On Wednesday, Aug 31st, we arrived in Ogden, UT, for another free night at the Holiday Inn Express. All the Holiday Inn rooms look alike.
We had dinner right across the parking lot at Cactus Reds. The ratings were not very high on this place but we thought the food was good.
We sat at the bar next to a gentleman, who asked for his check about two seconds after we sat down. I said, "I hope we aren't chasing you off." He said, "No. I'm dealing with the time change." "Oh... where are you from?" "East Coast -- Frederick MD." Well, that started a conversation. Even the other two people and the bartender joined in as they were also from the East Coast.
We learned about the alcohol laws in Utah. The beer had a lower alcohol content (3.2%) until covid when they increased the limit. You cannot order more than one drink at a time.
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| Salad |
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| Enchiladas |
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| Chili Verde Burrito |
According to little Ms. Google, for the month of August, we have traveled 2,687 miles with August 31st being our longest travel day. We covered 291 miles from Boise, ID to Ogden, UT. We also covered 189 miles boating. It was nice to be back on the water.
On Thursday, September 1st, one of us got a work out 💪 in while the other one packed the room before checkout. We had another long day of travel ahead of us. We made a stop at Hill Air Force Base to purchase groceries.
We finally arrived in Moab and were spending five nights at Sun Outdoors Arches Gateway. We were looking forward to being in one place for several days and being able to cook some homemade meals. Our cabin was really cute. It was definitely smaller than a tiny home. We had a little deck, a picnic table, and a grill.
The shower was small and I'm not sure how Rob washed the top of his head. It was the perfect size for me.
We came to Moab so we could visit Arches National Park. You had to obtain a timed pass to enter. When I checked, they only had tickets available for the middle of the day. I wanted earlier especially since it was going to be sunny and hot. They release additional tickets the night before. Luckily, we were able to get an earlier time slot. We went to the Visitor's Center -- had to get my map and recommendations from the Park Ranger.
The Park Ranger's recommendation was to head directly to Delicate Arch before it got too hot. The Delicate Arch Trail 👣 was a difficult 3 mile round trip and climbs up 480 feet with no shade. At one point you have a steeply climb up a slickrock slope and you have to walk along a narrow rock ledge. Things we both love.
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| You could see 👀 Delicate Arch through this Arch |
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| Slickrock Slope |
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| Narrow Ledge |
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| Hurry take the picture, so I can get off of this ledge |
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| Rob under the Arch |
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| Sharon under the Arch |
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| Relaxing before heading back down |
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| Down the Slickrock |
We checked out the Wolfe Ranch. John Wesley Wolfe and his son Fred settled on the banks of Salt Wash around 1898. John moved west from Ohio looking for a drier climate. They built a one room cabin, a corral, and a dam across the Salt Wash. John and Fred spent more than a decade leading lives of solitude and hard work. I can't even imagine.
Time to move on to the Sand Dune and Broken Arch Trail 👣 🙃. The Sand Dune Arch Trail said it was an easy stroll through a sandy area. It was a quick trail, but not so easy as it was really sandy. With our Keen's, we gained about 10 pounds and finally had to remove our shoes.
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| I can fit! |
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| Let me move this rock! |
The Broken Arch Trail was a loop trail through blackbrush and grassland flats. The problem with this trail was full on sunshine.
Some shade!
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| This was how I felt after walking the trail 👣 😪 |
We checked out the town of Moab before stopping for a much needed cold 🥶 refreshing drink.
We made steaks 🥩, shrimp 🍤, potatoes 🥔 on the grill for dinner. It was so nice to have a "home" cooked meal.
Saturday, September 3rd, we had a plan so we could get the difficult (for me) hikes out of the way before it got to hot. We arrived in time ⏲ to enter the park at the beginning of our assigned time. We headed straight for The Windows Section of the park. There were several arches located in this area. We decided to do the Double Arch first.
Of course, we parked at the upper Trailhead 🙄 and walked down to the Double Arch Trail. The Double Arch Trail is only .06 miles round-trip with a 30 ft increase in elevation, a relatively flat trail 👣 to the base of two giant Arch spans that are joined together at one end.
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| View on the trail |
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| Double Arches |
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| Kids were climbing out of the rocks 🪨 which scared me while I was trying to take Rob's picture 📸 |
We made our way back up to the Windows 🪟 Trailhead. The Windows Trailhead is 1.1 miles with a 99 ft. increase in elevation. We walked to the North Window first. This one was more populated.
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| Picture of Turret Arch from the North Arch |
We then made our way to Turret Arch
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| Picture of North Arch from Turret Arch |
The South Window was the least populated Arch.
We decided to take the Primitive Trail 👣 back to the car 🚗. This was a longer and more difficult trail around the back of the two Windows 🪟 🪟. The trail 👣 was less developed and we had to follow the cairns (stones), climb one hill (small), and across the blackbrush flats. So glad we took the trail. No one was on the trail and views were amazing. It was well worth the extra distance.
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| Backside of the Windows |
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| The one hill |
We did part of the Devil's Garden Trail. The entire trail was 7.8 miles but we only went as far as The Landscape Arch which was 1.9 miles round trip.
Our next stop was Skyline Arch.
Again, dinner on the grill. I marinated the chicken 🐔 with capers, onions 🌰, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder, oil. Yum 😋!
Today, September 4th, our visit was to Canyonlands. Our first stop was the entrance to show our America The Beautiful pass.
We then stopped at the Island to the Sky Visitors Center. Rob had asked at the Arches about the Shafer Trail based on a recommendation from a friend and the Ranger there said she would not recommend in our vehicle. So I asked the Ranger at Canyonlands and she said it was technically doable and would take about three hours.
Had to use the bathroom before taking a hike. This was a first for me; a toilet and a hole in the ground.
Our first hike was the Mesa Arch, a short 1/2 mile loop and relatively easy trail. It is one of the most scenic panoramas in Canyonlands. It was so cute. This little boy 👦, a future park ranger, told me to watch out for the Cactus 🌵 and the Rattlesnakes 🐍 and then pointed me in the direction I needed to go. I think he was only three or four. Wish I would have gotten a picture.
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| Rob is giving me the look from way down there |
We took the scenic drive to end of the road and stopped at the Grand View Point Overlook. This trail 👣 was 1.8 miles out and back with an elevationof 6,080 feet. The views were amazing.
Another picnic lunch!
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| Our Lunch View |
Then it was time for Shafer Trail. Shafer Trail to Moab was a 45 mile drive,with a high clearance 4-wheel drive recommended. If you remember, we had that one trip from hell in the Bahamas. I did so much better with that then I did with this trail 👣. I thought for sure we were going over the side of the canyon.
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| The look of terror! |
The 4Runner did awesome!
Our last day we took it easy. We went to the Wall Street Climbing Area and watched some people climbing. The young lady asked if we wanted to try. I said, "No thank you. I'll just watch."
We did hike to see the Dinosaur 🦕 tracks and some petroglyph.
This family of seven pulled in about the same time as us. They were going to see the Dinosaur 🦕 Tracks and decided to follow us. The oldest family member was 80 and she scampered right up the side of the mountain. Well, coming back down was not as easy so Rob assisted. They were very appreciative.
We spent the afternoon at the pool resting and planning the what's next.
Stay tuned. The adventure never ends!
Oh, the places you'll go! - Dr. Seuss
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