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September 21 to September 27, 2002
Saturday September 21:
This is our first morning in the park. The rising sun casts its light on the scenery in a different manner from the day before, giving a fresh view of our beautiful surroundings. I continue to be amazed at our good fortune at securing this hilltop campsite. It is one of only three that share this view in all directions, and the hilltop gives it superior cellphone connections also. :-)) Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.....
Today we will walk the Devil's Garden trail. It's a short walk down the road to the trailhead, then a seven mile hike for the full trail. We spend a leisurely morning and start after lunch. It is hot, and I notice that for whatever reason I feel less energetic than usual. The trail does not look hard, but I find it difficult to keep up with Claire. The weight of 2.5 quarts of water we each have in our packs is not feeling too comfortable to me either. The campground is at 5200 ft elevation; perhaps I am feeling the effects of that. The trail is terraced, forming wide steps. It is considered a more difficult trail; perhaps the steps are a reason?
We continue on to Landscape Arch; this slender rock formation looks fragile to my uninitiated eye.
Indeed, in 1991 a large section of rock did fall off the underside of this arch (the right end in the photo) near some visitors. Nobody was hurt, but they reported hearing what sounded like thunder just before the rock let go, so they were able to scramble to safety. The trail that used to go under the arch was then closed, and remains so today. Most of the arches show fresher, less weathered rock on the underside; indeed the natural erosion forces that shape them lead to their eventual destruction. Of course these same forces create new ones as well. The park does warn visitors to clear the area under arches if thunder like sounds are heard. Landscape arch is at the beginning of the primitive trail in Devils Garden. We both decided it would not be wise to push on in the heat, so turned back. We did take advantage of short side trails to some other arches on the way back. Tunnel Arch is first....
Notice what appears to be another opening in the wall of the rock "fin", to the upper left of the big arch. This appears to be open to the surface above, creating an "arch" also, but not yet eroded through in back so light can shine directly through. The process of erosion is continuous here; the odd shapes are formed as rock layers of different hardness erode at different rates. We then followed the trail leading to Pine Tree Arch.
Claire listened carefully for thunder sounds before moving into the sunlight for this picture. The upper portion of the arch really does look like gravity will win.... :-) We decided not to push our luck further today, and returned home directly; I was ready to admit this trail had defeated me today...but TOMORROW is another day! I do wonder if it was named because it makes one devilishly tired? :-) The GPS recorded we had walked 3.8 miles today. One reason our walks to Devil's Garden seem longer to us is the added distance from our campsite to the trailhead; that is 0.6 mile each way.
Sunday September 22:
This day started well; we finished updating the website to include the trip across country, and uploaded it to the server without a hitch. We plan another attack on Devil's Garden, starting earlier today, but decide to stay in Arches NP for two more days, until Wednesday. It is difficult to envision a campsite more beautiful than this, so we should take advantage of our good fortune. The ranger volunteer extends our stay, remarking they should charge double for our site, as it is the best in the place..... I cannot disagree, but do not offer him double the $10/day fee. :-) We proceed directly to the trailhead, depositing our fee envelope in the safe at the campground entrance on the way. We partially retrace our steps of the day before, until we come to the primitive trail. Claire suggested we do that first, and I agreed. The path does not appear bad, although it is rated among the most difficult in the park. We are careful to drink plenty of water as we approach the rock fins that must be negotiated on this trail.
The variety of scenery here is amazing. We just cannot put it all on this page, but this view of some new arches forming intrigues me. As today's arches are eroded and fall, these two will erode through and take their place.
Up, up and away; we climb on after finding the trail we had lost for a time. We missed a cairn that marked the trail's departure from a dry wash, and found the GPS to be of little help, unless we wanted to return to where we started. The park trails are not shown. :-( We searched around for a while, then retraced our track until a person coming the opposite way pointed out the trail. It was not really very clear.....to us anyway. :-) It is easy to become distracted by the irrelevant scenery.... :-))
These rocks are really more difficult to climb DOWN than to climb up. It is possible to climb up and get trapped, unable to get down; "rimrocked", as they term it here. They do not like to rescue rimrocked visitors... The footing is good with proper shoe soles and dry rock; wet weather changes everything. We continue the climb. The top MUST be getting near.... ??
