Delicate Arch Trail

Call it "Cowboy's Chaps", "Old Maid's Bloomers", or "Salt Wash Arch", the Delicate Arch is Arches National Park's largest freestanding arch.
Call it "Cowboy's Chaps", "Old Maid's Bloomers", or "Salt Wash Arch", the Delicate Arch is Arches National Park's largest freestanding arch.
We wing things. That's what we do. I've made a map of places we would like to go to and then base our routes on our final destination and what mapped points fall between our current location and destination. Exactly how our trip plays out each time is something we play by ear. In this case, we had ten days to travel to Oregon. Half way in, we discovered that we would be swinging by Arches National Park. Arches ranks as one of the most exciting National Parks that neither of us has ever visited. So, of course, we went.
The Devil's garden boasts a notably high concentration of arches, spires, and fins (narrow rock walls) in Arches National Park. Between the main loop and its many offshoots to iconic spots such as the landscape arch and the Double O Arch, hiking the Devil's Garden Trail can take anywhere from 1.9 to 7.9 miles with easy and difficult routes. If you are only going to make one spot in the Devil's Garden, it should be the Landscape Arch.
The vastness of the United States frontier has made road trips a classic piece of Americana. It is the ultimate way to the explore the states. But that said, there are so many routes to take. In celebration of a new decade and the 50th birthday of our Avion, we are sharing 20 road trips—from half day excursions to multi-day epic quests—that you should add to your bucket list.
Driving the Shafer Trail between Canyonlands National Park and Moab is absolutely hair raising. The descent from the park's visitors center to the canyon floor is a heart stopping collection of narrow switchbacks. Better yet, the narrow trail is flanked by a sheer, 1,000-foot cliff on one side and a rock wall on the other. And if that is not enough disincentive, there is little between you and a precipitous drop other than a few tenacious sage brush.
After a relatively dismal experience in Yellowstone, our outlooks needed cheering and it was lunch time. So, rather than even attempting to get to Mammoth Hot Springs, we headed west to get out of Yellowstone National Park and into the tourist trap that is West Yellowstone. Yet, along with the jumbo sized McDonalds, massive visitor's center, and ads for wolf and grizzly zoos, West Yellowstone has Las Palmitas.
The Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park is interesting for many reasons. The Porcelain Basin is one of the most colorful expanses of land in Yellowstone. The variety of thermophiles that thrive in the hot, acidic environments of the basic come in a rich pallet of colors. The steamboat geyser is the worlds tallest active geyser. Unfortunately, it is notoriously unpredictable and infrequent. It does still plop up the occasional sprits of water for hopeful viewers, but that is about it. But for those interested in the macabre, there is also a body here that was never collected.
Today, we leave the Grand Teton National Park, headed north. Guess what’s directly north of the Grand Tetons? That’s right! Yellowstone National Park. Given we had to skip certain stops on our previous day in Yellowstone, we thought this would…
On occasion, I have alluded to the fact that I do not drive. When I refer to my fearless driver as "my driver" it is because that is an exclusive position. I do not drive. I haven't driven for almost a decade. Instead, I lived in metropolitan areas where I could walk to work and social life could be served via mass transit.
While much of the Grand Teton National Park is paved, there is a rare off-roading opportunity on the River Road. Join buffalo and elk along the Snake River. This 12-mile gravel and boulder route winds through tall grasses and sage brush with clear views to spot wildlife and the Grand Teton Mountain Range constantly visible in the background.