I returned from my first trip of the summer on Wednesday! It was so hard to leave Moab again because I love it there so much, but this time it was filled with so much fun! J We arrived on Saturday, as a surprise to me because our original departure date was Sunday. The day was just filled with driving, but when we arrive at our room for the stay, it was yet another surprise! The place was truly beautiful!
That afternoon we walked along Park Avenue, which is my mother’s favorite hike. It was really enjoyable and quite fun to reminisce with my parents!
Sunday was the day that we were to tackle out biggest feat – Devil’s Garden Loop.
The original plan was to walk the entire hike including all the arches and the primitive loop, but things are easier said than done. It is such a long hike that we ended up just doing two other arches that we had yet to see in our previous trips. On our way there we passed by many people that didn’t speak English, and I was pretty sure that some of them were even speaking German! I had many laughs with my parents along the way, and some of them may have been at the expense of the people surrounding us! With all the energy it took to complete that hike, we didn’t do much for the remainder of the day, but instead took a guided tour throughout Arches National Park via car. It was really amazing to see all the beauty that surrounded us in a place where it isn’t expected.
I was quite stressed out for Monday, but it was actually by far the most enjoyable experience I have ever had. It has been a long-time tradition in the DuToit family to plan on going on the Firery Furnace trek, but never to actually do it. My father thought it best that we finally do it, so our voyage began. There were so many nice people in the guided hiking trip, and even some people from Frankfurt! I didn’t have the courage to talk to them, but I did touch one of them! Wow, that sounds incredibly creepy so let me explain. We were navigating through tiny crevises with steep steps, and I am not known for my gigantic height. My foot slipped and I had to be saved by this beauty! It was incredible! I also exercised my vast knowledge of evolution when the ranger was explaining how things were created within the Furnace. Who knew I was a genius?
Our trip concluded on Tuesday (quite saddening) so it was pretty leisurely. The highlight of the day was our dinner, when we did it camping style! We immersed ourselves in the beauty of the moonlight and ate our food among the wildlife <3
I cannot wait to go there again, even though I will have to wait longer until Germany passes by. Both are good, so I am very lucky J
