Arches National ParkregnaRrioJun enture GuideAdv

your nameNational Park ServiceU.S. Department of the InteriorWelcome,Explorers!

Junior rangers are park superheroes.
Arches National Park needs your help!
Use this guide to learn, adventure, practicesafety, and discover the ways of a juniorranger role model. When you are ready,take your work to a park ranger.

CHOOSE YOURLEVEL AND...
Pebble level:do 5 book pages.
Boulder level:do 8 book pages.
Tower level:
do the whole book.

...GO ON AT LEASTTHREE ADVENTURES.
Attend a ranger program.

Spend 10 quiet min. outside.
Observe the night sky.
Teach a friend or family
member about the park.
Safely pick up litter.
Go on a hike.

1 READY TO GO
The best adventures begin with preparation.
Use your park map to pick a place to explore.
What is the weather like today?
Below, circle what you will need for your trip. Draw a square around one
extra item you might want too. Is it allowed in the park?

Are you forgetting anything? List any other items you might need.

2 HEROES OF THE HEAT
Humans need to prepare for a trip
in the desert, but the animals in
Arches National Park are born ready.
Draw a line from the animal toits desert survival super power.
BIG EARS let heatout of my body so
I can keep cool.

It is too hot in the desert
to hunt during the day.
NIGHT VISION lets
me pounce on my prey.

On hot days, I hide in mysandy den. At night, myKANGAROO TAIL helps
me hop from predators.

SAND-COLORED FUR
helps me hide frommountain lions while I chew
up all the desert plants I love.

My MULTI-USE TAIL
stores extra fat andbreaks away when apredator grabs me.

Can you identify these
heroes of the heat? Write
the name of the animal
next to its picture.
w o r d b a n k : m u l e d e e r, m o u n t a i n l i o n , d e s e r t c o t t o n t a i l , c o l l a r e d l i z a r d , k a n g a r o o r a t

3 UNDERCOVER HERO
Read these ‘witness statements’ about the park. Fill in the missing letters.

National parks are known
for the _ IEWS! Visitorsfrom around the worldcome to see parks!

A desert EC_ SYSTEM
is a team. Animals, plants,water, and dirt—it isall connected!

_ RAILS are important.

They are pathways to safely
enjoy national parks.

Reveal the superhero’s identity! Use the letters you filled in above
to solve the riddle below.

LI_ING S _IL CRUS _It’s alive! This secret superhero is a mix of tiny living things: algae, lichens,mosses, and fungi growing on the sand. Ecosystems need this tiny community
to help plants grow. This living soil glues the ground together and helps
prevent the dust storms that could ruin views. That’s why we stay on trails.

Lead your family in a pledge to stick to trails and not bust the crust.

4 PARK ROCKSTARS
Arches National Park is known for its geologic wonders. Over time, water, ice, andwind have shaped the rock into incredible shapes. Go meet these rock features.
Read the definitions below and label each rock formation.

ARCH: A ‘window’ or hole in rock
BUTTE: A flat topped hill
FIN: A skinny wall of rock
SPIRE: A tall skinny tower of rock
BALANCED ROCK: A tower with abottom much smaller than its top.

If you were made of rock, which formation would you be? Circle your choice.

Interview a rockstar. It might take a while to get the rocks to talk back.
For answers, try reading park signs and looking at your park map.
DRAW THE ROCKSTAR HERE.

ASK THE ROCKSTAR...

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
WHAT ARE YOU?

( CIRCLE ONE )FINWHAT MADE YOU FAMOUS?

SPIRE

ARCH

BUTTE

BALANCED ROCKOTHER

5 TIC - TAC - GO
Ask a friend or family member to play. Choose to be X or O. Take turns
completing the mini-adventures and marking off the boxes. See if you
can be first to get three in a row.

Listen to one natural sound.

Draw something you saw
in the park that’s smaller
than your thumb.

What is it?

Find a juniper tree.

Where did you find it?

Include the details!
Find and draw
animal tracks.

Use the park map
to help your groupplan an activity.

Use your nose.
How does the desert smell
different than home?

What animal left them?
Check out the visitor center.

Find a hidden shapein the rocks.

Hold a safety meetingwith your group.
Check that everyoneis prepared.

What did you learn?
What did the shaperemind you of?

6

JUNIOR RANGER WAY

In this maze, make choices andfollow the arrows. Good luck!

Should you set out withwater, food, and friends oralone and unprepared?
alone andunpreparedprepared andtogether

Do you take ashortcut throughsoil crust?

...or stay on
the trail?

Take apicture or...

carve your nameon a rock?

Hmm...
Are you sure?
Go back,and thinkagain.

You would love
to see wildlife!
Do youfeed andapproachanimals?
Stack your own rockpiles (cairns)?

Sure!

No way!
Leave notrace.

Or do youobserve
quietly?

