Al L and I went on a vacation in early September to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands. We landed in Salt Lake City and the next morning headed to some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of the United States. Here are some of the views we saw along the way.
I didn't know that Utah had a coal industry
Al looking at the view of the mountains.
The rental car got us from Salt Lake to Moab and back!
It took us a little over four hours to arrive in Moab. We were excited to see the sites so we went to the closest park to Moab which is Arches National Park. Here is a link with more information about the park.
https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm
What would a visit to a national park be without a photo at the entrance!
A view of the park from the visitor center
The first spectacular rock formation in the park
The following photos are also of the park and our first drive through Arches
The first scenic overlook in the park
Looking from the road into the park. The view is of the visitor's center
Balanced Rock
Another scenic overlook. It looks like a city in the distance but it is more rock formations!
A native plant in Arches
We had hoped to do a hike in the Fiery Furnace but it is a ranger led hike and it was full by the time we tried to sign up. You can do it without the ranger but you must see a movie about the area and pay a fee to do so. Al and I were concerned that we would get lost in the maze so we passed!
The second day of our visit we decided to visit Canyonlands. We were going to cycle in that area and possibly attempt a ride from Moab to Canyonlands so going by car was a way to determine how far and if we could do it.
Here is a link with more information about the park
Of course the obligatory photo at the entrance to the park.
Someone was nice enough to take a photo of both Al and I
Here are some views and native plants in Canyonlands
Rock cairins that help you stay on the hiking trail
Here are some awesome photos of the landscape of Canyonlands
We did the Upheaval Dome hike. The second scenic overview was much harder than the first and included some rock scrambling.
On the third day we had rental road bikes reserved from a local bike, The Bike Fiend. It was the only cycling shop in town that rented road bikes. The owner built the titanium bikes that we rented for the day.
Here is information on the bike shop.
Here is a photo of one of the custom titanium bikes we rented.
There was a paved path for cyclists at the north end of Moab that led you to the turnoff for Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park. We followed that path through some of the most spectacular scenery.
We tried to make it to the entrance to Dead Horse Park but Al was having problems with his bike shifting when climbing so we made it half way and had to turn around. If you do attempt this ride on your visit there is a water stop at the Dinosaur Museum Cafe. There are other refreshments and food there as well.
There is much more to blog about but I will split the blog into two parts because of the amount of photos and narrative.
Part 2 will be finished in the very near future.
You look great with longer hair!
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