{"id":1236,"date":"2017-04-18T03:37:46","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T03:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/?p=1236"},"modified":"2017-04-27T19:31:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T19:31:03","slug":"beware-and-be-aware-10-things-to-know-when-visiting-arches-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/18\/beware-and-be-aware-10-things-to-know-when-visiting-arches-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware and Be Aware \u2013 10 things to know when visiting Arches National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Arches National Park is known for the largest concentration of arches in the world. Arches has more to offer with great camping, photo opportunities and hiking. So beware and be aware of these 10 items when planning your trip.<\/h1>\n

1. Cryptobiotic Soil<\/h2>\n

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At every trailhead in Arches you will see an interpretive sign explaining what Cryptobiotic Soil is and it\u2019s importance to the fragile ecology of the desert.\u00a0 Basically, these small crusted mounds are living organisms composed of Cyanobacteria.\u00a0 This crust aids in water retention, helps prevent wind erosion, provides nutrients to surrounding plants and creates a foothold for other plants to attach and germinate. I\u2019ve read reports that it can take 50 to 250 years for cryptobiotic soil to regenerate once trampled on.\u00a0 Just one more reason to stay on designated trails!<\/p>\n

2. Snakes<\/h2>\n

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There are eight species of Rattlesnake in Arches National Park and over my more than 20 visits to the park over the years, I\u2019ve yet to encounter one.\u00a0 The snake in the photo is a Gopher Snake I encounter in 2016.\u00a0 The markings are somewhat similar to that of a Rattlesnake but there are some tell-\u201ctail\u201d signs.\u00a0 As implied, the tail of a Rattlesnake has hollow segments that make a warning \u201crattling\u201d sound if you get too close.\u00a0 The Rattlesnake also has a triangular shaped head.\u00a0 The Gopher snake does not have these two traits.\u00a0 Also, the Gopher snake is not venomous.\u00a0 However, they can bite if you try to handle them.\u00a0 Bad idea for many reasons.\u00a0 When encountering any snake, give a wide birth around the snake or back away from it.\u00a0 Do not try and handle the snake or try and move it.\u00a0 Also, killing a snake in a National Park is illegal (so I\u2019m told).<\/p>\n

3. Yucca Plant<\/h2>\n

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The Yucca plant is common along all trails in Arches National Park. It has long shoots with very hard tips. The plant is also referred to as Spanish Bayonet or Spanish Dagger for a reason. The hard tips can easily penetrate long pants and puncture your skin. It is extremely painful and often the tip can break off once embedded.\u00a0 Most likely an encounter with this plant would occur if you venture off trail. But even along the trail, be careful, especially when taking photos as you may not pay attention to what is immediately in front of you just below knee height.<\/p>\n

4. Climbing on Arches<\/h2>\n

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It is unfortunate that this has to be pointed out.\u00a0 Common sense should tell someone this is not the best idea.\u00a0 Beyond the safety aspect, these folks ruin the photo opportunity for many other visitors to this arch (Double O at the end of the Devils Garden Trail).\u00a0 The Park Service has a regulation stating that climbing on any named or unnamed arch greater than three feet wide, is prohibited. Respect the arch and respect the rights of other visitors to enjoy\u00a0the arch in it\u2019s natural state (no one on it!).<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Line up for Photos!<\/h2>\n

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Every time I visit Arches, I am drawn to Delicate Arch.\u00a0 Not only for the arch itself but the exposed slickrock trail is enjoyable to hike and lately, I\u2019ve been jogging up.\u00a0 A great workout for 1.5 miles up.\u00a0 My last year was a bit disturbing.\u00a0 It was the first I\u2019ve seen such a long line of people waiting to take photos under the arch.\u00a0 Of course, over the years I have seen people waiting their turn but this time (May 2016) the line was as if someone was handing out money.\u00a0 But, it gets worse.\u00a0 More than several people on the line were down right rude and many, just cutting in front of the line with complete disregard to others patiently waiting their turn.\u00a0 So add patience to the list of things to bring on this hike!<\/p>\n

6. Sunsets<\/h2>\n

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I also take the time find a good spot to watch the sunset.\u00a0 While watching the sunset over the horizon is beautiful, often, the best view is opposite the sunset.\u00a0 The sun illuminates the Navajo and Estrada sandstone providing a glow to the cliffs that should not be missed.\u00a0 Keep in mind that the show is not over once the sun sets past the horizon.\u00a0 If some clouds are present, they tend to go through shades of red, orange or pink about 20 minutes later.<\/p>\n

7. Sunrise<\/h2>\n

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The sunrise in Arches National Park can be just as impressive as the sunsets.\u00a0 This is easy to see if you are camping in Devils Garden.\u00a0 Most of the campsites are unobstructed to a distant horizon.\u00a0 Of course, a little cloud cover helps.\u00a0 What the photo doesn\u2019t translate is the sound of coyotes that are very active in the early morning hours around Devils Garden.<\/p>\n

8. The Arches<\/h2>\n

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Needless to say, this is why you visit the park.\u00a0 Arches National Park has over 2000 arches defined by any span greater than three feet.\u00a0 Some of the most famous arches are Landscape, Delicate, Turret, The Windows, Double Arch and Skyline.<\/p>\n

9. Camping<\/h2>\n

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Devils Garden is the only campground in the park.\u00a0 There is 51 spots available, two of these are designated as group sites.\u00a0 Up to 10 people and 2 cars per site are permitted.\u00a0 Sites cost $25 per night and book up fast.\u00a0 The campground is the farthest point you can drive to from the entrance and 23 miles from Moab.\u00a0 Make sure you have all your supplies with you.\u00a0 This is one of my favorite campgrounds in the National Park system.\u00a0 I always stay in the same tent spot. The campground will be closed from March 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017 for a major construction project.<\/p>\n

10. Explore Dinosaur tracks and fossils<\/h2>\n

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There are three dinosaur track areas just along and outside the western border of the park.\u00a0 From north to south they are, Copper Ridge tracks, Klondike Bluff tracks and Willow Springs tracks.\u00a0 There are some others in the area but these are to closest to the park and worthy of some exploration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Arches National Park is known for the largest concentration of arches in the world. Arches has more to offer with great camping, photo opportunities and hiking. So beware and be aware of these 10 items when planning your trip. 1. Cryptobiotic Soil At every trailhead in Arches you will see an interpretive sign explaining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2511,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions\/2511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelotusadventures.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}