I left my heart (and my nose) in Arches Nat'l Park

This weekend, Mom, Lanna, Garrett and I went on a weekend trip to Arches National Park. Garrett had never been there before, and we decided it was a shame to live in the same state as this beautiful world famous geological marvel and not enjoy it. I think Garrett was a little surprised by all the people from different countries. We heard French, German, Russian and some other languages. But with over 2,000 arches, there really is nowhere in the world quite like Arches.
However, for all my praise of Arches, I think I was a bit too enthusiastic while I was there because I ended up getting pretty beat up. I was so worried about my nose getting sunburned that it seems a little ironic that I ended up falling and scraping a decent amount of skin off my nose. What is even more ironic is that at the time, I was wearing my "Bleed Red" t-shirt from the U blood drive. I really was bleeding red.


I love this picture of Garrett and Lanna standing underneath Delicate Arch. Somehow the license plate doesn't seem to do it justice. It is so big, and it is both a humbling and terrifying experience to stare up at it.


We also made a point of seeing Landscape Arch because we don't know how much longer it will be there. Even though this picture doesn't really show it, this arch is longer than a football field. They don't let anyone stand below this arch because a little more than 15 yrs. ago, a 72 ft. long piece fell from the arch. Now the top part of the arch is only 6 ft. wide, and there is no knowing how long it will be before the top falls.


So now we're home, Garrett is back at work, and I am home taking Ibprofen and trying not to bend my knee or ankle, put pressure on my three blisters, touch the scrapes on my hand or scratch my nose. But we had a great time, and we can't wait to make it to the next national park (Yellowstone is next on our list).