Arches

Arches National Park with Goodtrip Adventures

This whole adventure started on TikTok of all places. I was complaining in a video about how I felt like (and still do) there are not a lot of opportunities for creators in the midwest and outdoor brands are not particularly interested in advertising to the midwest. These so-called "inclusive" brands don't care about marketing to certain demographics throughout the midwest. Little do they know WE LOVE THE OUTDOORS! I'd been following Goodtrip Adventures for about 4-5 months because I loved the informative National Parks videos they uploaded frequently. They followed us back and we were just TikTok friends. A rep of theirs apparently saw our video and offered us two spots on Goodtrip's: Canyonlands and Arches trip AKA the "Moab Glamping Hiking Adventure". We were ELATED to go to a national park for free. Part of the deal was we had to book our own flights. 

We landed in SLC the day before to complete the ultimate side quest that I will discuss in another post. But our guides picked us up from the arrivals department at the airport and we were on our way. There were 6 group members and 2 guides. I just wanna start by saying we all had such a blast together. We shared a yurt with another creator named Cindy. She was laughing at me and Kam roast each other during our stupid little arguments. I'm so glad she could hang with our bullshit. Our guides Matt and Victoria were nothing short of amazing. They took really good care of us the entire time, I've never felt safer on a random cliff side trail. I guess it's safe to say I love them. But that's the point of a group, having people to find comfort in and build confidence with. 

We drove in a 12 passenger van from Salt Lake City Utah airport about 4 hours until we reached Moab. We stopped at a restaurant called Trailhead. I got a turkey sandwich and Kam ordered the wings and said those were the best wings he ever had and I can agree! I second this statement. The few I stole off his plate were bussin' (flats only). I'd like to note that all of our expenses were covered, so the trip includes all meals, all ground transport, lodging and entry to parks and activities. It felt really good not using our own brain for a trip for once. We checked into our yurts at Dead Horse State Park. We then did a cute 3-4 mile sunset hike near the Dead Horse visitors center. It was so windy that a canyon updraft took my 3rd black bucket hat of the year. It blew dead into the canyon below. I was salty because I was wearing an unsecured wig that could blow off next (don't laugh). But I was even more salty because I did NOT leave any trace. At least there will be a very fashionable fox down at the bottom of the canyon. To this day my hat is in that canyon doing god knows what to the environment. I can at least hope there will be a very fashionable fox down at the bottom of the canyon.

We got back to the Yurts and the guides cooked us dinner. The wind was so powerful that the yurts were shaking hard as ever, I thought we would blow away. It was giving Dorthy and the crib out in Kansas. We didn't even bother with a fire that night, we just went to bed. The next morning the guides woke us up at 5am. They had already been up making the ingredients so we can pack a breakfast burrito for the road. We loaded up the van and headed to Arches National Park. I think the ride was 2-3 hours but I was asleep so sheep were the only thing I was counting. We drove into the sunrise and saw lots of phallic rock formations. I even named one wee wee rock. At Arches we explored like 5 trails, and saw hundreds of arches. I was so tired I almost decided not to see the last set of arches but instead view them from the car. The group convinced me to take the quick walk to see the double arches and I was so elated. The trails we hiked were: Delicate arch, Broken Arch, and Double Arch. We ate lunch in the park in between hikes. Our guides made a full spread for our lunch. We totally pigged out on the variety of humus, veggies, sandwiches and snacks. They also allowed us to stop at the sign for pics and store for souvenirs. We missed nothing that we would usually do on our normal national parks trips. It's like this because the company calls you a couple weeks before the trip. We discussed our fitness level, expectations, and other needs for the trip. The trip truly was tailored for us. 

We headed back to the yurts for s'mores and chili dinner at the yurts. The wind was much more calm this time so I woke up at 3am as  the moon was setting in order to see the stars. I love stargazing! It's probably my favorite highlight of all our trips. Visiting "Dark Sky '' zones brings me such joy as I'm able to watch the universe fly by overhead. I layed on the tables and looked into the sky for hours until I fell back asleep. Our guides woke us up early to get ready for another day of adventures in Canyonlands National Park. 

Check out part 2 featuring a day in Canyonlands here!

*This trip was gifted with no strings or content attached I like to disclose things/experiences that I did not pay for.