We slept in a little today, but it didn’t feel like it. Checkout was at 11AM and we were sure we would be out by then. We loaded up our car and headed out to McDonald’s for our $13 meal for both of us. I guess things are expensive in Moab. For the same 2 meals of Sausage Egg & Biscuit, hash brown and drink would have been around $7 at home.

After getting gas and orange Fanta we stopped by a local rock shop in Moab. Sharon saw a lot of rocks, none of which she felt like getting. I think people get caught up in souvenir buying and don’t realize that what they’re buying will just sit and collect dust once they get home. So it was $1 for an ordinary rock with increasing prices as the rocks became prettier or more interesting. They did sell fossils of fish imprinted in rock, which I did think about getting, but I wasn’t sure where I would put it, plus I wasn’t sure if it was authentic. Part of me repeats that Indiana Jones quote “It belongs in a museum!” Who am I to have a fossil in my own home for no paleontologist to study? It would probably at best end up being sold at an estate sale when I leave this earth. At worst it would be thrown into a landfill.

There were quite a few rocks outside in the front area away from any cashier. At night there was a deposit box for people to pay on the honor system should they see a rock they like. The more expensive ones were inside. I’m certain theft could be a problem since they couldn’t watch everyone all the time. Thieves could easily stuff some rocks in their pocket and no one would say a word about it.

Afterwards we took State Road 128 on the border of Arches National Park. This road followed the Colorado River along some beautiful landscape outside of the National Park. Along the way we saw painters with canvases painting the canyons and river around them. It was pleasant to see that there are still some people in the world who take time out to relax from the hustle and bustle to look and feel the environment around them. Sharon took several photos while I wound my way around the turns.

Eventually we got to the ghost town of Cisco. Ghost town is a misnomer. There are still people who live there. There is a general store that touts ice cream for weary travelers along the way. I just drove around taking photos of the buildings which were spray painted and falling apart. After circling the town twice I figured we might draw attention to the locals, so I headed on my way.

We got on the I-70 thinking there would be a gas station on the next exit. A sign prominently displayed “NO SERVICES” on the exit sign. And it was like this for the next 4 interstate exits. I wondered if someone were to build a combination gas station and restaurant at one of these exits, would it make money. Plus I can’t even think of how it must be in blizzard season without having any type of gas station with bare necessities during such harsh winters. Utahans must be a hardy bunch, or else better prepared than travelers from the mid south.

We stopped at a McDonald’s in Fruita to relieve ourselves. I always feel funny stopping at a fast food place to use their bathroom, then awkwardly wait for the rest of my party while the cashier looks at me anticipating to take my nonexistent order.

We decided on Qdoba in Grand Junction, just 6 miles down the road for lunch. I appreciate Sharon bearing with me with my sub sandwiches and pizza habits, I know that she does have cravings for other things which her more developed palette needs. I got a good steak burrito, while Sharon got a chicken burrito. While rating I typed in “Attractions Near Me” in Google. Colorado National Monument popped up, and it was only 30 minutes from us. I suggested this to Sharon and she was game for visiting it.

Colorado National Monument is a National Park with two entrances and it runs almost parallel to I-70, so there’d be very little backtracking once we got into the park. We did have to backtrack to get to the west entrance, but it was only 30 minutes out of our way.

At the pay station at the entrance the park ranger said we might see a Big Horn Sheep on our drive. Sure enough after a few switchbacks we saw 3. We stopped to get several photos of it, as did a bicyclist who happened to be nearby.

We made it to the visitor’s center. At the entrance we saw some Jehovah Witnesses setup with their stand ready to win new converts. I see these stands near many major tourist attractions in Europe. This was the first time I had seen some in a National Park. I wasn’t sure if the National Park rangers knew about it or if they even cared. We awkwardly passed by them, but chose a different way out.

Sharon looked around the park museum and I bought a Christmas ornament with a Big Horn Sheep on it.

And then we were off to do our automobile tour of the canyon, stopping off at most of the pull offs to take photos. It was breathtaking. I really wanted to make the Monument rock to go viral. That is use social media to make this lesser known National Park and monument as famous as Arches National Park.

Sharon would get nervous when I would get near the edge, but I was plenty far away that I would not have been in any danger.

After a while it was time to go home so we finished up our drive with some hairpin turns down the canyon.

Our hotel was at Glenwood Springs, about 90 minutes away. We passed through grassland bookended with foreboding mountains. Sharon took some picture on the way.

Our hotel, Hanging Lake Inn is just off the interstate. In fact we’d probably hear the interstate when we lay down at night. It’s a spacious room with a fridge and microwave. The pipes around the sink are insulated and there is an option for a heat lamp in the bathroom, a sign of the cold winter yet to come.

We decided on Rocky Mountain Pizza farther into town for supper. It was a bit difficult finding a parking spot, but we did find one a block away.

Rocky Mountain Pizza is somewhat of a hippie joint, staffed by twentysomethings which might not have gone to the Chick-Fil-A school of customer service. The staff wasn’t necessarily overjoyed to have us, but felt obligated to get us a table.

