Pecos Hank's video: ARCHES NATIONAL PARK - Weekend Tips in 4K

See Arches National Park in only two days. Hotel tips, scenic route suggestions plus popular and unpopular must-see sights. We spent our labor day weekend exploring the incredibly strange and beautiful landscapes of Arches National Park. The Park is secluded in Eastern Utah and gets it’s name from its over 2000 natural occurring sandstone Arches. To get there, we flew into Denver and rented a car. I wouldn't be discouraged about the 5 hour commute from Denver to Arches National Park. The Rocky mountain drive along the Colorado River is a breathtaking adventure all in its own. We splurged a little and rented a convertible Ford Mustang for $80 a day. Entering Arches is like landing on another planet with strange geologic formations straight out of looney tunes or the Flintstones. Many formations got their names by resembling something like Queen Nefertiti also called 'Unjoined Rock’ or the Three Gossips. Also are the Towel of Babel, Landscape Arch, Double Arch and Delicate Arch to name a few. For whatever reasons, many people start leaving around sunset, but we recommend selecting a favorite location to not only watch the magic hour colors change, but to also kick back and stare at the multitude of stars. After dark we had Double Arch all to ourselves. Cheap Hotels in neighboring Moab are not cheap. You can spend $200 a night for a Motel 6 assuming you made a reservation. Or, you can do like we did and drive 1.5 hours back to Grand Junction Colorado. We got a Motel 6 there for 60 bucks a night and the drive ROCKS! The next morning on the way back to Arches, we took a couple extra hours to explore the spectacular scenery along highway 128 from Grand Junction to Moab. We highly recommend you do this too, if you have the time to spare. We pulled over at several scenic sites including Fisher Rock and another place that looked just like Monument Valley. Inside Arches National Park, parking is provided close to many of the sights and surprisingly we didn’t have to hike far before we were all alone. We were there during an extra hot heat spell in early September on Labor Day weekend. Perhaps that’s why there were so few people. Hiking during mid day was a little taxing and we found ourselves clinging to what shade we could find and burning through water like... like.. like people who are really thirsty. But after peak heating, the atmosphere cooled quickly. The bright moonlight enabled us to feel comfortable hiking well after dark. ***BONUS ROUND*** CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK Canyonlands National Park is located right across from Arches. To see as much as possible with the little time we had, we drove the Grand View Point Road, stopping at several jaw dropping overlooks. Some main attractions were Shafer Canyon Overlook, Mesa Arch, Upheaval Dome and Green River Overlook. Most of the overlooks we stopped at had few people, if any… Then again, it was a hundred degrees. The highlight for us at Canyonlands National Park was the 1 mile hike to Grand View Point Overlook where we took in the panoramic evening scenery. Though you can see for miles and miles in all directions, there wasn't another soul in sight. Three days is hardly enough to explore these extraordinary landscapes, but it is enough time to have an unforgettable, long weekend vacation. If you have never been to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, We strongly suggest you put them at the top of your list of places to visit. MUSIC: Guitar by Hank Schyma Ukulele by Spenser Schyma