Arches National Park

Day 21-Wed., 5/28/08 - Salt Lake City to Moab, UT - Jason came down to pick us up first thing in the morning. We all rode our bikes down to a pancake house for breakfast. Jas had to go to work so this was the last we would see him before we headed out. After a sad farewell we all went our separate ways. Thanks, Jason, for a wonderful visit. I love you, Honey.

Ted and I packed up and headed west on I-80 until we hit I-15 and headed south. Traffic was heavy. President Bush was coming to Salt Lake City. That might have been the reason. At Spanish Forks we grabbed UT-6 east. What a great road! There was some construction, but even with that slight nuisance, it was a great road. Sweeping curves and elevation changes, some twisties made this a fun ride. After the mountain passes we settled down into a flat desert terrain and made up miles over the straight road. It was here that Ted and I realized that maybe we should have stopped for gas before we hit this part of the highway. Ted was doing some figuring and he thought we would be safe, but it was a little unnerving for awhile. When we hit I-70 we stopped at the first gas station we came to. By the amount of cars that were there I don't think we were the only ones sweating it.

We stayed on I-70 just a short distance until we headed south on UT-191 toward Moab, UT. Our goal was to make Arches National Park. The OMG quotient was way high on this road! Rocks, some/most were the red sandstone color, were shaped into spires with other rocks teetering on the top of those! Black mineral glazes painted dramatic lines across the raw mountains. Green and yellow scrub grasses jutted out of impossible places. Wild flowers bloomed, amazingly, along the roadway. It was inspiring. The road twisted and curved around these formations. And the whole time the snow covered Rockies loomed in the distance. This place is unworldly. It is one of the most inspiring places I've visited. We stopped at the crowded visitor's center. There we viewed the displays, watched the movie, talked with the ranger, and snooped around the bookstore (I thought Ted was going to buy a book about outlaws). We closed the place down at 6:30.

We called a hotel for a room in Moab and then stopped at Denny's for some supper. The town of Moab is cute. It definately has a tourist element to it, but it is a place you could spend some time in.

Miles - 251
Cattle grates - 0 (maybe we are done with these - please, oh, please!)
Highest elevation - 7,222 (UT-6)
Highest/lowest temperature - 82/62 (72 in SLC, 62 on UT-6, 82 at Green River; clothes on, clothes off)
Highest gas paid - $4.05 (Green River, UT along I-70 right out from the desert)
OMG (Oh My Gosh) - 10 out of 10