Utah and Arches National Park

The days and the parks are starting to run together. I'll have to read this when I get home so I can sort it all out.

We drove west to Utah then north for about 150 miles - not bad at all. There were few trucks on the road but lots of RVs. We drove through farm land - crops seem to be hay, wheat and beans. A lot of irrigation is going on; I can see why there are such water wars out here. The picture above shows a harvested field (they go on for miles) with the watering pipes running across the picture.


I am guessing the hay crop at least was pretty successful. We saw stacks and stacks just like this along the highway.










We got to Moab, Utah about 11:30 am. It looks to be a happening place. There are all kinds of motels and outdoor activity tour places and microbreweries. I imagine in the summer young people are out all day hiking and boating and 4-wheeling. Then at night they are walking up and down the main streets just having a good time. We picked up subs for a picnic and took off for the park.

As we drove into the park we got our first look at an arch. According to the brochure there are 2000 in the park from 3 feet across to 306 feet across. Our plan was to drive to the far end of the park and work our way back.

The park has a much more rustic feel, I think. There are pit toilets but no running water (except at one camp ground). What is listed as an easy walk here would have been listed as a moderate walk elsewhere in my opinion. We set off to Landscape Arch (.8 miles easy) and got to one too many uphills and turned back. Instead we saw Pine Tree Arch (so named because a pine tree is growing right in the bottom of it) and Tunnel Arch.





This is where we ate lunch. In the shade of Utah Juniper with Pinion Pine. Right next to a big rock. See how small the table is?













The arch at the right is named Delicate Arch. Yes, there are people standing under it. That is a 1.5 mile hike. We passed on that and took a picture from below. There is a picture of people standing under it dated 1905. A family tried to ranch not far from here. They stuck to it for a few years but it was just too hard.









There used to be big horn sheep in this area. They had disappeared because of disease from domesticated sheep and drought. Arches imported 25 from Canyonlands NP just down the road. Now there are about 50. But the sign is more hopeful than real. They are seldom spotted in the park.









This is a picture across salt valley to Fiery Furnace. There is salt from 200 feet to 2 miles thick under this whole area. Millions of years ago this land was all under the sea. Apparently the salt water got trapped and the water evaporated leaving a thick layer of salt. That was covered gradually by rock. Then the heavy rock pushed all of the salt together creating a dome. The rock could not bend over the top of the dome so it cracked, letting water in which melted the salt. Then there was a bubble and the rock collapsed leaving this salt valley. As you can see not much grows there. In the distance you see the fins of red sandstone sticking up. These are what the arches are carved from.


We walked in a ways to see Double Arch.We walked up the path to where you see those people but did not climb up into the arch. If you blow this up and look closely, you can see some kids in the bottom of the arch on the left. As good as these pictures are, they just do not show the beauty. The sky is so blue and the sandstone is so red. Everything is so peaceful and vast (even with lots of other people around).


We checked out the Petrified Sand Dunes. Scientists think that this was once sand like in the Sahara Desert. But water and rock got mixed in until it is now rock in the shape of the sand dunes. So it is not petrified like the trees we saw on Friday. But cool looking none the less.









Here is another interesting sign we have seen in several parks. I particularly like the part telling you to pick up small children. Fortunately we have not seen any mountain lions.












And finally the tree picture:


Those are quaking aspen and show the fall color. The weather is gorgeous. Cool enough so that we can hike around comfortably. I guess we walked 3 miles today and we are pretty tired. I was starving so we had Italian for dinner.

Andrew, forget Alaska. This is the place for you. There are lots of park ranger led hikes which are set up for young people. The countryside is incredibly beautiful. And nightlife is 5 miles down the road. So what if you have a degree in Political Science and Economics. Your meterology and entomology and horticulture courses should make you a shoo-in.