I almost didn’t head for the campground at Arches National Park for our stay in the Moab area, b/c from my work with a mountain biking company I know a lot of Moab locals, and I know Arches is the tourist trap of the area’s natural attractions.

There are a lot of insanely beautiful public lands in this area, and Arches is by far the busiest, most developed spot. And therefore a bit of an embarrassment to say it is there that I’m headed, of all the wild, untouched wilderness options available.

We visited Arches once before, but we only had a few hours in the park and flew thru to hit up a couple of the most quickly accessible photo opps, and not be in the sun too long. It was June when we visited, and only probably 80 degrees, but without being used to the dry air, the sun, or the altitude (about a mile above sea level) we were feeling pretty worn out, pretty quickly. The park was swarming with people, the parking lots were jam packed, and the going was slow on park roads with gargantuan RVs teetering along at 15 mph as the occupants take in the sites from their seats.

This visit was much, much better.

We had more time, that certainly helped, but visiting mid-week and off-season made a world of difference, as you might expect. Usually the downside of visiting during off-peak times is less desirable weather, but we had near perfect weather this week in the park.

The peak season for tourist families is summer vacation months, but Moab’s desert heat makes the best time of year to visit late spring and early fall, and these times are very popular with retirees, and weekend visitors who flock from Denver and Salt Lake City to mountain bike and off-road.

Here in early November we’re past the peak of mid-October when the campground fills daily, and yet with slightly above average temperatures we’ve had highs around 70, and lows from 30-45. Great camping weather. And a beautiful, clear blue sky and warm sunshine during the day.

The campground got busier each day since our arrival on Tuesday night, but it never felt overly busy. The generators that got going towards the weekend I could have done without, but overall the atmosphere remained quite nice. The younger kids could be a bit noisy, but usually in an entertaining way, with the typical brother/sister fighting, whining and the like. From a distance of about 50 yards, it’s pretty funny. There was also no shortage of parents beckoning them to “be careful” or “don’t go so high” as the kids scrambled on the rocks fins that lined the campground circle.

… Part 2 coming soon