Moab July 2016

I had recently made some really cool new friends and gotten closer with my roommates and so we decided to plan a trip down to Moab and Arches national park. We left on a Thursday night and got there around 8:00 while it was still light to set up the camp along the Colorado river. It was a really nice campsite and big enough to fit two tents and however many hammocks we wanted. There were 9 of us I believe and we hadn't really set any plans in stone yet for the next two days. When everyone arrived we looked at the stars for a while and discussed whether it would be worth it to wake up at 4 am and make it to Mesa Arch for the sunrise. We decided it was.

We woke up and there wasn't any light in the sky yet, so the stars were still very visible. We drove from our campsite down to Canyonlands National park and made our way to the short Mesa Arch trail. We made it about 20 minutes before sunrise and it was a beautiful sight to see. After that we went to some look out points and then hiked up to whale rock and aztec butte. We were pretty tired and decided that we had seen a lot of the main attractions there in the park so we headed back to the campsite to take a nap, eat lunch and get ready for river rafting.

Luckily, Emma's friend Kyle was a river raft guide down in Moab and hooked us up with a sweet deal. For a great price we got the rafts and headed over to the river. We hit a few level one rapids, a level two, and a level three. It was about a 3 hour trip and it was super fun. Right before we hit the level three rapids, Cassidy dropped her paddle and jumped in after it. She grabbed it and we pulled her back into the boat right before we hit the big holes in the rapids and her and Shelby ended up falling out anyway. It as such a fun ride and we could not stop laughing afterwards. Afterwards, Shelby's car wouldn't start because the key had gotten wet so that took a while to figure out. Luckily the next morning we got it working again by a miracle.

The next day we went to Arches National Park and did the famous Delicate Arch hike in 100 degree weather. Definitely worth going to when in Arches. Afterwards we drove over to double arch, which really is more of a quarter mile walk. It is still a really cool place, and one of the easier, cooler places to visit in Arches. Due to the heat and how tired we were, we decided to call the day a little short and we headed out of the park to the sand hill right outside. The objective is to climb to the top and then run down it as fast as you can and then start tumbling. It is super fun, but you get absolutely covered in sand. We figured after sweating and getting all sandy the only thing we could do next is go swimming. We hit up a small little beach on the Colorado river and cooled off. It was extremely refreshing and afterwards we got some good food at a diner downtown. Overall it was a super fun trip and we all had a blast.

Here's a link to the video we made: https://vimeo.com/174421061