It is 64 degrees at 9 am, on the way up to the high 80's low 90's today and we are staying right on the Moab fault line..as a matter of fact all of Moab proper is in this valley, approx., 2500 ft below the elevated scenery.
Way down there somewhere is the town of Moab and the Colorado River.
We set out for Arches National Park, which is all up hill from town, there are around 2,000 natural arches in this part of the area, there are a lot more in other areas that are not able to be seen by car.
There is also a lot of hiking, mountain biking, and off-roading here, the off-roading in the arches park was tame, but once you get on the west side of town you are in off-road heaven. The off-road trails for 4x4's were rated 1 thru 5.....5 meant you would break stuff, and a tow out of this area would cost a minimum of $2000, so you better have friends along.
Here are some of the most notable sights in the park....enjoy!
This is called balance rock, go figure!
Erosion caused this and it could change at anytime, not while we were there!!
Very quiet, and peace full, almost spiritual.
This is looking down Park Avenue
This formation is called 3 stooges or 3 bishops, 3 something.
It is called the 3 gossips! At least we know David can count!
This formation is called courthouse.
Balanced rock, there is a lot of this going on here, makes you wonder how long this will stay this way.
Maybe this is what is left of a Dinosaur Colosseum.
When you get past these, and got higher in elevation, you see a lot of the natural arches, there are trails to these, and more walking (at high altitude). These arches are formed in the sandstone by wind and rain, and time, as they are formed by nature, so will nature destroy them...so get yer butt to Moab in the next few hundred thousand years before they are gone!!!
I saw this menace lurking in the above shown picture, it was peering at me through the bigger arch, could it be Sasquatch???
After a nice hike up hill we both enjoyed the big arch and the scenery.
David MADE me walk up hill, A MILE, in thin air, just so he could take a picture which he didn't put on this page! I feel very wronged......and short of breath!!
It was BEAUTIFUL! thanks honey.
This one is called delicate arch, it is small and delicate, and about 3/4 mile away...up hill. We shot this one from the parking lot.
Unique formations, and many different layers of sediment, including prehistoric sand and salt deposits from when this area was all ocean.
After about 6 hours in the park, we headed back for our dinner and night cruse up the river called the "Canyon land by Night" boat tour. We were fed cowboy style dinner, most everything was in a big pot, it was very good. Then we headed out in a riverboat to hear about the history of the valley, from the native Indians and the governments ability to keep privateers away from this land. The trip was very relaxing..and dark!!! They had flood lights on the canyon walls while the stories were told so David was not so whiny and scared of the dark.
MOAB UTAH ----DAY TWO
On our second day in Moab we got up early and took another river trip, this one was about 45 miles down the Colorado river via-jet boat. Turbo diesel, enclosed aluminum river boat fun!!
Rory was our boat captain and guide, piloting the river is tricky due to sand bars, and BIG rocks hidden just under the waters surface. We passed people on overnight canoe trips, they were camping on the sand bars..looked like a lot of fun. We saw a huge potash mine, and some fancy remote residences only accessible by boat or 4x4. This water trip is a must do if you visit Moab!
The tour took us through Dead Horse Point State Park...here is a snap of Dead Horse Monument; you could actually drive and view the river from up there, as you can see it is wayyyyyy up there!!
Here are some other shots from the boat.
A neat arch.
You can see the different layers of sediment.
Another one of natures balancing displays.
Captain Rory stopped the boat at an area where there are a lot of fossils and this is a picture of a petrified tree sticking out of the rock.
More petrified wood.
The trip lasted 4 hours and went by in the blink of an eye, what a wonderful way to begin the day.
After the boat tour we stopped of at the Moab Brewery for lunch and took off to the Grand Canyon. (which will be really weird...did you hear about the tornadoes in Arizona?)
Check back..more to follow.
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