mesa Arch is still a grand view at any time of the day!



Mesa Arch Trail (out-and-back; take the circular route)
Start: parking lot
Duration: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
Length: 2 miles (round-trip)
Exposure: full sun

Happy travels!
Cat

Next stop after Capitol Reef: Canyonlands!

We finally merged with all the traffic on highway 70, which was somewhat of an unusual sight because we had seen so few cars since leaving Las Vegas! (There were a fair amount at Zion.)

My friend was very antsy and eager to get to Arches (surprisingly, not too far away from here!) How can somebody not be amazed by this grand view! Nature is so amazing and it was definitely worth the 'detour' up here.

Look closely at the rim of the canyon to spot some unpaved roads in the first and second photograph. Yes, that shows the drastic size comparison of cars to the depth of the canyon. I highly recommend making a visit, especially if you're visiting Arches as well.


Grand View Point Overlook
Start: parking lot (We did not do the hike as we were short on time. The pictures are from a couple steps outside the car)
Duration: 1 - 2 hours
Difficulty: easy
Length: 2 miles (round-trip)
Exposure: full sun

To continue the (short) journey at Canyonlands, see part two

Happy travels!
Cat