Druid Arch, Utah

Aaron:

Stepping out of the car into the heat of the desert is something I am not used to coming from the UK. It was exciting to be at the start of the hike though. This would be an 11 mile round trip to Druid Arch.

Leaving the car park you head off on a steep path as it winds its way up through an area that I would describe as a beautiful natural rock garden. We started our hike late in the day but the sun was still very hot and this part of the trail provides little shade.

The trail soon leveled off and we headed through an area between two walls of rock about 3 ft. apart, towering above us on both sides as we walked through. It was a lot cooler in there, with some of the lower rock probably never seeing the sunlight.

It then opened up into an impressive canyon, with so many different rock formations, my imagination all of a sudden went wild working out what objects I could make with the shapes of the rock.

We stopped for a second and relised how quiet it was there. I could not hear a sound, no insects making a noise, not even the sound of the breeze through the rocks. It was a unique moment to experience complete silence, away from the noises of day to day life.

After a while the sun disappeared behind the canyon wall and the rocks around us started to change colour with the new light and shadows creeping in. The canyon walls started to get closer together and the trail went steeply uphill, until you had to scramble to continue up. We arrived at the arch at the perfect moment, just as the sun set behind it.

The arch was huge! Like a giant it sat above us at the other side of the canyon. I thought it was amasing how this had been sculpted over so many years by the water, sand and wind constantly changing its appearance. We stayed a while and enjoyed being alone with the unique beauty around us. It was worth the 6 mile hike across the rough terrain to get there, I am starting to love the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere.

Hiking back was a very different experience. It got dark very quickly as we tried to make it back down to the canyon floor before we lost all light. I could just about make out the jagged lines of the two canyon walls on either side of us as we followed the trail with our headlamps.

Then out of the corner of my eye, a bright light appeared over the rocks. The moon had graced us with its presence. I watched with happiness at it revealed its full bright self from behind the cliff. It then lit our path throughout the rest of the hike. The new light gave a whole new perspective to the trail, with the sudden movement of animals in the sparse brush and the sound of the odd falling rock. It was now bright enough not to use our torches and we even had moon shadows leading our way.

Making it back to the car safely and very satisfied with our day of adventure in the desert, Jed drove us home. We were both tired and sat in silence most of the way back, but this was ok now. We were happy and content just to be with each other.

All in all, we had shared every day of the past month together. The last 31 days had been such a blessing to us both, sharing some wonderful experiences together. We needed this time to truly get to know each other and it gave our relationship the strength to continue forward and work through our long-distance relationship and times we would spend apart.

Jed

Watching Aaron walk away from me for the second time got a bit harder this time as he stepped back onto that escalator at Salt Lake airport. I knew by now that he likes his long goodbyes and turned around to wave at me many times on his way up, even bending down near the top to get one last wave until he was out of view.

A security guard was watching us both as we said our goodbyes and the many waves exchanged. He gave me a smile of encouragement as I walked teary eyed back to the car.

Even though it was hard to part again, plans were already set for our next reunion. England was now calling me back...

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