ON THE ROAD AGAIN Since we had full hookups at Mesa Verde National Park, we emptied the black and gray tanks prior to leaving. Besides, we wanted to reduce the weight as much as possible before descending the multi-switchbacked mountain road. We were scared to death! But the good Lord took care of us and we had no problem whatsoever coming down in 2nd gear. In fact, the brakes on DunnGone were applied only sparingly. We stopped at Cortez just outside the park to fill with gasoline and do some much needed shopping at Walmart. Between Cortez, CO, and Monticello, UT, we observed extensive farming operations, including row crop production. High prairies began almost immediately after proceeding north through Monticello. South of Moab, UT, significant rock formations began to appear, along with high mountain ranges. It was interesting to note the almost sudden change in topography today as we traveled north, dropping 3,000 feet in elevation.
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK It had been over 30 years since Donald last was at Arches National Park and his memory had faded considerably. He did not remember having to drive from the valley floor up several switchbacks to enter the park. Also, many trails had been added, and some of the formations had changed. Since we had reserved a site in the campground, we drove immediately to the site to set up DunnGone. Unfortunately, it was at the other end of the road, 18 miles from the entrance. Our site was across from the restrooms, slanted downhill, but had an arch in the background.
 Our Camping Site |
ARCHES GALORE Driving back almost halfway to the entrance, we began our tour in earnest, with our first stop at North Window and South Windows (what Donald calls Looking Glass Arches).
 Looking Glass Arches |