7 STORIES IN THE SANDSTONE
There are over 2,000 arches here, each with its own story.
Arches begin as giant cracks called rock ‘fins’. Over time, water seeps
through the rock and makes weak spots that break out. Making an archtakes thousands of years! Arches don’t last forever. They finally breakand fall. Put the pictures below in order by numbering them #1-4.

Can you spot the stages of arch making? On the drawing below,
circle the arches, draw awhere you think an arch might form.
Where you think an arch fell, draw the fallen arch back in.

Bagel Arch, Bacon Arch—some arches get their name from the things
they remind us of. Draw and name your own arch.

8 FIND YOUR POSE
Look around and you’ll see—even rocks find balance in Arches National Park.
Find a safe place out of the way of other visitors
and practice the following poses. Only do what feels
comfortable.

BALANCED ROCK•

Hold the pose,then switch sides.

•Bonus: try grabbing yourtoes and straightening
your leg.

DOUBLE ARCH•

Ask a friend or family
member to help you
make an arch.

•Get creative! Can you findan arch and copy it withyour pose?

REACHFOR THESKYLINE•

Hold the pose,then switch sides.

Show us your pose! Draw yourself, have someone take your picture, or
write a description of the pose. Bonus: teach your family or friends.

9 DRAWN TO OUR PAST
If you’re visiting Delicate Arch, don’t miss your chance to go back in time along
the way! Visit Wolfe Ranch and nearby Ute rock peckings. How were things
different for kids in the past? How were they the same?
Draw a line connecting similar things in your life and the lives of theStanley and Ute children.
Life of Estherand Ferol StanleyYour Life

Life ofUte Children

games
tea parties

storagecist

your pet (real orimaginary)

buttonboots

llarroot cedomesticated dogs
burrowhat you do for funmoccasins

Traditions are ways of doing things passed down through generations.
What traditions has your family taught you?

10 DREAMY SKIES
Half the park is after dark! Go stargazing!
Bring flashlights and warm clothes.
What did the moon look like?
Draw it in the circle.

How does the park change at night? Is the night sky
at home different? Write, draw, or take notes below.

11 VIRTUAL PARK POSTCARD
National parks are fun to visit and even more fun to share. Who would you like to tell
about Arches National Park? A friend, a neighbor, a relative?
Fill out the postcard below. Need an idea? Write about or draw yourfavorite part of the trip or tell a funny story that happened in the park.

Dear

No need for snail mail! When you get service, text or email a photo of
the postcard you made. Add today’s date on the park stamp.

12 SPEAK FOR THE PARKS
We all have a say in how we should protect our parks! When we talk to others
about things we care about, we learn from each other and see how we can work
together. Use this guide to start a discussion with your family and friends.
Work together to make alist of rules for discussion.
How do we show respect forother opinions?

Read this example of the three steps topresenting an opinion. Then, use thesteps to practice stating an opinion.
1. ASSERTION: “We should hike theDevils Garden Trail today...”2. REASONING: “...because it’s the longest!”
3. EVIDENCE: “The trail is over 7 miles long!”

Your opinion:

Read the following questions to your group. Let everyone take turns answering.
1. Choose three words to describe your visit here. Why those words?
2. What did you experience here that you’ve never experienced before?
3. How can we protect parks and help millions of visitors enjoy them?
4. If you wrote a letter to the director of theNational Park Service, what would it say?

13 GLORIOUS ROOM

“Within national parks is room—glorious room—
room in which to find ourselves, in which to thinkand hope, to dream and plan, to rest and resolve.”-Enos Mills

Use this page to reflect on your visit.
Write a story or a poem, or draw a picture.

YOUR PLEDGE
You’re about to get your badge and the responsibility thatcomes with it. National parks are counting on you!
Write your own junior ranger pledge or promise.
What will you do to protect parks and set an example
for others? You can use the word bank for ideas.

protect culture national parks respect shareconserve nature history teachexplore discover

Go forth, junior ranger!
When you’re ready, share this book with a park ranger. You’ll take a pledge
and become a certified junior ranger! But that’s only the beginning.
Check out these ideas for continuing the adventure.
•Learn more about Arches by visiting ourpark website: nps.gov/arches.

•

Check out a National Park Service site orother public land closest to your home!

•Become a web ranger at nps.gov/webrangers.

Published byCanyonlands Natural History Assoc.
Moab, UT www.chna.org

Illustrations and design byCaitlin Campbell

caitlincampbellart.squarespace.com

Park Mailing Address
Arches National Park
2282 Resource Blvd.
Moab, Utah 84532

Authored byCaitlin Campbell and Arches
Junior Ranger CommitteePASRKTAMPPARK RANGERDATEAT ARCHES NATIONAL PARK AND IS NOW A JUNIOR RANGER OFTHE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

has successfully completed THE JUNIOR RANGER PROGRAM

Junior Ranger

Arches National Park