Like most everyone else, our 2020 didn’t look anything like what we had planned. Luckily, campground hosting in Arches National Park did work out. This was a short gig – just over 6 weeks in late autumn – but very busy as we were the only hosts, and visitation at the park is way up this year.

Devils Garden Campground is a bit unusual in that one set of hosts uses a trailer pad, but the other set gets a cabin. Velocity was half-packed when we learned that the cabin would be available for our entire stay so we took the trailer but stayed in the cabin. We used the trailer as a guest house for friends and relatives that don’t camp.

The campground has 50 sites – reservation only March through October and first come/first serve November through February. When we arrived in mid-October every site was reserved every day. Come November, every site was filled every day until the very last days of the month. Many of the sites were filled with campers who were new to camping. This led to some interesting conversations.

Us: Hi! Could we see your receipt for this site?
Them: Receipt? But I read on the website that 
it's first come/first serve.
Us: Yes, but you still have to pay for the site.
Them: Really?

Us: Um, do you realize that you've set up camp 
in a reservation only group site?
Them: Oh, I'm not camping. I'm just sleeping here.

A typical day started at 8 am and ended at 8 pm. As we were the only hosts, we worked every day. One task new to us was selling firewood. In Big Bend wood fires are strictly forbidden so it took us a few days not to panic when smelling wood smoke. Fortunately, we could take some time off in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. We had to use some of this time to buy groceries and gas in Moab or do laundry near the visitor center, but we also put on our hiking boots as much as possible.

Although we have visited Arches and the surrounding area several times and have done many of the usual hikes, this was a chance to get away from the crowds and see some of the hidden gems in the federal lands near Moab. We were helped in this endeavor by a friend of Alan’s from college days. He moved to Utah in the’70s so we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. With other friends and relatives, we explored both familiar favorites and new territory.

Of course, there are arches in Arches National Park:

Fantastic vistas in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks:

Water in unexpected places:

Petroglyphs:

And a few unexpected items:

Petrified logs:

Copper:

Hot air balloon over Devils Garden:

Now we’re back in Colorado, but we miss the rocks just outside our door glowing at sunset (as shown in the photo at the top of the post) followed an incredible array of stars at night. Hard to capture in a photo but equally missed are the peace and quiet in the park after the visitors leave and the campers settle in for the night.