MOAB / ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Part 1

Moab is a small town nestled in between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in southern Utah (31 miles south of Interstate 70 and 18 miles west of the Utah/Colorado state line). The town bustles with mountain bikers, hikers, rock climbers and water sport enthusiasts (who seek out the excitement of the nearby Colorado River for whitewater rafting and kayaking). 

Choosing photos to share on the blog was not easy. Every corner we turned in the park had a more stunning view than the last. A photo of this place has a hard time capturing the true magnificence of the landscape, but here we will try. The colors that come out of the earth are truly amazing! We were here in late April so there was still lots of green from the spring rain.

As we entered the park.....

Devils Garden Trail

We decided to drive to Devils Garden at the farthest end of the park to start our hiking. This is the longest trail in the park where you can view 7 impressive arches.

At the trail head

It only took us about 15 minutes to find a lizard, which made my day. I have been chasing lizards since I was 5 years old, so I was so happy that this little guy just sat there and let me take photos of him for a very long time.

Tunnel Arch

Pine Tree Arch

The surprising floral life in the desert landscape

Wild Lupins

Pale Evening Primrose

 

Asteraceae (sunflower family)

Landscape Arch
  ......At 306 feet long, it is one of the largest natural spans in the world.

Just after Landscape Arch the trail takes a very steep and narrow turn. We had to pay close attention to every step and try not to look at the steep drop on either side.

We found this Cairn (Gaelic word meaning "mound of stones built as a memorial or landmark") at the top of our climb letting us know what direction to go to stay on the trail.

Our reward for walking up that narrow ridge.......

What a view!!!!

A couple of movies showing the spectacular panoramic views of the valleys from the top of the ridge.

Tapestry Arch

Me taking some time to have one of my Zen moments

On the trail to Navajo Arch

Navajo Arch

Partition Arch

Don't look down!!!

 

That's me in the front of the pack. Weeeeeeeeee!! The two guys behind me were braver than I was to go right to the end stone where you had to hop across to get there! ACK!

What goes up, must come down....... A video of our descent down that very steep and narrow slick rock path.

I will get to the rest of the park in my next post.

Some New Terrain

The time has come to finally begin our journey home. We had every intention to head east through the Canadian Rockies and drop down into the Dakota's for more National Park sight seeing, but the heavy spring snows along that route forced us to make the spontaneous decision to head back south through Eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho and into Utah to get to Moab where we will spend a few days hiking around Arches National Park.

The following photos will show some of the very dramatic scenery and weather we encountered along our journey. Some really beautiful stuff.

Washington
Hwy 90 through the Cascades to Hwy 82 through Yakima

Snoqualmie Pass

 

Entering the Yakima Valley

Kennewick, Washington looking south towards Eastern Oregon

We were just a little hesitant to drive into this storm, not knowing what havoc was being created by these very threatening clouds............luckily the highway took us in a direction that just skirted the very edges of the storm.

Eastern Oregon
Highway 84

Idaho
Highway 84

Utah
Highway 84

Just minutes after crossing the border into Utah, we came upon this cowboy on his horse. We noticed there were very few side roads or highway exits along this stretch of road making this the best way to get around in this place.

Southeast of Salt Lake City 

US Route 6/191 
We decided to take this shortcut/scenic route through the Wasatch Plateau to get down to Interstate 70 and WOW!.....this is where the scenery started to make a dramatic change.

 Helper, Utah

We couldn't resist stopping in this little town, mostly because of its name.

