Exploring Another Planet

That's what it felt like during our two days in Moab exploring the Arches National Park. How can you describe something that words or pictures can't really do justice to? To be fair you can't--You have to experience it. It's like the Grand Canyon--You can take the best pictures in the world, but until you see it in person you can't really grasp it. That's what it feels like here in this part of Utah.

Although a perfect day is certainly subject to interpretation in a different way by everyone, one thing is for sure: You sure can't lose by being able to wander wander all day long in shorts and tank tops or t-shirts in November! It ended up being 71 degrees, and it was the perfect day for picture-taking and hiking. During yesterday and today combined, I shot over 500 pictures!

It was so much fun to be able to explore the park with Suzie. Being both an avid hiker and photographer that she is, she was like a kid in a candy store--Always eager to explore and amazed by what she saw. I mean, where else on earth will you find a giant sandstone penis? Here's a shot of it, followed by another one with Suzie in it to show scale:



The Arches National Park is best seen in more than one day. The obvious reason is the time is takes of course, but another not so obvious reason is lighting. There are parts of the park where the scenery comes alive in the morning hours when it's lit by early sun, and there are parts that behave the same way during the afternoon hours. When you hit them during the wrong time of day they can look flat and less interesting in a picture. You can't believe how much of a difference it can make. Some of the hikes take more than an hour or two to see also, so you'll need at least two days to see it all. There are only a hand full of arches that you can see without hiking a trail to see them. Although there are several trails that take you to the coolest places, you can drive through the park without being a bit disappointed. There are lots of turnouts for picture buffs to pull over when that perfect moment of awe will hit you (and it will hit you!)

Suzie and I both agreed that the best was Delicate Arch. It took us an hour to hike the trail to Delicate Arch, and some of it was pretty demanding. When we got there we were treated to a most amazing sight! It's truly something to behold. We got there just before the sun set so we got some pretty dramatic pictures. If that weren't enough, we climbed another ridge (not a recognized trail) and ended up high above the arch on the opposite side from the rest of the crowd. It was a whole different perspective, and they ended up being some of the best pictures we took of the arch! It was also fun to do a Gomer Pyle "hooty-hoot" yell from atop the ridge and listening to the echo.

Suzie never tired of offering to take pictures of a couple whenever she could. Whenever she'd see someone taking a picture of their significant other with scenery in the background, she'd offer to take their picture for them so they could both be in it. She loved doing it and it was never refused.

When our first day finally came to an end, we were treated to this on our way out:


Day two (today) was much the same: Awesome scenery and pictures. One major difference was the weather: It was about 5 degrees cooler, windy, and cloudy instead of sunny. It was still great weather, but we opted for long pants this time. It's probably just as well considering the fact that we encountered quite a bit of blowing sand in hikes though slot canyons. When we finally finished up today, there was only one item we didn't get to see: The Fiery Furnace. It's a place made out of the same amazing sandstone as the rest of the Arches park, but it's more like a giant maze. It's so weird that they won't let anyone in without a permit. They actually encourage people to go on the ranger-led tours so they won't get lost. Because it took 4-5 hours for it, we didn't get to do that.

We checked out of our $62 a night Sleep Inn motel and headed up the road. Here we sit in our ultra plush (not!) $52 a night motel in beautiful downtown Blanding, Utah. We chose this over another motel because it had wireless internet, but the funny thing is, their wireless won't let us log on because they have their settings all wrong. Instead, we're using a wireless signal that comes in from here from somewhere else.

Tomorrow: Back on the road!