We do not see many people with gray hair on this trail; come to think of it, VERY few who speak English as their native tongue either. There are many Europeans here, predominately from Germany. Perhaps they are wise enough (or well advised by travel agents) to vacation here after our Summer rush, and in the preferred cooler early Fall time too. I would not like this place nearly so well in 100 degree + summer temperatures.... high 70's today seem hot. We pass this petrified life form; is it a capped frog about to unleash it's tongue from it's open mouth....??? :-) Or is it a slow moving snail speaking to us loudly????????
We approach Private Arch, which appears suddenly around a curve in the trail. We proceed through the arch into a secluded area between narrowly spaced fins, and understand why this arch is named "Private". Little sunlight seems to reach here, but small trees still grow. This is a view looking out from the private enclosure....
The trail continues a short distance beyond Private Arch to an overlook. The rocks on the very end of the trail look cracked and do not inspire confidence; the distance to the valley floor is WAY to far to fall without a parachute....we stop on the solid looking rock and gaze in awe. The depth is difficult to capture in a photo, but the valley floor shown (with trees) is a LONG step down.... :-)
We continue back to the main trail and come upon the magnificent Double O Arch. The reason for the name is obvious, but it is incredible how such a structure could form...and remain. The late afternoon light enhances the beautiful pastel pink coloring in these rocks.
It seems that the top will never come; we are both plumb tuckered out, but keep going we must.....frequent breaks are in order now. We skipped Navaho Arch, Partition Arch, and Dark Angel (a sculptured rock formation) to return home by the shortest distance.....still too long it seems. :-)
We FINALLY make it to the top!!!! :-)) We had passed one couple going the other way who had difficulty with the height. The lady did not feel comfortable looking out from the trail which was high on top of the fin, but at least 6 feet wide. Here you can see the trail ahead of Claire, leveling out and whitened by countless footsteps.....
From here it is all down hill... :-))) Despite the warnings that downhill is harder, we both welcomed the descent to the developed trail home. We suddenly came upon beautiful Wall Arch as the primitive trail joined the developed one... We did manage a picture, but hardly broke stride; these horses smelled HOME and were moving with little delay!!
We returned to the RV exhausted, and the GPS showed we'd walked 8 miles; this is a bit more than a normal 8 miles though, with all the vertical climbing. We're not thinking about much more than SLEEP tonight......and perhaps some ibuprofin for sore knees.
Monday September 23:
We need to run the generator a lot today; the house battery is below 50% charge this AM, 12.14V. We start at 8:10, will run to allowable 10AM; fuel is cheaper by a BUNCH than new house batteries needed due to low charge sulfation. I do feel sorry for the other campers here who must listen to the generator, but it is VERY quiet inside our RV. This will be an easy day physically; we are both feeling the results of yesterday's 8 miles strongly. We decide to walk the short distance to Skyline Arch, on the other side of the park ampitheater across the street from our campsite.
A lady we meet in the ampitheater showed us a very handsome Hopi silver amulet she was wearing, but said it was custom made and she had waited a LONG time for delivery. She also indicated she had not always been so satisfied with special orders, as the artist's interpretation of her desires often really did not match her expectations. :-) We then drove the RV to further places in the park to ease the load on our "walking parts"; We saw many points of interest: formations such as Balanced Rock are formed by harder upper rock layers eroding more slowly than their supporting under layers. Of course these structures eventually collapse as erosion continues; a sister formation near Balanced Rock, known as Chip off the Old Block, already has become an unremarkable pile of rocks, collapsing in 1976.
Parade of elephants,
It does take a bit of imagination, but the elephants certainly do become visible upon suggestion... :-) This area is FULL of formations, and we walk a short distance to see each of them. Double Arch is remarkable in it's complexity.
The formations are huge. It is difficult to get the feeling of size in these photos. Here we are sitting inside one of Double Arch's openings; we do not look too closely over the back side, a 50 foot sheer drop.
The photo was taken by Rikki, a US resident citizen of Denmark who kindly offered to perform the chore. After we reciprocated with her camera as she climbed the rocks, we invited her to join us for lunch in the RV. As she ate and sipped a Sam's, she told us she had been in the US for 8 years, and had lived in the low end of Manhatten, below the World Trade Center. She had volunteered as a telephone information person, answering calls from anxious families after the September 11 attack. She had been laid off from her high tech job in NYC, and was now taking a 4000 mile whirlwind rental car trip through the west before flying back out of Denver tonight to start her new job in Washington DC. We wished her well as she departed. Ahhh, the energy of youth! :-) We continued our tour of this area with a walk around the dual opening Windows Arch.
