After a good nights sleep we took the time to see Natural Bridges National Monument. A stop first at the Visitors Center was fairly amusing as some European tourists were begging the Park Rangers for a few gallons of gas as they thought there would be a gas station in a non-existent town... who does that? *cough*
us *cough* The Ranger was very kind and offered them a gallon at no charge but then they proceeded to tell him they wanted to do the 9 mile loop and take their time before heading to a gas station. He didn't like that. They got no gas.
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| Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah. Can you spot the Natural Bridge? |
The natural bridges are pretty spectacular. There is a 12 mile hike you can do to see them all, or you can drive the 9 mile loop and walk out to the overlooks. We opted for the drive. Mainly because we're lazy, but also because it was all starting to look the same. It wasn't, it was amazing, but I had become numb to all of it. All the incredible scenery and dramatic landscapes had blown my mind so many times it just sort of melded all together. I was officially over it and we still had so much more to see!!
Geoff gets big bonus points for being so patient with me as I figured this out and worked through it.
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Would you care for another Natural Bridge? here ya go!!
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah |
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This fancy natural bridge is extremely delicate after a good chunk of it fell from the inside.
No telling how much longer it'll last. A day? A year? A millennia?
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah |
From here our plan was to go to Arches National Park but we took a bit of a different route to get there. We went south and were rewarded with the craziest, steepest drive and a equally crazy view at Moki Dugway which is a part of the Trail of the Ancients. This seemingly normal straight road goes on for miles till all of a sudden you're at a cliff looking down. Straight down. The road then snakes down the side of the sheer cliff in a series of 5 mile an hour switchbacks and they are no joke! That view though!! Looks like every western movie ever made. The road itself was constructed by a mining company who had to find a way to get their Uranium Ore from the mine (on top of the mesa) to the processing site (below the mesa and miles to the south) in Mexican Hat, Utah. Yes that is a real place. So down we went! Dirt road, no guard rails, narrow lane. Awesome!
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Overlooking the Valley of the Gods at Moki Dugway, Utah.
See that tiny road down there? We had to get there from up here! |
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| On top of the Moki Dugway, Utah. Now to get to the bottom... |
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| Looking out of the Valley of the Gods. Moki Dugway, Utah |
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| It just keeps going forever!! Moki Dugway, Utah |
On getting to the bottom we headed to Gooseneck State park. A small area where the San Juan River meanders around several sharp corners cut deep into the sandstone. It was a cool stop but really only take maybe 20 minutes to see. From there we headed up towards Moab where we'd base ourselves for our trip to Arches National Park. We passed through quite a bit of the White Mesa Ute Tribe Nation and some of the Navajo Nation land. This was really my first look at American Reservations.
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| Gooseneck State Park on the San Juan River, Utah |
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Such a strange landscape. So beautiful yet sparse and wild.
Somewhere in Southern Utah. |
We got there close to dinner time and found all the modern amenities in Moab. (A first in quite some time!!) There was night life here! We leeched some free wifi off McDonald's and reconnected with the world a bit. We then found a campsite near the entrance to the park on the shores of the Colorado River, surrounded by red sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet high.
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Where we camped on the shores of the Colorado River.
Moab, Utah |
The following day took us through Arches National Park. This is a VERY popular National Park. It's busy and requires a bit of patience. Arches National Park is well named. There are over 2,000 natural arches in the park due to a unique geological feature here. The park lies on a collapsed salt dome. When the dome was still a dome and pushing on the sediment and rock above it, it split the rock in straight cracks. From here erosion and time brings us the slender crops of sandstone that have turned into these balancing stones and arches that are famous the world over.
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| Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah |
We stopped in at the Balanced Rock, The Windows, Double Arch, Delicate Arch, Fiery Furnace, Devils Garden and the ever so fragile Landscape Arch. We saw dozens of other arches along the way. It was truly incredible. At one point we stopped at a scenic pullout and Geoff opened up the kitchen to make grilled cheese sandwiches. We drew a bit of a crowd, including a couple towing a tiny trailer who were curious about out set up. We're kind of a big deal. It's hard to put this fantastic place into words, it's something you just need to experience with your eyes. So here ya go!
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| Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| The Windows, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Turret Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Me at the Windows, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| We're adorable! Windows, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| The South Window, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Geoff in the North Window, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| My Favorite Arch!! Double Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Geoff checkin out the Double Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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Can you see the most famous arch of them all?
If you look close you'll see the Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| As close as we got to The Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Fiery Furnace, Arches National ark, Utah |
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| Me walking off in search of arches. Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Geoff's turn to find the not so elusive arches. Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Looking out over Devils Garden in Arches National Park, Utah |
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This lil guy was following me for a good little while trying to steal my shade. When I stopped he tried to climb on my shoes!
Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah |
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The Landscape Arch, which I think is far more delicate than The Delicate Arch, but what do I know.
Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Found the Landscape Arch!! Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah |
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Here you can really see how the sandstone in split into thin sections.
Arches National Park, Utah |
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Here you can really see how the salt domes caused the sandstone to crack then erode into thin bands.
Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Tiny Arch! Arches National Park |
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| Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Candy Van chillin in Arches National Park, Utah |
After a day sweating in the hot desert sun we got a spot at a campground in town that had free showers, free wifi and a pool!! We had diner at a less than stellar Mexican spot in town and settled in for the night.
The next day we headed out of town and on to our next adventure. But that can wait for another time.
Till next time - Fair winds my friends!
Marsha and Geoff
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