Canyonlands and Arches National Parks

 

Matt posted earlier today about our brake trouble. We made it to our campground! But now our septic is broken, and it really stinks (pun intended). Please pray that somehow, we figure out how to fix it. 

Now for my post, written yesterday:

The thing about the nondescript RV park that Matt mentioned is that it was surround by dirt bike and ATV trails (I thought of you, Uncle Tom and Fulton!), and they actually made for great running paths.  This morning I ran past grazing cows, towering mountains and a hot air balloon.  It struck me that Utah is one of the few places that looks better in person rather than pictures.

We made it to the right part of Canyonlands this morning (Matt humbly forgot to mention that yesterday’s blunder was my fault, having read the wrong directions).  Two short hikes took us to breathtaking views of the canyons below.  The landscape of Canyonlands was also remarkable: spiky, green yucca plants and bushy juniper trees dotted the red rocks and sand.  We spotted two lizards.

Next was Arches National Park.  Many people had recommended this one, and we were not mislead.  Huge, flat rocks called buttes have, over time, split into tall thin pieces called fins due to water and weather erosion.  Those fins then developed holes and cracks that turned into magnificent arches.  A four mile hike lead us past the largest arch in the park, called Landscape Arch.  It was beautiful, but more amazing was the scenery along the hike: miles and miles of red buttes and fins.  We did a one-miler at sunset to view the most famous of the arches, called Delicate Arch.  Again, it was neat, but the scenery surrounding it was more interesting to me, and beautiful at sunset.

I (Marianne) need to jot down two non-National-Park-related notes about our trip:

-          Life in the RV is simultaneously wonderful and maddening.  Imagine taking a 15-year-old rickety home on wheels through old, windy mountain roads.  It results in doors flying open, activity books and stickers strewn everywhere, and the occasional broken item.  But then we can stop, anywhere we want (say, under a gorgeous mountain, for example) to heat up the stove for dinner or scoop an ice cream cone.  And there’s no need to frantically search for a rest area or gas station if someone needs to use the bathroom.  That’s pretty awesome.

-          We gave Maggie a kids’ digital camera for the trip.  She loves taking pictures, and takes some pretty decent shots, but the best thing is that when she spots something interesting, she says, “Mom and Dad, stand over there and look like you’re married” and then snaps a picture of us.