Hiking the Trails of Arches National Park in Utah

On April 14, 2023April 14, 2023 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Utah5 Comments

There is no doubt that Arches National Park in eastern Utah near the town of Moab is one of the most beautiful parks in the United States. With so many fascinating geological features, there are literally incredible sights around every corner as you drive through the park. There is one road that will take you through the heart of the park with a couple of side roads that lead to specific attractions and you can certainly see a lot that the park has to offer by simply driving through the park and pulling over at certain viewing areas. To really enjoy everything that the park has to offer, though, we’d highly recommend that you get out and hike a few of the trails.

Landscape Arch – One of Our Favorite Arches

Devils Garden Trail – This trail is one of the most popular trails within the park because of the diversity of the trail as well as the number of arches that can be seen on the trail. The first part of the trail is considered easy and also provides views of three arches, including the Landscape Arch, which was one of our favorites. After reaching the Landscape Arch, the trail becomes more difficult as you head toward Double O Arch and then the second half of the loop is extremely difficult where you need to rock scramble and there are steep slopes. For obvious reasons, many people only go as far as Landscape Arch, which was what we did as well.

Hikers Heading Up an Exposed Rock Face in Utah

Delicate Arch Trail – There are viewing areas that you can go to by car to see the famous Delicate Arch (which is seen on the state’s license plate), but to see it up close, you should take the popular Delicate Arch Trail. The trail is listed as moderate and, with the exposure to the sun, steep rock faces, and some narrow ledges towards the end, it is definitely not an easy trail. The views are definitely worth the effort as you gain a little over 600 feet in elevation with panoramic views in all directions. The highlight, of course, is Delicate Arch where people take turns having their pictures taken in front of the arch.

Sand Dune and Broken Arch Trail – This is a relatively short trail that can be found near the Devils Garden Campground. The trail first goes by the Sand Dune Arch, which gets its name from the sand that surrounds it. It then turns into a loop that will take you by Broken Arch and Tapestry Arch. If you want to keep it really short, you can visit the Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch and then return without doing the full loop.

Regardless of which trails you choose, you will truly appreciate the size and beauty of the many arches if you take the time to hike amongst them. Seeing how nature has carved the rocks through wind and rain erosion is certainly a wonderful experience whether you hike the trails or not. Arches National Park is certainly one of our favorite national parks and if you are a photographer, the variety of images that you can capture are truly endless.

Taking the Scenic Crescent Lift to See the Changing Leaves in Park City, Utah

On October 1, 2021October 1, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Utah3 Comments

During the summer and autumn months in Park City, there are a few lifts that will take you into the mountains where you can have amazing views. There are less lifts available in the autumn season, but with the leaves changing, it is absolutely stunning. The scenic crescent lift is located at the adventure park with the mountain coaster, alpine slide, and other family activities. The lift is used for transporting mountain bikers and their bikes as well as hikers or those just wanting to enjoy the views to mid-mountain.

Unfortunately for us, to get tickets for the scenic crescent lift you have to wait in the same line as the people getting tickets for all of the other activities at the mountain adventure park, which took us about thirty minutes. Fortunately, once we had our tickets, there was no line to get on the lift and we were quickly on our way up the side of the mountain to enjoy the amazing views. The lines for the other activities were much longer as it was a Saturday and families were taking advantage of everything that the adventure park had to offer.

Looking Off to the Left from the Chair Lift

Unless you decide to hike all of the way down, you take the lift back down to the base of the mountain, which provides a completely different view than those on the way up the mountain. The leaves were still in the process of changing, so there was quite a variety of colors as we we rode the lift and when we walked around after getting off at mid-mountain. Although it was worth the wait in order to get our tickets, we probably would have preferred to go on a weekday had we known about the crowds.

The View of the Steep Descent to the Base

Getting Above It All in the Amazon Rainforest

On September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn South America1 Comment

We have been fortunate enough to take several trips into the Amazon Rainforest and to say that it is amazing is certainly an understatement. One of the most obvious things about visiting a rainforest is that you are likely to get rained on. Even when it isn’t raining, you are going to experience heat and humidity, so having proper clothing, what we refer to as our “jungle clothes”, is an absolute necessity. The other interesting thing is that the humidity will often cause the clouds to wrap themselves around the treetops and settle into the jungle itself while above them it is more clear.

Because of the pockets of humidity, clouds, and changes in altitude, the views can be both ominous and beautiful. We obviously take lots of photographs during our trips and some of the pictures where we are actually above the clouds and not in an airplane are eerie, yet calming. Whether driving through the mountains or climbing to the top of the canopy, seeing the clouds floating below you is quite fascinating.

Standing with Our Guide, Clouds More Visible than Us

Clouds Drifting Downward Towards the Rainforest

Above the Scarlet Macaws as the Clouds Lift

At the time, of course, the clouds seemed like a bit of nuisance as we’re trying to scan the trees for birds, monkeys, sloths, or other wildlife. Looking back, however, the photographs seem interesting as the clouds contrast the dark jungle foliage. We have shared just a few of our pictures that we took from above the clouds during our time in the Amazon Rainforest.