RoadTrip: Day 11

We woke up to a brisk Colorado morning that we had become accustomed to after spending 8 of the first 10 nights of our trip in Colorado (the other two were Missouri and New Mexico.)  We felt that we had seen enough of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in our rapid lookout point parade the night earlier so we pack up camp and hit the road.  We knew we wanted to see Arches National Park in Utah so we started that way.

Arches National Park Scenery

It was a relatively easy and uneventful 3 hour drive to Arches.  We did have a minor quest to find a gas station hot dog. Well maybe not we, more like Billy was on a quest, but I found my hot dog at a gas station a few miles outside of the park and I couldn't have been happier.  We pulled in to the park and the first thing we discovered was that it was teeming with people.  There were tons of people everywhere.  We had become used to the weekday crowds in some of the lesser known parks and were a tad anxious with all the people and cars.

Park Avenue in Arches National Park

Delicate Arch on the Welcome Sign

We found out that Delicate Arch, although maybe the most famous arch within the park, is also a difficult hike and therefore would cut out all the weak people.  Delicate Arch was a featured shot during the Salt Lake Olympics and is on the Welcome to Utah sign. 


It also was June 1st, sunny, and the middle of the day so it was hot; this we were hoping would cut out even more of those weaklings.  It was a bit of drive in to the park to Delicate Arch and after a few stops along the way to snap some interesting photos we reached the trailhead we were looking for.  We filled up a couple extra water bottles, to be on the safe side, tied up our boots and started the trek over the red rocks to Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch

As expected, it was toasty and we quickly became red-faced and sweaty.  This didn't stop us or hardly even slow us down as we scrambled over piping hot rocks following the cairns set up to mark the route.  Normally trails don't need cairns because the trail is well established the dirty or gravel but when the trail is on a giant rock it becomes difficult to stay headed in the right direction.  We saw a few other groups headed the opposite direction and they looked beaten, this is always discouraging because you know that you are going to the same place they just came from.  There was very little shade to come by so we marched on, finally reaching the Delicate Arch as we polished off our first set of water bottles.

Pondering Delicate Arch's Beauty

Delicate Arch is quite an exquisite rock formation with an incredible view.  It felt like something special to have made the hike out to this place.  There were a few other people that were doing the same things we were but one group really stood out amongst the others.  There were 2 couples that were at least 70 years old, they were all wearing pants, and the two gentlemen were literally jumping around from boulder to boulder.  It was amazing to watch as they moved so freely as seemingly such an advanced age.  We talked with them a bit about their trip and it seemed like they had wanted to do something like this for a long time and had decided that they weren't going to let their ages stop them from doing anything.  We could only hope to be so active when we are in our 70s.

Creepy Eyes of "Windows Arch"

The hike back to our car was much easier and as most hikes go seemed to get done much quicker than the hike out.  We quickly took off our boots as our feet were on fire and put on flip flops to let those puppies breathe.  On our way back out of the park we stopped off at Double Arch, Windows, and a few others to get a feel for some of the 'easier' hikes.  Windows looks a lot like creepy eyes which we discovered as we hiked around the back of the formation to get away from the hoards of people.  Double Arch looked awesome but there were even more people there and we were starting to get hungry and tired of being in the sun.

Double Arch with a Crowd of People

We left the park and drove the couple miles to the town of Moab where we found a campsite that had showers, laundry, and wi-fi, practically like 5th Avenue.  We were dirty and dusty from all the red sand and couldn't wait to get in the showers but we also were getting low on clean clothing so a load of laundry was first to get washed.  I took a cool shower as the Utah summer had made me feel medium-rare inside and boy did I feel refreshed afterwards.

We had some peppered chicken in a ceasar salad for a late lunch and also snacked on some chips and salsa.  After we finished with our laundry and packed away the clean clothes, we decided to find out what Moab had to offer.  We found Moab Brewery, which seemed right up our alley.  After trying a few beers and sharing an appetizer of fries we spotted the flyer for the Moab Rodeo and it just so happened to be going on that evening, and starting in 20 minutes.  We quickly paid our tab and left to find the rodeo.

Megan claims that she has been to many rodeos back in her day, but this was my first.  It was non-stop excitement!  They had bull riding and bronco riding and roping and team roping and women's barrel racing and kids sheep riding events.  In between events they would have raffles and comedians and the greased pig competitions.  I didn't even want to walk away to get another beer because I was afraid I was going to miss something.  And obviously I missed something because I don't understand how the scoring works except for the barrel racing and the greased pig events.  Fastest to race around the barrels or if you have the pig, you win.  Plus, now I can honestly use the saying "this isn't my first rodeo."

Moab Rodeo

When the rodeo was done, the fun ended, and so did our day.