First stop on our tour, we hiked out to Mesa Arch. The trail was a loop, though the sign didn’t provide any recommendation for which direction you should start with. (I would have gone clockwise, but we went ‘straight’ ahead from the sign, like most people seemed to be doing (both coming and going). There was a small crowd at the arch when we got there. People (as in strangers) were taking each other’s pictures sitting under the arch (ah, the instant camaraderie of tourists!). There were probably 20 people there by the time we decided to leave. We returned the other way (making a loop) and had the trail to ourselves.