We took a quick look at Turret Arch visible from this same trail.
Notice the people to the right of the arch opening, near the bottom, for an idea of scale. On the way back to the RV a couple with a trailer spoke of their problems on this trip; a blown tire that had torn out the wheel well and liquor cabinet out of their trailer, and the A&E awning that had opened on the highway, fortunately causing no other damage. He spoke of the side curtains he had for the awning, that had fly screening and roll down "tent" sides. His grandchildren sleep in the "tent" when they visit. I spoke of our added center support out of fear the awning would come unfurled while driving. He said his next awning would have a center pole with a support. He mentioned A&E provides locking mechanisms for these awnings if you contact them; we will. We still notice slight motion of the awning away from it's stowed position against the RV when driving in gusty winds. An awning coming unrolled on the highway could REALLY ruin a day....or an RV, or a passing vehicle. We use ours so seldom it hardly seems worth carrying it....much less so if it becomes hazardous to our vehicle. We drove to Panorama Point overlook but, as usual, photos of broad vistas are disappointing, so we'll not waste your download time. It was neet to look at though. We then stopped at a preserved cabin of an early settler here.
John Wolfe had been injured in the Civil War and moved to the dry climate of the west on Dr's recommendation to ease his cronic leg pain and threatening amputation. His wife refused to accompany him. He settled in this salt valley to raise cattle around 1898, and eventually one son and a daughter and her family joined him. The living conditions were unbelievably primitive. They all moved away by 1910 when John was 81 years old, back to his old home in Ohio where he lived three more years. Old photos on display always show him using one crutch; one tough bird that old guy was!! A short walk away is a distant view of Delicate Arch, used as a symbol of Utah for the Winter Olympics and other promotions.
We had no energy left for the 2 mile round trip walk required to get a closer view of this arch. Even though this had been planned as a day of physical rest, the GPS logged 3.6 walking miles and we were once again TIRED!
Tuesday September 24:
Battery this morning 12.34v, about 70 % charge. This will keep us until we get back to OK RV park in Moab tomorrow, and plug in electricity. We need to do laundry, buy some supplies, dump and take on water, and can use a day of plugged in battery charging, then decide what's next. Today is a much needed day of rest and bicycle repairs that have been waiting since last spring on the Mexican border.
We finally find a need for that seldom used awning (the power of suggestion). :-) It did require a climb to the roof to get the pull down cord exposed after all our driving allowed it to work it's way inside out of sight. Arches is a beautiful place, but it's time to move on while this beautiful fall weather holds.
Wednesday September 25:
House battery is 12.13v this morning; it is borderline but I will compute anyway….too much to be done. We plan to clear Arches campground around 9AM to allow newcomers to occupy this PRIME campsite as early as possible, and to allow ourselves time to shop and do laundry in Moab before proceeding to OK RV Park for a much needed dump, fresh water, and battery recharge. We stop at Fiery Furnace overlook, and Salt Valley overlooks. The Fiery Furnace requires ranger guided tours, as there are no trails within the myriad of fins, and folks get lost easily.
We did not do the Fiery Furnace tour, as it required scheduling days in advance. We prefer spur of the moment activities. To the right of the Fiery Furnace fins in the picture above you can see down along the Salt Valley. The drive down the switchback to the visitors center was in first gear WITH occasional brakes. Claire did an admirable job controlling our speed on the sharp corners of the final switchback, completing a 1000 ft drop from the campground. Finding no current information at the visitors center on occupancy in Bryce NP campgrounds, we proceed through Moab to the laundromat, then City Market for necessary supplies. This raven flew off a light pole in the parking lot as I approached for a closer portrait.
We stopped for lunch at the Branding Iron, a local western style restaurant (large portions of hamburger and fries for Claire, chile and fried bread for me). I thought Claire's beans beat their chile, but after adding the raw onions and cheese, it was at least "good". We arrived at OK RV Park around 2:30PM. We rapidly hooked up the sewer line for a much needed dump, and the electric line for a necessary full battery recharge. The water pressure here is high, so we are careful to use the pressure regulator to protect the RV water lines from bursting. The weather is changing here, cloudy with wind and associated dust; we run the air conditioner for a time so we can keep the RV closed against dust. The kitties much want to go out, but the frequent barking of dogs drives them back inside quickly. We enjoy the cable TV and electricity. Tomorrow we head for Bryce Canyon NP 278 miles away. We will take on enough fuel here to reach Cedar City and a Walmart with gas after leaving Bryce. It rained for a time in the evening.