Helper is located about 110 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. It is known as the "Hub of Carbon County". The population is about 2,000. There used to be a thriving coal mining industry here and Helper is the home of the Western Mining and Railroad Museum, a tourist attraction that also contains household and commercial artifacts illustrating late 19th and early 20th-century living conditions. There is also a colorful Brothel history here: http://utahstories.com/2010/10/helper%E2%80%99s-brothel-mining-history-tino/  Who knew!
Go here for more about Helper: http://www.castlecountry.com/Helper-Utah

"Big John"

"Big John" is a towering coal miner entirely covered in glossy black paint. Custom-made by International Fiberglass in 1964. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2468#sthash.PH9RfmVN.dpuf

"Big John" is a towering coal miner entirely covered in glossy black paint. Custom-made by International Fiberglass in 1964. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2468#sthash.PH9RfmVN.dpuf√

"Big John" is a towering coal miner entirely covered in glossy black paint. Custom-made by International Fiberglass in 1964. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2468#sthash.PH9RfmVN.dpuf

"Big John" is a towering coal miner covered in shiny black paint. He was custom-made by International Fiberglass in 1964. He stands in front of the Helper library on Main Street.

I don't recall seeing a brand new painted coca-cola ad on a building in a very long time. We found one here.

"Big John" is a towering coal miner entirely covered in glossy black paint. Custom-made by International Fiberglass in 1964. - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2468#sthash.PH9RfmVN.dpuf

And we thought we would never see a sign like this here. HA!

  Main Street in Helper, Utah

We reached Interstate 70 and then continued south on Highway 191 towards Moab.

We knew we were getting close to Moab when we spotted this Velociraptor trying to hide in the bushes. :o)

The red rock formations started to appear just a few miles outside of the Arches National Park/Moab area.

More coming from Moab and the park. Stay tuned.......

VANCOUVER, BC SCIENCE MARCH

Parental Discretion Advised

When in Canada, do as the Canadians do! :o)

http://www.straight.com/news/879891/march-science-planned-vancouver-support-work-scientific-community-face-trump-era

We jumped right into this with thousands of others. It's the least we could do for Earth Day on April 22 and for Science! You will see that the Canadians aren't too happy with our POTUS policies either. I will try to refrain from too much commentary on the grounds it might incriminate me :o) The photos speak for themselves.

Remember the Pussy Hats for the world women's march?

Meet the Cranium Brain Hat! Lovingly made by a cognitive scientist near you!

Employees from the Vancouver Aquarium with their jellyfish umbrellas

Elements from the periodic table arranged to reflect the latest discovery

The protest marched all through the downtown area

Our final destination - Science World British Columbia

Dragon Boat Racing

As we approached Science World we noticed this kick-ass dragon boat team out training in False Creek. Looks like their festival is about to happen. Go here for more about this great sport: http://vancouverdrag  onboatfestival.ca/information/information-2/   and        
http://www.racedragonboats.com/about-2/dragon-boat-racing-2/

Trans Am Totem: If I remember right the stack of cars goes like this........Mini, VW Rabbit, Honda Civic, BMW and Trans Am at the top. Artist- Marcus Bowcott  Go here for more info:
http://www.vancouverbiennale.com/artworks/trans-am-totem/ 

Solar Powered Motorcycle :o)

Catfe'
Our friend Kim was with us for the march and decided we needed to go to the Catfe' for lunch. We tried, but they were all booked up for lunch :o( We really wanted to go because you get to sit and have lunch in a roomful of adoptable cats. You can pick them up, pet and love them and then, if you'd like to,  adopt one right on the spot! What a fabulous idea!

 

We ended up eating at a great Japanese place instead. Here is a video of the bonito flakes coming alive on top of Rowan's hot pot stickers. It was completely entertaining and delicious. We really tried not to get all excited about it and cause a scene. HA!

These last two photos get right to the point.............

Found this double mastectomy tattoo shocker in a storefront window. WOW!

I COULDN'T RESIST BECAUSE I MUST RESIST!  SILENCE = DEATH
The guy behind me in the red/black jacket told us that he had been watching people do this all day and that it happens all the time. We also learned that  this hotel just opened up a few weeks ago and the event was met with YUGE protest.

UGH! It is so hard to be an American right now! UGH! 

Our journey home starts in our next post.........should we go?