Natural Bridges State Park

As if this trip hasn't been already way more fabulous than I could imagine, we continue along with Day 3.We leave beautiful Moab and drive South in a caravan with our friends Eddie & Kimberly. The weather is still a bit nutty (which I personally love) and we've driven through a bit of sunshine and snow as we're on our way to Natural Bridges State Park.But first, a quick little visit to some ruins at Mule Canyon:We begin our short visit to Natural Bridges State Park with a quick .6 mile long 500 foot descent hike at the Sipapu Bridge.It's a bit drizzly out at this time, which just makes the scenery all the more dramatic! Basically, we're going to be hiking from the top of the canyon down to the bottom to stand under this natural bridge so we can look back up to where we started and then hike back to it.Sounds like fun, right?As you an see the "trail" is mostly defined by smaller rocks placed along the bigger "rock" that we're walking on.Needless to say, the hiking is a little bit treacherous at times - this is not Disneyland people :)Oh, and then there are these lovely ladders that have to be descended every so often.I'll admit, I was feeling a little bit like a big baby chicken going down these ladders because you can't really see where you're placing your foot as you descend.I kept going though as not all the hiking was as "hairy".and I had Mr. Entertainment with me...AND the views were amazing!Can you see the "bridge" in the above shot? We're on our way down to stand below it. So, far this is how far we've come from the top:and we continue heading down...Getting closer....But first more (stressful) hiking...and another ladder...Here's a shot looking up at our friend Eddie descending a ladder:A little more descending and we're at the bottom:A view of the underside of the bridgeThere is a trail where you can descend at one bridge, then hike over to see the other two bridges and hike up to the top at the 3rd, then hike across the plateau back to your car. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for this hike - I believe it takes most of the day. A great reason to have to plan a return visit though!Now, it's time to head back up:We pause for a little of Pop's Chi-Gong action on the ascent:We had time for one more stop in Natural Bridges State Park a quick .3 mile hike to check out some ruins:We could've used this warning yesterday at Dead Horse Point:Can you see the ruins in this photo? - they're tucked in there:and more spectacular views:Again, I'm breaking up Day 3 into a couple of posts...soon you'll see why....oh so many photos!!!