Remember that rest that we were looking forward to at the
end of day four? It didn’t happen. Those 30 mph wind gusts never died down
until 3 o’clock in the morning. And even then, I think they were only 29.5 mph. Our
tent shook, rattled and flexed as it morphed into the various shapes that the
wind decided it would have. All. Night. Long.
Dealing with the wind alone would have been bearable but there was a more formidable opponent that we had also to contend with: the sand--very, very
fine sand. It’s the type of soft white sand that you walk barefoot on at a luxurious island
resort thinking that you’re in paradise. But we weren’t in paradise. Our sand was
brick red in color and permeated everything: out hair, ears, and pretty much everything we owned was covered in a dusting of adobe colored dust. The tent which is designed to provide shelter from rain, snow and bugs was no match for the sand. The rain fly, which covered our tent until about six inches off the ground wasn't enough. Strong wind gusts would lift and channel sand under that narrow gap and blow it THROUGH the noseeum screen in the tent. We were showered with sand
most of the night. Maybe this was the Navajo gods exacting revenge on white
people.
Yet, at the same time we were combating our natural
adversary I was also able to capture one of the most glorious sunrises that
I’ve ever seen:
Strangely enough, Adler woke the next morning saying that he
was well rested (I think he was just delirious). We packed up and
headed out around 8 am as there was no reason to remain in that environment any longer. I’d seen many photos that framed a straight highway
road going directly into Monument Valley with the buttes on the horizon. I was
surprised when coming in on the main road the day before that we didn’t experience this view. It
wasn’t until leaving on the backside of the park that we found it. I’d planned on
taking this shot to make it the background photo for the blog. And now we have
it!
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| Leaving Monument Valley |
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| Mexican Hat. |
We were traveling along Highway 261 out of Mexican Hat when I realized that we were driving straight towards a mesa that covered half of the horizon in front of us with no apparent road up or tunnel through. I asked Adler where he thought we were going but he didn’t have any answers. I drove ahead with confidence that something would emerge but in the back of my mind I also questioned whether Google Maps had led us astray. About a mile before the mesa was a sign prohibiting RVs and trailers of particular length with another sign informing that the next three miles would be on gravel road with countless switchbacks. And it wasn’t until we were finally at the base that the road emerged but only far enough ahead to see a short distance—like being in fog. There was a road there but you just couldn’t see it. I now know that this road is called Moki Dugway. It was carved into the formidable rock with boulders all around waiting to drop down one level to the next. Adler was comparing most things we saw on our trip to stuff from the Star Wars movies. Driving up the side of that mesa I couldn’t help to think that I was driving up the side of the Imperial Command Ship.
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| Adler near the base of Owachomo Bridge |
When we arrived at Natural Bridges National Monument were relieved to find out that they had a simple driving loop given the lack of rest we were operating on. There were three notable bridges at the park, two of which required very strenuous hikes to see them from below and the final one which had a moderate hike. Thankfully all three bridges had vantage points for viewing. We agreed that we’d only hike the final Owachomo Bridge and take in the other two from the vantage points and I’m glad that we did. These are magnificent remnants of what nature is capable of doing. I look forward to returning in the futre to complete the bridge trifecta. Next up was Arches National Park.
Pulling into Arches is kind of like visiting a ski resort. You
pull of the highway and then immediately in front of you is a road that takes
you up the mountain. But this entrance road was so majestic that it could have
been the park itself and I would have been satisfied.
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| Hike to North Window Arch |
Each successive turn thereafter revealed an equally breathtaking rock formation. Again and again. We still have more to see on this trip but I would put Arches up there with Yosemite for best park in the US. If Bryce Canyon is the funky jazz musician that can be seen in about one day then Arches is the classical symphony where you could spend a week hiking, staring, and being humbled.Adler was understandably tired this day so we saw less of the park than expected. He was only agreeable to hike up to one of the arches (so I have proof
that we were there). I look forward to returning when he gets older and truly
experience all that this park has to offer.
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| Adler isn't that tall but the arch is. That's him with arms spread. |
It was a really hot day. Depending upon where you were in
the park it was about 95F. Combine this with our lack of sleep and no naps (for either of us) and you have a recipe for a bad
afternoon. Rather than race out of Arches to drive to our campground for the
night I offered Adler an audible. I said let’s find a local swimming hole and
cool off in a river. I couldn’t have made a better move. I found Mill Creek. It
was exactly what I wanted and even had a waterfall. Moreover, since I was one
night into three straight nights of camping it afforded us the opportunity to clean
up and remove some of the adobe sand out of our hair.
After cooling off for about an hour and a half we had a short thirty minute drive to Dead Horse State
Park were we quickly setup the tent in similar conditions to the night before. I’d learned what didn’t work so adjustments were made to the tent to
hopefully provide us with a better night’s rest. But at this point we’re both
so tired that it shouldn’t matter. Adler is excited that tomorrow we leave Utah
and head to Colorado…Today's Miles: 292
Total Miles: 1835
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