We have to brag about our National Parks. They are spectacular! In southern Utah there are some real gems. We have just finished exploring Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. I know you have seen photos of Landscape Arch, (Our version is below) You hike up the real thing; you must contemplate how unlikely it is for such a structure to develop, and yet there it is; spanning over three hundred feet and barely six foot thick at the apex. We hiked four miles round trip to see it. Along the way we were watched over by huge monoliths towering several hundred feet above us on both sides. It is easy to feel small and insignificant.

When we arrived here we were contemplating riding our bicycle up the 18 mile road that connects all of the features of the park. At the entrance kiosk the lady checked us right through on our Golden Age Pass. (You youngsters eat your hearts out, our entrance was free.) The lady suggested that we might want to drop the trailer at the visitor center and then we could drive the motor home into the park. I asked incredulously, “You mean I could negotiate the park roads with this!” We found out it is true, 40 foot tour buses do it all the time, why not our little 34 foot Alpine. We watched the “ants” crawling up the 10 percent grade and switchbacks all the way up the face of the cliffs leading to the interior, and the bicycle adventure was put on hold. Path stayed in his comfy trailer and Arcturus got to tour the park.

We spent all day Saturday in the park. Winds were probably gusting to 45 mph and it was sending stinging sand grains into our faces. Still we hiked many of the shorter trails and made the one long four mile trek to Landscape Arch. We did see a tour group of about twenty bicycle riders. We saw several loose their balance in a swirling gust of wind and sand. Once you get up to the plateau the hills are manageable, but that first two miles are horrid.

Today we pulled up stakes and moved a whole ten miles to a BLM campground on the Colorado River. We actually rode the tandem further than the RV today. We rode Path along two different sides of Arches Park. In the morning we rode the South Western edge on a bicycle trail alongside US Highway 191. Sixteen miles round trip and 600 feet of elevation gain. We then drove Arcturus ten miles and after settling in at Big Bend BLM campground on the Colorado River we road Path another ten miles along State Highway 128. The river forms the South Eastern boundary of the park. This was a nice relaxing ride with gentle grades and slow traffic.

The grandeur of these two canyons, the Moab Fault Canyon and the Colorado River Canyon are just awe inspiring. Both canyons are about 1,200 feet deep where we were riding. The cliffs tower above you on both sides. It is only seven, mountain time and the sun has been gone for an hour already. There are no lights, so tonight promises to be a moonlit spectacle with brilliant stars in a perfectly clear sky

Folks, it is worth the trip. Make yourself a promise to come and visit some or all of these beautiful parks some day.

Gary and Judy