It was already hot (by our standards) when we got up at 9 a.m. 26C. As we were getting ready to leave Provo, Stephen had a nice conversation with two people in the parking lot who were attracted by the SK license plate. They gave us some travel advice, what to see, where to go, if we haven't already overloaded our schedule. (Stephen and I have been disputing some of our destinations.)
As we travelled further from Provo/Salt Lake City (and no, we never did see the Salt Lake), the landscape shifts from green hills, to a sparser trees and rocky hills (think Northern Ontario, with bigger hills). The farms in this area seem to rely very heavily on irrigation - I think the land would prefer to be desert.
There's not a lot of communities on Highway 6 and 121 - the largest community is Price, but Stephen preferred the small town of Wellington and its cheap little "Pillow Talk Motel." LOL! But as we drove along, the landscape was definitely looking more and more like desert, with buttes off in the distance.
Of course, the landscape got steadily more impressive the closer we got to Arches National Park. Big, monumental, red rock ranges. And then, once you drive in, your car is heading up on a narrow road that climbs way up along the hillside. The scenery is spectacular. Yes, it's all rocks - but wow. :-)
We stopped at most of the viewpoints along the way and took pictures. Then we decided to skip past the Windows section on the way in and head straight to the Delicate Arch hiking trail (4.8 km round trip, 146m elevation change). Stephen and I had our backpacks, hiking shoes, and were carrying water, as the tour guide lists it as a strenuous hike and advises each person carries two quarts/litres of water. Our adventure begins...
The first half of the hike, we were motoring along, uphill uphill uphill. Whew. The trail is supposed to be marked with rock cairns. However, when we finally reached the top of the hilly range, the rock cairns disappeared. That's weird. As well, no one was catching up to us. Also weird.
Oh well. We kept going on, and eventually we saw what appeared to be the Delicate Arch, and lots of tiny little people wandering around. So, there it is. But that's a weird angle, isn't it? How to approach...?
How about that way? Hmm. One one side, a steeply sloping rim that slides down into a huge rock depression. Crater, really. On the other side, another steep slope that drops off WAY down to a place I can't even see. Neither route looks very passable. Maybe we're just supposed to wander across the skinny plateau between the two? Yes, let's do that.
So we do that. We're walking forward and forward over slickrock, and the closer we get, the less passable it looks. But we are close, dammit. I mean, we're on the far end of the Delicate Arch. So there must be a way around. We keep going. Because we're just that smart.
And finally, we're close enough to come to the realization that trying to squeeze around the one side of the column is certain death. And trying to get around the other side of the column... also certain death.
This is not the right way.
And you just know that fifty tourists safely ensconced on the safe side of the Arch have their cameras raised to record our last moments before we bounce down the canyon walls.
Stephen says, "Thank goodness I brought this utility rope along!" And he quickly lassoes the Arch, and we swing safely across to the other side. A terrible cracking noise sounds, and the Delicate Arch slowly crumbles, then breaks away and falls into rubble. Many angry tourists stare at us in recrimination.
Okay, so that last part didn't happen that way (although some Hollywood director might say it should have happened that way). :-)
What happened is that our instincts for self-preservation finally kicked in, and we backtracked yet again. Way way back, until we got to the point where we finally saw other hikers. Yes, we missed a damn cairn. (I'll also note that, upon re-reading our guide book, it does state that the trail isn't very well marked once you get up into the slickrock.) Anyway, I think it's to our credit that neither one of us ever suggested climbing up and OVER the Delicate Arch. Even we're not that dumb.
So, on the right trail again at last, we're back on track, and have to travel all the way behind the sloping walls of death, to approach the Delicate Arch from the other side. Finally! It's cool and windy up there, which is quite refreshing after all the exertion. I think we added at least a full kilometer to our hike with all of our scurrying to and fro. And you just know that we're in a whole lot of photos. "Look at this picture - some dummies were wandering on the other side. I was sure they were going to die."
Anyhoo, we made it there alive, and we got our pictures taken under the Delicate Arch (and it didn't fall on our heads either). Success! All our troubles are behind us; it's all downhill from here.
Nevertheless, I managed to gouge my shin on the way out. I look much more impressive with a bloody leg. I tell everyone Stephen stabbed me with his hiking pole.
Oh, and a side note: I could not believe the number of people who were hiking in flip flops, and not carrying any water at all. When we were leaving, there was a man walking along the ledge next to his toddler (the kid was not more than 2 years old). Yes, the dad was hovering right there next to the kid, but still... the path is three feet wide, and it's a long way down. Yikes.
After that, we drove through the rest of the park's viewpoints, and the only other hike we did was to the Double Arch. That was really beautiful, and there were surprisingly few people there for such a short hike. It's almost cathedral-like, with the two spires overhead, and it throws a lot of echoes when people are talking. Very cool.
Then it was time to find a place to stay. Moab is about four miles away, and being located between Arches and Canyonlands, it's definitely geared towards tourists. Meaning everything is a bit pricier. We're staying at the Adventure Inn Motel (everything is an "adventure" in Moab. Adventure Outfitters, Adventure Jeeps, Adventure Post Office).
