Jul 9, 2007 - Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah

These pictures are from three areas: Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse State Park. All are in Utah, just outside Moab. Arches is the most photogenic and was the site of many movies. John Wayne loved the area and you should recognize the many monuments from his old movies. Also, Crusaders of the Lost Ark was filmed in the area. Canyonlands is the least accessible park. Two parts of the park are very remote and we skipped Needles and the Maze. In fact the area we visited has only one entrance--a narrow 15 foot...

May 6, 2007 - Arches National Park, Moab, UT

Sunday, May 6th cold, wet, windy, and sprinkling. UGH! We drove through Arches National Park to Devil's Garden Trailhead. You would never believe how many vehicles were parked there. We hiked part of this trail and nearly froze. The wind and rain were awful! Afterwards, we drove on the Salt Valley Trail. Part of which was a bumpy road(washboard). We took a few photos as we left the Park.

Nov 18, 2006 - Arches National Park, UT

We finished off our Utah park experience with the appropriately named Arches National Park. The park is full of gravity-defying balanced rocks and arches but the main attraction is the oft-photographed delicate arch. An hour's walk brings you to the arch sitting at the edge of half-crater overlooking a cliff. It must be crazy in summer but there weren't too many people around so we were able to get a couple of pics with me underneath the arch.

Sep 26, 2006 - Arches National Park-Moab Utah

Today was a visit to another world. It is unfortunate that more time cannot be spent here, but this is one of those places that calls for repeated visits to investigate all of the trails and formations. There is just so much to see, and your imagination can run wild with the various shapes. It is fun to imagine people, birds, elephants, and other creatures in the rock, and then there is always that marvelous paint brush of color that God magnificently puts into all of his creation. Various hikes were taken to arches, and other rock...

Aug 4, 2006 - Arches/Canyonlands, Utah: Aug 2006 (Hike's visit starts here)

Arches, Canyonlands & Hike: Aug 2006 Well, the highlight of August was that Hike came to visit and travel with us in our RV. His real name is Hiker Happy - we call him Hike for short. Standing two-foot tall, donning his backpack, hiking hat and camera, he has been a joy to have around. If you haven't heard about Hike and the other three Happy Camper ambassadors, then perhaps some background is in order. Happy Camper is a club we belong to that offers discounted campgrounds. And there really is a Happy Camper Club logo man, named "Camp...

Jul 28, 2006 - Arches National Park

Another day of viewing dramatic formations was in store for me, this time at Arches National Park. It is easier to access than Canyonlands because it is right off US 191 just north of Moab. This accounts for the much larger number of visitors than at Canyonlands yesterday, I suspect. In spite of the heat, I hiked a number of short trails and, of course, kept my camera working hard. There are many turnouts for viewing the formations. At the Windows Section, I had trouble finding a convenient place to park. I had to go to the overflow...

Jun 24, 2006 - Arches National Park to Grand Junction

Well, it's time to leave Durango. After our "scouting trip" up to Silverton yesterday, we did not want to take that route to Grand Junction. Since dealing with the brake problems going over Wolf Creek pass, we wanted to take the FLAT route to Grand Junction. Looking at the map, the easiest way was to go up through Utah - and - we could visit Arches National Park along the way! Another national park for my record books!! Arches NP was incredible. It looked like we had landed on another planet. The rock formations were like nothing we had...

Jun 17, 2006 - Sat - Arches NP, UT

(Day trip to Arches National Park - About 50 miles) 06:00 AM Wake up time. We get to sleep a little later today, yea! We all have showers, get dressed and head to the lobby for breakfast. The breakfast area is very tiny! It is also full of young people and there is not enough room for us so we grab a quick bite and we are done. 08:40 AM We leave the motel and head to Arches National Park. This place is awesome! We have been here before (except for Jan, of course) but will never tire of just looking at the beauty and wonder of it all. We...

Oct 29, 2005 - Arches National Park, Utah

Arches was definitely one of my favourite places. It is an incredible landscape of desert and rock with over 2 thousand arch formations. Our campsite at Devils Garden was a really cool place with great views of the valley below and lots of rocks to clamber over. We stayed 4 nights and did pretty much every hike and viewed all the main arches. The hike to Delicate Arch was a definite highlight. Its fairly strenuous but the view at the end of it was just amazing. We sat up at the arch for hours just admiring the view. The arch is stood all...

Jun 19, 2005 - A Book By Its Cover

A Book By Its Cover (Sandy) When I was eleven or twelve I won a prize at school, for which I was allowed to choose a book to be presented at prize-giving. Afterwards, the conversation with my friends went something like: "Let's see what you got, Humphrey." (Proudly) "It's the Reader's Digest Book of Natural Wonders." "Huh? What d'you get that for?" (Defensive)"I like the picture on the front." "You could've got Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy.' "Yes, but.." "Humphrey, you are a complete zob." Zob was school slang for a swot or a nerd. And...

May 29, 2005 - Arches National Park

May, 29, 2005 UTAH ...Here we come!! We left Williams, Arizona at around 8:45 a.m., like most places we have visited, we could have used another day to check out all the beauty here.... But, we have a schedule......(since we had to plan for Memorial Day and July 4th- we had to make reservations....) We crossed a vast, and I mean vast area of land that is the Navaho Indian Reservation, it was a combination of mammoth stone mountains, valleys so low that you felt you were seeing another dimension and immense areas of desert land where you...