On The Road Again 2010: Arches

Moab Utah

Day 38

Arches National Park

The weather was perfect for our visit to Arches National Park today. We left a little after 9:00 and headed into town for gas, ice and a couple of Subway sandwiches. Visitors must bring their own food into the park. Even though the entrance to Arches is in town, I really didn't want to take that initial climb up the side of the mountain twice!

Hwy 191 into Moab

The park is awesome. I am not a fan of the adjective 'awesome' as it is so overused these days, but it is the perfect word to describe this place. The cliffs, the colors, the vistas, the valleys and the La Sal mountains in the background are all a treat for the eyes.

On the hike...way steeper than it looks here

Mr. Wounded Knee on the same hike

We felt energenic so we decided to hike one of the many trails early on. This one, Park Avenue, was labeled 'moderate'. Most of the mile hike was downhill, the first hundred feet or so, almost vertical on a mostly man-made stairway. Then down through a the gorge, walking mostly on a smooth rocky river bed. Half way down, we passes an elderly couple going in the opposite direction (uphill) and marveled at their physical condition. Jim had been ready to turn around and shorten the hike until he saw them...he wasn't about to be upstaged by an two people who looked old enough to be our parents! Later as we finished the hike we saw them again and told them that they were an inspiration to us. Jim asked if they would like to volunteer their ages - she was 81 and he was 85! How wonderful is that? Oh, and the return trip was all uphill...an elevator would have been nice!

Balancing Rock - this would be a real bad time for an earthquake!

No...I think I'll just stand under the arch and wait... WHAT!

The dictionary should have this picture next to the word 'GNARLED'

Lunch was by one of the overlooks, in the Windows and Double Arch area. Talk about a table with a view! Jim's right knee had started to bother him on the first hike, so for the rest of the day we took shorter hikes on mostly level ground. On the other hand *I* was in perfect physical shape, but had to stay with the 'old guy' with the bum knee. *I* would have taken the hikes up the mountain cliffs...yep, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

So we drove from overlook to overlook, walking and taking photos. Good thing for digital photography, because I would have gone broke developing film, there are so many gorgeous scenes it's hard to stop taking pictures.

Double Arch, how cool is that?

About half way through the park, I realized that we were seeing 'things' in the rock formations. Faces, the Sphinx, a lion, the little 'Google Street View Man' and I even saw a few vertical columns that looked to me like giant....um....er, oh, never mind...

By late afternoon I must have been getting a little hungry. So many of the rock formations looked like huge a Mr. Potato Head, or gigantic russet potatoes. Time to leave.

The End

Back to the KOA, easy dinner....one of those frozen vegetable mixtures with pasta, and a sauce to which I added a grilled chicken breast sliced and mixed in. Talked with my daughter, he did the laundry and I gave Molly a bath. Chores have to be done, even on vacation.