God's Handiwork Up Close

What a day we had today! We just drove the 15 miles back into the canyon to our lodge, and on the way back, Ash said, "This was one heck of a cool day!" We all had to agree. Dave got our sleepy bodies out of bed with a 6:30 wakeup call today. We drove into town to have a quick breakfast, then headed for Arches National Park. We were all sooooo glad he got us up, because we made the 3.0 mi hike to Delicate Arch in great temps - 75 when we arrived and 83 when we ended the hike. Cloud cover provided the lower temps for us and we also enjoyed a great breeze. The walk was somewhat difficult - along the way we ran into an 82 yr old man who'd fallen and passed out on the slippery rocks. He'd bloodied his shirt and needed stitches in his head - had to give him credit for attempting the steep climb though. As we finally rounded the last corner, walking along the narrow ledge, we saw the stunning Delicate Arch. You can't help but be awed and impressed with the gorgeous site. Stayed for a bit taking pictures and visiting with other tourists - mostly French - very few Americans. The entire experience took about 4 hours. After descending, we hiked over to view some Native American petroglyphs and then drove to see Balanced Rock - a HUGE bolder balanced on a stone pedestal. Just fabulous! The boys loved the hike and were also impressed with the sandstone creations throughout the national park.

After leaving the park, we headed into town for a quick lunch, then made our 2 pm appt for a Hummer Tour! This was absolutely fantastic! It was really warm by then (95), but we had a nice breeze, a great tour guide and stunning views. If you want to see an area we viewed, go to www.youtube.com and search for Moab the Crash. You will see quite a site that happened on this huge hill that we overlooked on our tour. Luckily, our hummer tour was a bit calmer than that! Matt videotaped much of the ride which included steep climbs up narrow petrified sand dunes. At one point, the guide even took us up a hill backwards! Now, this may not sound scary to you, but when the trail is very narrow and you can see down for hundreds of feet on either side of you --- well, it was wild! Ashley and Sarah - we were in the same area as the famous Slippery Rock bike trail used by many mountain bikers. You wouldn't believe the incline we (and they) rode on as we traveled the trails.

A trip the the grocery store and a Subway sandwich to go completed our day today. We are all tired and decided a swim at the lodge was in order to cool off. Rain and a bit of thunder last night, so no stars. It has cleared off tonight and we're hoping to see a sky full of stars tonight.

Tomorrow morning, we will drive into Arches and hike to Landscape Arch before leaving Moab. On to Boulder, UT next ...