Arches National Park
There are few states with as many remarkable national parks as Utah, and Arches National Park is truly one of its most unforgettable.
Here we are standing along the Devil’s Garden, in front of the Landscape Arch, one of the longest natural stone arches in the world. Its span stretched over 300 feet, and what makes its so extraordinary is how thin and delicate it appears, almost as if it should not be able to hold itself together. Yet is has stood there, shaped by time and the elements, for thousands of years,
The park stretches across more than 76,000 acres of high desert and is home to over 2,000 natural stone arches, the largest concentration anywhere in the world. These formations were not carved overnight but shaped slowly over millions of years through a combination of uplift, erosion and the movement of underground salt beds that pushed and fractured the rock above.
It was first protected as a national monument in 1929 by Herbert Hoover and later redesignated as a national park in 1971 under Richard Nixon, ensuring that this landscape would be preserved for future generations.
Read More From Nancy
Wind Cave National Park
On our cross-country drive to visit South Dakota, we enjoyed many of the historic and natural treasures that make the state such a great destination. One of the most fascinating stops was Wind Cave National Park. Looking across the rolling prairie above ground, it is difficult to imagine the entirely different world that lies hidden […]
Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument
A visit to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is a powerful reminder that history depends on whose story is being told. Located near Crow Agency, Montana, the battlefield preserves the site where one of the most famous encounters of the American West took place. On June 25 and 26, 1876, Lt Colonel George Armstrong Custer […]
Mesa Verde National Park
Wishing to visit Mesa Verde National Park took some planning. Mapping out visits to our national parks always does, these are not places you simply pass by. They require intention. For this trip, the best place to begin was Durango, Colorado. From there, the drive slowly brings us into a landscape that feels both open and […]