We wandered through a few of the shops, then had supper at Fiesta Mexicana. Enchilada Mole - yum! (I wanted to try the Deep Fried Ice Cream for dessert, but the meal was too big. No room left. Some other time.)
:-)
As we travelled further from Provo/Salt Lake City (and no, we never did see the Salt Lake), the landscape shifts from green hills, to a sparser trees and rocky hills (think Northern Ontario, with bigger hills). The farms in this area seem to rely very heavily on irrigation - I think the land would prefer to be desert.
There's not a lot of communities on Highway 6 and 121 - the largest community is Price, but Stephen preferred the small town of Wellington and its cheap little "Pillow Talk Motel." LOL! But as we drove along, the landscape was definitely looking more and more like desert, with buttes off in the distance.
Of course, the landscape got steadily more impressive the closer we got to Arches National Park. Big, monumental, red rock ranges. And then, once you drive in, your car is heading up on a narrow road that climbs way up along the hillside. The scenery is spectacular. Yes, it's all rocks - but wow. :-)
We stopped at most of the viewpoints along the way and took pictures. Then we decided to skip past the Windows section on the way in and head straight to the Delicate Arch hiking trail (4.8 km round trip, 146m elevation change). Stephen and I had our backpacks, hiking shoes, and were carrying water, as the tour guide lists it as a strenuous hike and advises each person carries two quarts/litres of water. Our adventure begins...
The first half of the hike, we were motoring along, uphill uphill uphill. Whew. The trail is supposed to be marked with rock cairns. However, when we finally reached the top of the hilly range, the rock cairns disappeared. That's weird. As well, no one was catching up to us. Also weird.
Oh well. We kept going on, and eventually we saw what appeared to be the Delicate Arch, and lots of tiny little people wandering around. So, there it is. But that's a weird angle, isn't it? How to approach...?
How about that way? Hmm. One one side, a steeply sloping rim that slides down into a huge rock depression. Crater, really. On the other side, another steep slope that drops off WAY down to a place I can't even see. Neither route looks very passable. Maybe we're just supposed to wander across the skinny plateau between the two? Yes, let's do that.
So we do that. We're walking forward and forward over slickrock, and the closer we get, the less passable it looks. But we are close, dammit. I mean, we're on the far end of the Delicate Arch. So there must be a way around. We keep going. Because we're just that smart.
And finally, we're close enough to come to the realization that trying to squeeze around the one side of the column is certain death. And trying to get around the other side of the column... also certain death.
This is not the right way.
And you just know that fifty tourists safely ensconced on the safe side of the Arch have their cameras raised to record our last moments before we bounce down the canyon walls.
Stephen says, "Thank goodness I brought this utility rope along!" And he quickly lassoes the Arch, and we swing safely across to the other side. A terrible cracking noise sounds, and the Delicate Arch slowly crumbles, then breaks away and falls into rubble. Many angry tourists stare at us in recrimination.
Okay, so that last part didn't happen that way (although some Hollywood director might say it should have happened that way). :-)
What happened is that our instincts for self-preservation finally kicked in, and we backtracked yet again. Way way back, until we got to the point where we finally saw other hikers. Yes, we missed a damn cairn. (I'll also note that, upon re-reading our guide book, it does state that the trail isn't very well marked once you get up into the slickrock.) Anyway, I think it's to our credit that neither one of us ever suggested climbing up and OVER the Delicate Arch. Even we're not that dumb.
So, on the right trail again at last, we're back on track, and have to travel all the way behind the sloping walls of death, to approach the Delicate Arch from the other side. Finally! It's cool and windy up there, which is quite refreshing after all the exertion. I think we added at least a full kilometer to our hike with all of our scurrying to and fro. And you just know that we're in a whole lot of photos. "Look at this picture - some dummies were wandering on the other side. I was sure they were going to die."
Anyhoo, we made it there alive, and we got our pictures taken under the Delicate Arch (and it didn't fall on our heads either). Success! All our troubles are behind us; it's all downhill from here.
Nevertheless, I managed to gouge my shin on the way out. I look much more impressive with a bloody leg. I tell everyone Stephen stabbed me with his hiking pole.
Oh, and a side note: I could not believe the number of people who were hiking in flip flops, and not carrying any water at all. When we were leaving, there was a man walking along the ledge next to his toddler (the kid was not more than 2 years old). Yes, the dad was hovering right there next to the kid, but still... the path is three feet wide, and it's a long way down. Yikes.
After that, we drove through the rest of the park's viewpoints, and the only other hike we did was to the Double Arch. That was really beautiful, and there were surprisingly few people there for such a short hike. It's almost cathedral-like, with the two spires overhead, and it throws a lot of echoes when people are talking. Very cool.
Then it was time to find a place to stay. Moab is about four miles away, and being located between Arches and Canyonlands, it's definitely geared towards tourists. Meaning everything is a bit pricier. We're staying at the Adventure Inn Motel (everything is an "adventure" in Moab. Adventure Outfitters, Adventure Jeeps, Adventure Post Office).
We wandered through a few of the shops, then had supper at Fiesta Mexicana. Enchilada Mole - yum! (I wanted to try the Deep Fried Ice Cream for dessert, but the meal was too big. No room left. Some other time.)
:-)
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