Having lived in Wisconsin for a long time has given me the wrong impression that I know what the U.S. looks like. After taking a road trip this summer, however, I realized how silly of me it was to make such an audacious assumption. Today I am going to take you to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Utah didn’t feel at all like the U.S. I thought I knew. No snow, no lakes, no badgers! Instead I saw beautiful rock formations, canyons and desert flats that made me feel like I had left Earth somewhere on the road from Colorado.

The delicate arch is a widely-recognized landmark of the Arches National Park and a must-visit spot in the park. As you drive all of the tiny rocks that you see through your car window seem so small, but once you actually get out on your feet and walk up close, you feel tiny and insignificant. Can you believe all of these formations were the result of thousands of years of wind and rain pounding on the rocks?

Driving through the park is already an experience you won’t forget, but hiking it makes you forget the world you came from. The pictures don’t quite reflect how dangerous it felt for me to stand next to the Delicate Arch with the wind blowing so much that I thought I would fall into the abyss if I blinked too long. Apparently, I am not quite adventurous enough since there were kids running around like they were at the gym while I carefully tried to not look like a statue.

Unfortunately, I only spent an afternoon at the Arches National Park, but I would spend an entire week there – hiking, canoeing, camping – you name it. I heard that star gazing underneath the Delicate Arch is quite magical. - Pati

Want to keep globetrotting? Check out other globetrotting posts here, here and here.

3rd photo by Tyler Schappe

All other photos by Pretty Talk