Also something we haven't seen since very early in our trip, common in western lower 48...
The countryside started getting very mountainous and Rocky as well as colorful!
And finally...
Our campground was an ownership resort, very nice place!
Of course we have two major reasons for our stop here, Arches and Canyonlands. We immediately knew we were in for a treat...
Arches lies atop an underground salt bed responsible for the arches, spires, balanced rocks and eroded monoliths. Millions of years of floods winds and ocean created the salt bed. Faults deep in the Earth create an instability in the already unstable salt creating shifts in the rock bed and the unusual results make for a priceless park to visit!
Our first afternoon we just did a quick drive through...
As you enter the park it is hard to capture in pictures the expansive Great Wall...
One of the first structures we came across were the rock pinnacles...and a couple repelling down a tall spire...
Next we saw balanced rock which we will visit again prior to daybreak...
We knew we'd be hiking to Delicate Arch the next day but decided to take a quick peak from the upper and lower viewing spots...
The next morning we decided to get up at 5:00am in order to be hiking by 6:00 am and catch the sunrise on the rocks...boy is it hard now to do something we did for over 30 years!
The park was dark when we arrived, just a hint of light as we passed Balanced Rock...
We decided we would stop at the North and South Windows...
As we got to the top we realized it would be better to see the windows from the back side as the sun came up. We found a primitive trail that went around behind the structure...as it turns out, a long way around, but once we started, we kept going, ended up quite a hike!
The sun was still just peaking over the horizon, but the effect on the rocks was amazing...
Of course a selfie was in order...
Along the way back, more formations, flowers, and cactus too!
After we finally made it back to the parking lot, we did a small hike to Double Arch, another cool formation...
Next up was the Salt Valley Overlook and the Fiery Furnace formed when the less stable salt rose up and collapsed forming the valley...
Our next stop was so cool, we felt like we were on another planet at the Sand a Dune Arch...
The sand was baby fine powder with a secluded arch among sandstone fins...
Next we hiked out to Broken Arch, another neat one and pretty desert flowers along the way...
Broken Arch...
Wayne climbed up to the other side...
It was starting to get hot, the temp had risen about 20 degrees, but we decided we had one more in us and hiked to Landscape Arch...neat formations on the way, as it got a lot hotter!
And there it was...
We were absolutely spent, after several hikes totaling ~5 miles at 5000 ft altitude and now about 25 deg temp change we headed for a nice lunch at Zax (thanks Charlene for suggestion) and then back to the coach for a nap! On the way out we met a woman who said, " I thought Colorado was beautiful, but Utah..." I have to agree! As we left for the day, we noticed the other side of the Moab Welcome sign, pretty neat...
And so the Adventure for this day didn't end for us either. We kept hearing we must go to Delicate Arch at sunset. Now the information said this was a strenuous hike which worried me as we are not in shape for the highest level hikes. Supposedly it was a 3 mi round trip and 500 ft altitude change...how bad could that be...nobody told me how bad!
Holy cow, why didn't you folks warn us, this was darn hard, particularly on the heals of 5 mi of hiking in the morning and by now temp was close to 90! I cannot believe it wasn't a longer hike. Also nobody mentioned the ledge at the top, I swear it was 12-18 in wide, but Wayne said it was wider, all I know is my fear of heights was on overload!! But, we made it...
And yes, it was an awesome view!
We started back down, much easier...I wish I had taken a pic of that ledge, but I'm not going back until my memory fades!! We did capture a couple of pics as we made our way down near dark...
Way down at the bottom you can make out the parking lot from where we started!
We got home for much needed second showers of the day and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Sore knees and feet, it was all worth it! Tomorrow Canyonlands and Deadhorse Park!
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