The Rahns head west - Day 9 ~ 5 a..m. hike to Delicate Arch and a visit to Canyonlands National Park

Our day started with a 4:15 a.m. wakeup call to be out the door by 5:00 a.m. for the 2 mile hike to Delicate Arch. We made it to the trailhead by 5:30 - our goal was to beat the heat and beat the people. We achieved both! Delicate Arch is the iconic arch for Arches National Park. It is the arch that is featured on all of the publicity for the park. It was a "moderate" hike across slickrock and lots of uphill inclines.  We made it to the arch after the final walk that was along a cliff of slickrock with about a 200 feet drop on the side and no rails or protection. I was a little anxious but it was totally worth it!

We took some pictures while taking a break along the hike.

Around the corner of the final cliff walk was this beauty and the sun was just starting to shine on it.

Carleigh, Katie and Don are at the base

just Carleigh

Carleigh and Katie on the side  - the sun has just about totally woken up

just Katie

We hung out up there for a while - we were among only about 15 other people. We definitely beat the crowds, and the 80ish degree heat we walked up in was quickly rising now that the sun was up.

After our hike was over, we headed back to the  hotel for breakfast and then to Canyolands National Park. We went to the Island in the Sky section.

It's another beautiful park, basically a giant canyon. People compare it to the Grand Canyon but on a much smaller scale. We just drove around ad got out to look. There weren't any hikes that we were interested in, so it was basically a driving adventure.

After Canyonlands we headed back to rest and get ready for dinner. We had another great dinner and booked our next adventure.

Tomorrow we will go on a 2 hour Hummer Safari to Hell's Revenge. It's a giant slickrock area for off road driving. We'll have a driver and will drive the back roads of Moab. It was explained to us as a "slow roller coaster ride" in a Hummer.

Stay tuned!!