Moab and its parks.

                                We arrived in Moab ,Utah , just in time for the years first heat wave .

                                 I mentioned a few weeks ago that the  air-conditioning in our car wasn't 

                                 working , something that hasn't bothered us too much until now...

                                 In Moab it was over 20 degrees by 8 o'clock , and then got up to 

                                 the toasty temperature of 30 for the rest of the day .

                                 Moab is a bit of a outdoor adventure paradise ,lots of mountain 

                                 biking ,hiking, rafting and such . We have hauled our bikes along

                                 on this trip, and really not used them at all , but my idea of getting 

                                 out on some easy trails here   did not feel as appealing once we got

                                 a feel of the heat.

                                 We were actually quite lucky to get a spot for our trailer , it seems 

                                 like Moab is the destination for many on a sunny weekend.

                                 The first night we spent rating out the afternoon heat , and then 

                                 strolling the downtown strip ,well suited for a visitor with shopping in mind.

One of our first views at Arches National Park , early in the morning .
A photo further down will give a more 'real' look at it ,I just like the
oddness in this picture.

We were out of the trailer by 7am today , seemed early , but once we were heading
 home 5 hours later it was easy to feel sorry for the later hikers who didn't get to start
out with the morning freshness.
This is at Arches N P ,can you see the arch behind and above their heads?
These arches (there are about 600 in this park) are shaped because  different rock
layers erode at varying rates.In these cases the softer rock layer , originally
deposited below has eroded away leaving an arch creating this kind of opening ,
or sometimes 'jus't holes in the wall.

Impressive, no?
I'm also amazed at how humans always seem to be able to find out the 'how'
behind these kind of phenomenon.

Walking out this morning was not an easy one , but definitely worth it , the
landscape was just amazing !

Not an arch , but fun to look through !

This is a close-up at the first image .
It's called 'Balanced Rock', and there are many examples of these in the park too ,
but this one was very impressive.  It's a pedestal  made of sandstone , which
erodes away faster than the slick rock boulder on top .
Eventually the pedestal will crumble enough to make the boulder fall , and as it's at
a height of 39 meters  won't that be quite a sight?


We thought of staying another day in  Moab , but the heat really got to us .
And the wind , and the sand , the trailer need a good sweeping the morning we left ,
not to mention sleeping on sandy sheets...
And as we drove we sure got out of the heat and into the rain ,
 and are just now hitting snow ,yikes!!!