Arches National Park

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT: I've been "off-line" for a while because I did something that made it impossible for me to get into my blog - I kept getting "Bad Request" messages! I felt like a naughty puppy! But I finally figured out how to fix that.

We have been in Moab, UT and Arches National park since Wednesday. We drove down from Alpine on Wednesday, through very gusty wind, scattered thunderstorms, heavy traffic around Salt Lake City, constant construction on I-15, and on top of that we got pulled over for speeding! But he let us go with a warning. I think we'd been going maybe 50 m.p.h. in a 45-m.p.h. zone that looked desolate. So it was sort of a wild drive, but the section along I-70 between Salina, UT and Moab was utterly spectacular. Canyonlands galore.

We joined the Feinlands in Moab and have had a fun time exploring Arches with them, giving Julie and Jerry, and the older children (Mimi, 9 and Ben, 12) a chance to do more serious hikes while we did things with Tamar, 7. Arches is a wonderful park. One of our favorite spots is called Sand Dune Arch. You go through a narrow passage between high, thin "fins" of red rock into a kind of private grotto which is all red sand beneath your feet, towering red rocks walls on all sides, and some beautiful pinyon oak shrubs growing, to add the contrasting green color. It was magical. Here are some photos:

TAMAR WITH A LIZARD FRIEND AT THE VISITOR CENTER

ELLEN ENTERS THE GROTTO

ELLEN AND TAMAR IN SAND DUNE ARCH

A NICE SHOT OF ELLEN AND ME THAT TAMAR TOOK

JERRY AND MIRIAM CAVORTING

















We've put in pretty full physical days despite having been down with flu just a few days ago. I was pretty beat last night but feel good today. We're with the kids this morning while Julie and Jerry do the "Fiery Furnace" trail in the cooler temperatures of the morning (it will get up to 104 degrees today). Then Ellen and I will take off and go across Utah into Nevada on our way to Salem, OR.