Thursday September 26:
In the morning I watched a neighbor in the campground pull his 38Ft Diesel Allegro MH with toad out of his site, putting the rear RV wheel onto a 1 ft high rock; OOOPS. He then reversed to fall back off the rock, skinning the insulation off his holding tank. We were all fortunate he did not break the tank proper, though hopefully it was empty. He had previously dropped his motorcycle while loading it into the pickup toad; he was not having a good day. We left OK RV Park after filling water & dumping. This was a western flavor campground, right next to a racetrack/arena. The emphasis here is on riding, and these longhorn bulls may be intended for short rides too (although I suspect they ride a bit rough).
We stopped in the Moab Post Office for stamps and to mail a letter, after fueling at $1.549 by getting a Maverick discount card. We proceeded on I-70, crossing through some of the bleakest land this side of the moon.
It appears from the fence that something alive uses this land, but I'm sure glad it is not me! Driving west through Richfield we unexpectedly found a Flying J station, and at $1.449 after the Flying J discount we topped up. I did not recall the Richfield Flying J being in the list we have. Rechecking showed it is there and easily marked as being on I-70 exit 40. We did not NEED to buy the expensive Moab gas. Grrrr! I do believe the altitude here is taking a toll on my powers of concentration... :-( There is definitely a noticable effect. We continued through some GREAT scenery on I-89 south, to the Bryce canyon area. These golden aspens of fall are memorable, although we must excuse the window reflections in the photo.
We stopped 14 miles short of Bryce in the Dixie National Forest campground in Red Canyon.
No question about why it is Red Canyon, although I am curious about how a National Forest in Utah came to be called "Dixie".... Altitude at our campsite is 7237 ft by the GPS. I could have gotten in for half the $11 price with a golden age pass, for those over 62 it is $10 for a lifetime pass. I will definitely buy one at Bryce. It is unavailable here. Red Canyon is beautiful when the sun hits the red rock. The campground has dump and water, no electricity.
I tried at least 6 times to download pictures from the camera, the computer blue screened each time. :-(( I do hope I did not blow the USB interface on either the computer or camera, but as Purry approached me to sniff a greeting near dawn, I saw a 1/4 inch blue arc jump from his nose to my finger; we both jumped. There is MUCH static in the low humidity out here. We have about 140 pictures left to take on the empty cards we have; before that, the problem must be solved. Perhaps I can pick up a smart card reader at some electronics store in Cedar City. The printer works on the computer USB port, so if something is defective it appears to be on the camera end, or the cable. We avoid the $20 Bryce entrance fee with the National Parks pass. I immediately bought a lifetime Golden Age pass for $10. Bryce is spectacular; indescribable in words; this picture comes as close as possible to saying it.....
I would have been REALLY disappointed if we had not gotten these pictures out of the camera..... We drove the 16 miles to the park's end observation point at 9115 ft elevation. We walked a mile "easy" trail and felt very taxed. This elevation requires more time to acclimate. On the return trip we stop at the many observation points. The beautiful pastel colored "Hoodoos" are remarkable formations; I am somewhat concerned for their long term stability however...... :-)
Their white cap of dolomitic limestone is the key to a hoodoo's survival; it is hard enough to shed the rainfall that would quickly erode the softer lower layers. We also have arches in Bryce Canyon, though this one is misnamed a "Natural Bridge"; bridges are formed by streams, arches are formed by rain and wind erosion, as this structure was.
The campground in Bryce is closer together than Dixie National Forest, and requires 3 leveling blocks on one side and 4 on the other to get even NEAR level (3 rings nose down on our bubble level after we finish). It only cost $5 with the golden age pass.... :-) The fridge works OK. :-) Dinner is burritos with left over beans and the usual veggies and cheese; delicious! I walked Pookie & Purry as it was Claire's night for the dishes. We turned in VERY early; 7:30. We have decided to finish with Bryce tomorrow and overnight in Dixie National Forest; it's nicer and has a free dump. Then Sunday will be spent in a Walmart in Cedar City, where as you can tell we DID buy something that to download the smart cards to the computer directly without using the camera USB connection at all. There are more photo opportunities in Bryce Canyon than we can put on this page! The rest must wait until next week....
Until then, ENJOY, we sure are!