Cortez to Moab

Day 174 - Moab, UT - SUNNY Low 70's:

Breakfast was delicious today!! Ben made eggs and English muffins. Sometimes it just tastes so good. We planned to head to Arches National Park today as did Billy and Sara so we figured why not go with the more the merrier idea. Our first trail was to Devils Garden. Here we passed by a number of those famous arches including, Black Arch, Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch, Partition Arch, and ending at Double O Arch. It was a fun hike that at times found us blazing our own trail...we made it though and once we arrived at Double O we explored a bit before sitting down below the arch to have lunch. Billy and Sarah have been taking fun jumping photos at every location and so at Double O Arch we also all took part in a group jump photo. It was pretty entertaining for the crowd to watch us accomplish this feat!! I think we took like 70 pictures and came out with one or two that look good for all of us! After accomplishing our photo we made our way back out the six miles and headed out to find the famous Delicate Arch.

The Delicate Arch is without question the most photographed Arch in the park. It is the Arch on Utah's license plate and what you see in most photographs of the park. It was a one and a half mile hike up to the arch which we did pretty quickly. Once we were there we were all taken a back by the beauty and uniqueness of this magnificent piece of nature. We took plenty of photos. It was amazing to be hiking in the heat and to be able to see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. We again blazed our own trail out allowing us to see the arch from different angles. Ben and Billy had fun playing on the rocks making Sara and I relatively nervous!!

From Delicate Arch we made our way to Balanced Rock. This was just a quick half-mile walk but to see this MASSIVE rock balancing up so high was pretty incredible. Both Sara and Ben separately commented on how the hope no one is around when that thing falls because it's going to be a BIG fall.

Once we were done at Balanced Rock we separated as Ben and I needed to head into town to get some gas and water for tomorrows adventure to Canyonlands. We had learned yesterday that Moab is having a car show this weekend which is why KOA was sold out. Well we ran into the car show traffic today. It is really bizarre because they don't actually have any sort of parade but people line the streets in their camp chairs just to watch cars go by...I mean they have picnic tables and grills, it's really quite interesting.

We returned to camp and Ben headed off to join Sara and Billy in the pool. I wasn't really interested and instead decided to hang out at the site and update the BLOG!! We're getting ready for dinner and plan to play cards and enjoy our company before they head off to more adventures tomorrow!!

Day 173 - Cortez, CO to Moab, UT - Overcast and Rainy Low 60's:

We got a bit of a late start out of the hotel heading for Moab, UT home to both Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. The weather wasn't great and so spending the day in the car didn't actually bother either of us all that much. Before we left though we made a quick return to Walmart so Ben could get a MUCH NEEDED haircut. It's certainly no Laura Savage Hair Design but it did the trick!

We stopped at a scenic overlook called the Needles Overlook. It's part of Canyonlands. The park is unique as it is the most rural and undeveloped as well as least visited park in the National Park System. It has three unique zones all independent of one another meaning you can't get there from here.... There is the Needles, Maze and Islands In The Sky. We plan to spend time at Islands in the Sky and so we took the twenty-two mile drive to at least see Needles. The weather of course wasn't all that cooperative and therefore the pictures don't look great but we could see it with our eyes at least!

Other than the overlook, the drive was pretty uneventful until we reached Moab...well about 12 miles south of town but I think it's technically still in the Moab city limits. Here we discovered a place called Hole N The Rock. We had no idea what it was but decided to pull in and check it out. We learned that this location had long been a resting place for miners and travelers through Utah in the 1800's. Eventually Albert and Gladys Christensen bought the land and through blasting and carving, created a restaurant within the rock. Eventually the need for the rest area dwindled and they decided to build their dream home within the rock. The work was done through the 1940's and 1950's but unfortunately Albert passed away before the home was finished. His wife Gladys though continued the work and today it is a fourteen room house and gift shop. They offer daily ten minute tours which we decided to pass on as you can get a look in the kitchen and wander the gift shop for free. Outside they have some of the most random sculptures and items you will ever see....take a look at the photos for what I mean! It's a unique place and I must say I can't imagine the thought process that went into deciding to build a home in a rock but it makes for a great tourist stop!

Not far after the Hole N the Rock we came upon our first arch called Wilson Arch. Naturally we HAD to get out and play and as you can see in the photos it was quite fun!! From there it was straight on to Moab. We had reserved one night at a KOA figuring we would decide if we liked it and then extend after that. Bad Plan. They were booked for Saturday so we ended up leaving there and moving to the Moab RV Resort. It turned out to be a great decision as we ended up meeting Billy and Sara from New Hampshire. They are on a two month road trip and are only three weeks in!! We spent most of the evening chatting with them...it's so fun to be able to offer advice and share stories.