Our first tour was to the Arches National Park. Words cannot describe the wonderful scenery. The geological formations were simply fabulous. With a little immagination, one can associate each shape with an animal, cartoon character, etc.
A number of Western movies were filmed in these national parks, including Thelma and Louise and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
After visiting the Arches National Park, we went to Dead Horse State Park from which we could see the canyon lands near the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, just outside Moab. The scope of these canyons was just breath taking. I never saw so many canyons in one place. They may make our visit to the Grand Canyon anticlimatic.
We had a free day on Sunday so we took a ride along route 128 to the La Sal Mountains. This scenic road goes along the Colorado River through canyons and alongside vinyards. From the road up the La Sal Mountains we got excellent views of Castle Mountain and the Moab valley.
We left Moab on Monday for Torrey, UT, about 160 miles southwest of Moab. Along the way we stopped at the Goblin Valley State Park. Here we saw thousands of sandstone formations that resembled goblins and other weird creatures. The goblins are made of Entrada sandstoneand show evidence of being near an ancient sea with the ebb and flow of tides, tidal channels, and coastal sand dunes.
On Tuesday, Sep 11, we all took cars and toured the Capital Reef National Park. The highlight of this trip was the drive and hike through Capital Reef Gorge. Again, the cliffs, domes, and monuments were breathtaking. We saw ancient Indian petroglyphs or drawings along with a part of the gorge where the pioneers from the 1870s and later had written their names and dates.
Afterwards, I hiked up a one mile trail to Hickman Bridge, a natural bridge. This was a real strenuous hike, up and down, at altitudes of 7,000-8,000 feet. The views though were fantastic. The hike took me over an hour, Lillian waited nervously below for me to return. On my way down, I met a couple hiking up who relayed a message from Lill that she was concerned about me. But I returned safely to her. That ended our day at the Capital Reef National Park and the surrounding area. I returned to the campground tired and hungry and thursty. These are the times when a beer or two or three taste especially good!
I've taken over 500 pictures and have run out of space on this blog. After Gremlin Valley where there were thousands of sandstone forms that resembled aliens from outter space, ET type animals, &, yes, gremlins, we visited Bryce Canyon, Zion, Durango, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon (North & South Rims), and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.
Of all the canyons we saw, Bryce, due to its many interesting formations and colors was our favorite.
On our way home, we stopped in Little Rock to visit the Clinton Presidential Museum & Library. We were very impressed with the Clinton Museum, especially with Hillary Clinton's very active involvements and accomplishments as First Lady.
All in all, I think our high point was Mesa Verde, so below is our last picture from this wonderful six week trip of 5750 miles.
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