In any case, we left the RV park bright and early to be at Arches National Park at 7:00 am. We had lots of company there, but once inside the park, people spread out and the crowds were manageable.
Driving into the park, the sights are almost endless.
The blank strip at the top of the photos is the overhang of the coach on my class C RV.
Here are some panoramic views of the drive in.
These are the petrified dunes.
Our first stop in the park was at Balanced Rock.
Kind of obvious how it was named.
And a few other shots in that area.
Moving on from Balanced Rock, we went to the Windows area. This is an area with the arched formations.
There's a trail around the area through the landscape.
It ends up at another arch. I think that is called the big window.
We left windows and headed out to the rest of the park that we could access. A large section was closed for road repair. This was an area that had multiple peaks.
This is a close up of the feature.
Looking back toward the windows area.
We arrived at Delicate Arch.
We went to the overlook site. You could take the 2 mile hike to the arch. It was uphill both ways, so I passed on that. The overlook site was still a bit of a climb.
Looking the opposite direction, it's a greenish landscape.
Much of it looked like a mossy fungus of some sort. It had the appearance of the green stuff lawn seeders use.
Anything that grows here seems to have some sort of defense mechanism. My bloody ankles can attest to that. Maybe it's why we're told to stay on the trails.
Finally, a few more shots of the red rocks as we leave Arches National Park.
And our home away from home.
Sure is nice having the rest area traveling with you...especially in these areas.
So much for Arches...on to Canyonlands National Park and the "Islands in the Sky" route. The trip to the park as usual was scenic.
First stop was the Shafer Canyon overlook.
It's a flat top platform that juts out over the canyon. Here are some more views of that area.
A panorama of the overlook area,
The canyon floor from the overlook.
No guard rails anywhere around here. I'd be a nervous wreck with children on this slab of rock. One step and it's a few thousand feet to the bottom. Gives me the jitters being 10' from the edge.
Next stop was the "Mesa Arch". That's the arch to the left where all the people are standing.
Here we are at the arch looking out toward the canyon.
The final stop today is the "Grand View Point" overlook.
There sure is a lot of real estate here. There are Jeep trails here and there, but for the most part it's just acre after acre of bare land.
So after 9 hours traversing a small portion of Utah, I feel about like this old scrubby tree...dead.
Tomorrow is a travel day. We're headed toward Bryce Canyon and plan to tour that Thursday morning...I think. Days are all kind of a blur anymore.
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