Somewhere in between table service and fast food service is what we got. Meaning the fountain drink machine was nearby for customers to refill their drinks, although the server did give us glasses of water upon seating us. I got the feeling it was our job to refill our drinks.

The pizza was good. The menu implied they made their own sauce. It was slightly sweet but not as sweet as Gatti’s pizza back home. We left full. We tried stopping by a souvenir shop, but they were closed.

Now we are back in our cozy room trying to get some sleep before we drive to Denver tomorrow to fly out at 9:12PM. Our vacation will soon be over. I am glad to have spent it with my always supportive wife. I am so blessed to have her as my best friend and travel partner. We hope this is the first of many more domestic trips out west and beyond.

We got up at around 7:45AM to start our day. Our hotel didn’t serve breakfast, so we decided on Moab Diner primarily because it is cheaper than most all other restaurants. It was busy when we got there but even busier when we left. I got an omelette and Sharon got pancakes and bacon and eggs. Since Sharon was sure she couldn’t finish her pancakes, she gave one to me and I gave her my hash brown that came with my omelette.

Table service is a bit lacking. Last night was difficulty getting the check so we could leave. Today was getting a refill on getting water. But they were really busy so I’ll give them a pass.

Then it was off to Arches. There was a line getting in. After about 10 minutes of waiting we got in. We visited the gift shop at the entrance at the bottom of the hill before heading on up to view the rocks.

We stopped and took photos of the Gossips (three rocks resembling figures coupled together) and the organ (large foreboding rock). We then went to the iconic balance rock, which looks like a nuclear mushroom cloud or Toad from Mario Brothers, depending on your perspective.

We drove into the Garden of Eden which is a rock garden of sorts. We found some rock climbers out. I’m not sure what the park considers appropriate when allowing rock climbers on some rocks, but not the others. I guess there is a rule on rock climbing somewhere but I’m not privy to that information.

Next was the Windows Arches. Parking was at a premium. I saw lots of cars but I’m not sure where all the people were. I guess it might be trailhead somewhere. I walked up to the most prominent arch and took some photos of it. I remember visiting this arch with Mark and Megan in 2011. I did my best to recreate some of the photos.

Sharon and I decided to have lunch. We found a place at the Panorama Point. This place is used to star gazing, and has limited picnic tables. We had lunch in the car. Moab Diner sells a boxed lunch which consists of ham and cheese sandwich, bag of plains Lays chips, an apple, bottled water, and a Snickers bar. We paid $8.99 for it which I think was a bargain considering all the food entrees.

Next we decided to go to Delicate Arch. I had missed seeing Delicate Arch in 2011 with Mark and Megan and I was determined to see it this go around. It was a 3.2 mile hike mostly up hill. I passed by a historic cabin and some petroglyphs. The petroglyphs were surrounded by what appeared to be school children on a field trip. I decided to see the petroglyphs on the way back.

A unique feature of the hike to the Delicate Arch is that the trail leads up the side of a very smooth rock uphill for part of the time. Also it leads on the side of a cliff. I imagined all these photographers who take photos of the Delicate Arch at sunset. Eventually they have to walk down these ledges and smooth rocks in the dark. It was no easy feet.

Finally after climbing past the trail on the cliffs I reached the Delicate Arch. The position of the arch is awkward. It’s on the side of a bathtub shaped canyon. Most people sat on the rim. Then came the Instagram shots. People would wait to get their photo – or photos for some people, underneath the arch. The only thing is that it disrupted my shots. I like for no people to be in photos, as if I just stumbled upon this arch in the vastness of Souther Utah where absolutely no people are around. This is of course a fantasy world….somewhat like the fantasy world that some aspiring models are living in when the pose at Delicate Arch. It was just strange to see people, who had it been 30 years before, might not have posed so goofy. But with he advent of social media, specifically Instagram, people can’t just go up to an arch to admire it. Instead they must pose beside it and then post it to social media proving to people that they were there. All the while it disrupts my photo taking. I did get some good deserted photos of the rock, but it took a while.

After hiking back I made a detour to see the petroglyphs…of Native Americans on horseback. Since historians are pretty sure when horses were introduced to North America, they can pinpoint when the petroglyphs were painted.

Next was the cabin. Sharon had read about the cabin in the pamphlet. Apparently it was abandoned, but the cabin was built sturdy enough to remain standing after it’s owner had long abandoned it.

Sharon and I had decided to view more arches. We went to Sand Dunes Arch which was inside a group of tall rock, almost like a fortress. It was tight squeeze but I made it in. Inside sand is everywhere.

Sharon and I then decided to walk to Broken Arch. The trail to it is deceiving. It looks closer than what it actually is. Plus the trail takes the long way around. When we got there a nice man offered to take our photo. We were burning daylight and walked back without stopping.

