To the Arches and Beyond

In order to make it to the Arches N.P. in any reasonable amount of time from the Bryce Canyon area, we had to make our way north to Interstate 70 which cuts east/west across southern Utah. After about an hour or so on local roads, we reached the interstate and headed east. Michelle did most of the driving on this leg - it was her kind of road: speed limit 75, straight and mostly flat across a desert with light traffic.

We made one stop on the way for breakfast (no, we didn't trust Ruby's even for that basic meal) at a town called Salinas Utah in a cafe called - I kid you not - "Mom's". The food was decent enough, although the building in which "Mom's" was housed was a former coffin factory. I guess they had to bury the losers in all those western shootouts some way.

Anyhow, if you have to cross southern Utah by car, I recommend I-70, not the least for its scenery.

One of the vistas traveling down I-70 in Utah.

The scenery along the Interstate was as spectacular as in some of the National Parks

Eventually we came to our turnoff and headed south on a secondary road to Arches N.P. After passing the entrance booth with my trusty old fart's N.P. pass, we drove up a long winding road to the top of a plateau. From there we drove through the park, stopping to take pictures and a few short hikes.

A sort of "Balancing Rock"

One of the natural arches which gives the park its name

Another natural arch

And yet another


Your intrepid author stands in front of some interesting albeit non-arch formations

On our travels through the West, we spotted numerous people decked out in all sorts of self-consciously "outdoorsy" get ups. These floppy sunbonnet thingys were very prominent among them. Michelle called them "when LL Bean goes wrong".

This formation is called the "Delicate Arch"


These Native American petroglyphs were near the "Delicate Arch". They are attributed to the Ute Indians from whom the state of Utah gets its name.

We walked a ways up this trail which led away from the road and into the interior.

Michelle is holding up the canyon walls

This is what we saw about a half-mile up the trail.

This is an interesting formation. I can't quite place what it looks like though. Although, rumor has it that a truckload of Viagra overturned here a few years ago....

Finally, as we were leaving the park, we saw this formation called "The Three Gossips"

Arches N.P. was well worth the time we spent there and gave us more of a feel for the wonders produced by the geological and other forces which shaped the inter-mountain West.

We left the park and headed south on U.S. 191 across the Colorado River, through the town of Moab UT and on to Monticello UT where we picked up U.S. 491 eastward into Colorado and onward to Durango. It was interesting to see how the terrain changed as we approached the western slope of the Rocky Mountains: growing less arid and with increasing vegetation. On the way toward Durango I phoned the Durango and Silverton Railroad office to reserve us two seats the next day on their authentic steam train ride into the Rockies.

Next: Steam trains - yay!