Park Avenue: Arches National Park

Considering that I am 6'6" tall and a lover of adventure you'd think I'd do better with heights. As we drove towards Moab, UT I'll never forget peering up over my left shoulder and wondering what I was seeing up on the mountain near the visitor center at Arches National Park. Desert Bighorns? Mule Deer? I realized a moment later that crawling along in my peripheral were cars on switchbacks high above us, entering the park through the same entrance I would be using the following day.

It was a small fear and the desire to see firsthand the arches that I'd read about in books pushed me up into the park. To my surprise, the first stop after the switchbacks (almost drove by it) didn't involve arches at all.

While Manhattens Park Ave is famous for iconic structures such as Grand Central Station, and the Waldorf-Astoria, Arches Park Avenue contrasts this city life with a walk-in solitude among 600-foot high sandstone skyscrapers, a monument of the New York skyline. (be sure to arrive very early for cool temps and fewer people). Their purpose was not to provide space for thousands going about their busy lives but simply to provide beauty for explorers who braved those switchbacks and needed a speedy reward. Take the time to hike down into the canyon, past the sign that says you are now "entering the wilderness" and enjoy.