Today was the first day of actually traveling to see some cool sights. We left Denver around 8 and made it to Moab, Utah around 1 o'clock. It was pretty sweet to see the landscape change along the way, but the heat was insane. We also passed through some funny little towns with creative names. Some of our favorites were: "No Name," "Parachute," "Rifle" and "Silt." Our first National Park stop was Arches National Park. Neither of us have EVER been to a place like this. Natural stone arches and fantastic rock formations are the defining features of this park, and they exist in remarkable numbers and variety. Just as soon as we'd thought we'd seen the most beautiful, most colorful, most gigantic arch we could imagine, we'd walk around the bend to find some bigger, better and more brilliant site than the last. Some of our favorites were Balanced Rock, a 3,600 ton rock perched upon an eroding pedestal, high in the sky, and Delicate Arch, a huge free-standing arch. We were really hoping to encounter some big horn sheep battling, or perhaps a mountain lion on prey attack, but no such luck. We did however witness an array of strangely dressed hikers as we climbed the 1.5 mile trail up to see Delicate Arch, Arch's most famous spectacle. Several people were simple running straight up the mountain practically naked and barefoot. There were cacti and sharp rocks everywhere, so we're not really sure how that worked out. Anyway, after we each sweat about a gallon, we made it to the top of the lookout and the sight was incredible. Along the way, there was a detour over to some rust-colored rocks covered in Ute petroglyphs. This was Stepanie's favorite part of the day. There were images of Ute hunters and their horses in pursuit of bighorn sheep. We both agree that our campsite at Dead Horse State Park was one of the nicest and most unique campsites we've ever stayed in; the Colorado River cut it's way through the canyon far below us in intricate series of twists and bends. Good thing neither of us sleep-walk, as the edge of the cliff was a few hundred feet behind our tent! Headed into town for a gander at the locals...
Today was the first day of actually traveling to see some cool sights. We left Denver around 8 and made it to Moab, Utah around 1 o'clock. It was pretty sweet to see the landscape change along the way, but the heat was insane. We also passed through some funny little towns with creative names. Some of our favorites were: "No Name," "Parachute," "Rifle" and "Silt." Our first National Park stop was Arches National Park. Neither of us have EVER been to a place like this. Natural stone arches and fantastic rock formations are the defining features of this park, and they exist in remarkable numbers and variety. Just as soon as we'd thought we'd seen the most beautiful, most colorful, most gigantic arch we could imagine, we'd walk around the bend to find some bigger, better and more brilliant site than the last. Some of our favorites were Balanced Rock, a 3,600 ton rock perched upon an eroding pedestal, high in the sky, and Delicate Arch, a huge free-standing arch. We were really hoping to encounter some big horn sheep battling, or perhaps a mountain lion on prey attack, but no such luck. We did however witness an array of strangely dressed hikers as we climbed the 1.5 mile trail up to see Delicate Arch, Arch's most famous spectacle. Several people were simple running straight up the mountain practically naked and barefoot. There were cacti and sharp rocks everywhere, so we're not really sure how that worked out. Anyway, after we each sweat about a gallon, we made it to the top of the lookout and the sight was incredible. Along the way, there was a detour over to some rust-colored rocks covered in Ute petroglyphs. This was Stepanie's favorite part of the day. There were images of Ute hunters and their horses in pursuit of bighorn sheep. We both agree that our campsite at Dead Horse State Park was one of the nicest and most unique campsites we've ever stayed in; the Colorado River cut it's way through the canyon far below us in intricate series of twists and bends. Good thing neither of us sleep-walk, as the edge of the cliff was a few hundred feet behind our tent! Headed into town for a gander at the locals...
Beautiful, long time no hear. Where are you now?
ReplyDeleteWe're in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. Headed to Sacramento and ultimately the Redwoods by tomorrow night. We'll keep you posted! We're trying to figure out who "Prairemom" is though...
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