I really wanted to see Landscape Arch, so I walked the mile to see it, while Sharon stayed in the car. On the way I fell skinning my knee and tearing my jeans at the knees. I was alright, but briefly thought about turning around since it seemed like my ankles were weak. But I did continue on and made it to Landscape arch. It was in the shadows as the sun was setting. I took a few photos before heading back.

Sharon and I decided to get a Pizza Hut pizza (with a 50% off coupon) making our large meat lovers stuffed crust around $10, a bargain for Moab’s restaurant prices. I briefly chatted with the Pizza Hut employee who suggested we visit Oregon’s coast on a future trip.

We had supper in our hotel room before going out again to Arches National Park for some night shots. Sharon had wanted to see the stars, specifically the Milky Way, but the 93% waxing moon prevented this, but instead it gave us the option of shooting photos using a night shot with our phone cameras. We shot several park landmarks with this shooting mode. I tried shooting this with my Nikon camera, but I couldn’t get it to work :(. This figures. I buy a moderate end DSLR camera which I don’t know how to use, and therefore it is useless for night shots. Meanwhile any novice with a night vision cell phone camera can take good shots of night scenes.

We decided to sleep in tomorrow as it is a 2 hour drive to our next destination and we don’t have anything planned for the day.

Our hotel has doors that open to the outside and not to a hotel hallway. At around 10:30PM last night Sharon and I had just gotten into bed. Then we heard a clicking sound as if someone was trying to get in the room. Now you need to know that Sharon and myself are introverted and mousy people. So we are not likely to confront people. This person obviously had the wrong room. The room numbers are printed on the keychain. So why didn’t it dawn on her after trying a few times that she was in the wrong place. After the 3rd time of her going away and trying the key again I told her “I think you have the wrong room.” “Sorry,” she said and didn’t try it again. I didn’t dare open the door to her figuring the key in the door was a ruse to rob us (you never know). Seems that she and her husband probably wanted the unmarked room behind us. We heard them move into that after while. It didn’t help that the hotel front desk closed after hours. So we couldn’t exactly call the front desk to have this taken care of. The rest of the night any kind of creak of a door or footsteps outside gave a nervous alertness. I had trouble sleeping after my adrenaline was up so much. Thank goodness for locks and deadbolts.

The next morning I got up early and took my shower. I didn’t want to wake Sharon figuring she had a rough night. At around 7:45AM she got up and got her shower. I had lost my GoPro battery recharger and called the previous hotel in Kayenta to ask if they had it. Sure enough they had it. So I asked them to mail it back to me.

Breakfast was served in the reception area of the hotel. It had 50s style chairs in line with the retro theme. It was do-it-yourself meal fixing. Burritos and hot tamales for available for microwaving. Bread was available for toasting. Various cereals were available tool. I opted for some toast, Fruit Loops, and chocolate muffins. Sharon had a bagel.

Then it was off to Moab. Much of our drive seemed like a rural drive in Kentucky. Farmland was in this area. Houses dotted our drive. Eventually we got into a more rural area we had come to know on this trip. I gassed up in Monticello and spotted not one but two Volkswagen Microbuses. I quietly and quickly snapped a picture of them before heading back out on the road.

I had seen a sign saying there were delays of up to 1 hour on a certain route. I thought about re planning our route in case it was part of this construction. But I let it be. About 20 miles outside of Moab we were stopped for about 30 minutes. Sharon and I caught up on social media while we waited. After a while we saw cars in the other direction coming so we figured the end of the delay was in sight. We eventually got to go and found out what caused the delay: a rockslide. The roadway was built so close to the mountain that rocks had slid into the roadway.

We found our way to Milt’s Stop and Eat. It’s a mostly outdoor diner, although they have indoor seating, obviously for winter months. I got a bleu cheese burger while Sharon got a bacon cheese burger and tots. We sat outside under a shade tree and watched people. Milt’s is a bit expensive, but they had a great product and you won’t leave hungry. Sharon and I also got a chocolate and orange shake.

It was on to Canyonlands. Sharon had done some research beforehand and suggested we go to the Island in the Sky to view the overlooks. It was mostly a driving tour which was fine with me. Neither Sharon nor myself was in the mood for a long drawn out hike.

It is difficult to describe Canyonlands to someone who has never been there. The vastness is amazing. Canyons and desert as far as you could see, with no settlements. Just vast open country.

Then it was on to Moab Rustic Inn where we checked in for the night. I had to use a third Party European booking company to be able to reserve a room. It seems this third party company puts holds on 4 rooms which are released 10 days before the booking date should no one book them. The front desk lady had never had an American to book a room through this European company. She said I paid too much, but that’s a moot point because I had already paid for the room. I’ll know next time.

After washing our clothes and putting them in the hotel’s dryer, we went off to Moab Diner. I had eaten here before with Mark and Megan in 2011. It’s a typical diner. Their prices are much less than other Moab restaurants so we will probably eat here many times.

Tomorrow we visit Arches National Park, our last major attraction before heading back to Denver via Glenwood Springs.

We did walk to Mesa Arch which provided a taste of what we will see tomorrow – Arches National Park.