Friday night I fell asleep with my inverter on. That meant waking up to a cold car and dead battery.
Saturday I was up early, cold, calling AAA for a jump. I already knew I wasn’t getting back to sleep at this point. This worked out well, plenty of time to catch a continental breakfast before Arches. I stopped in the visitor center and asked about the best trails to see the most arches. The first one was a short 1 mile trail into a canyon. It was strange; one wall of the canyon is very skinny. I can’t guess how thick but it looks out of place. Just about everything here looks out of place. The second trail was a half mile loop that over looked Delicate Arch. From the view point you could walk onto a huge rock outcrop. This was about another half mile with a somewhat steep incline. This was a lot of fun, towards the edge it was broken up so you would have to climb down several feet then climb up the other side to keep going. When I finally got to the edge I could see for miles. The whole time along this hike you were able to see the arch. In the morning it was very cold, 20 degrees. But once the sun came up you could feel the temperature jump. Right away it was 38 degrees, and I thought it was going to continue to climb. The last hike was called Devils Garden, a 5.5 mile hike out to Double O Arch, and back. I was too hot hiking in a sweatshirt so I just wore a tee shirt and pants. I brought a bottle of water and some snacks. When I started the hike I realized I was much higher up then the last 2 hikes, and it was windy. On the way to Double O Arch there are about 5 other arches you get to see. The largest and most well-known is Landscape Arch. This hike was very rustic, with just small piles of stacked rocks marking your way. The scenery was amazing, so many strange features that you would never guess exist. After the first mile or so I ended up dropping my water and watching it roll right off a cliff. And I was very very cold. I knew there was nothing I could do about it so I just went on and had a great hike. The Double O Arch is really cool. It is a small circle arch with a half-moon shaped arch right over it. From here I planned on taking the primitive trail back but due to lack of water and feeling in my hands, I just went back the same way. I got back to the car and headed into town, looking for the first hot tub I could see. But I never realized how much it takes out of you to hike like that in the cold. I was completely exhausted. I pulled into a parking lot and fell asleep within a minute or 2. After a 4 hour nap, hot tub time. I found a nice indoor one and some gentleman I meet in the parking lot was glad to open it for me. After that I had to get packing for the Grand Canyon trip. So I pulled just about everything out of my car and went through what I needed and could fit. I also made 8 sandwiches on the bed of my truck in the McDonald’s parking lot. I thought that was a little funny. After packing everything, and giving my car a much needed cleaning, I drove out to Mesa Arch, Canyon land I was watching a movie on my computer when I realized I fried my DC output in my car. No more inverter, and no more computer. This isn’t too bad, I really only need it one more time before the Grand Canyon, to post this blog, and when I get out of there I’ll be at my friend’s house.
Sunday morning I was up before sunrise, Mesa Arch is famous for sunrise pictures. I meet about 5 other people there coming for the same sight. One man was a professional photographer, and has been all over the world taking pictures. He also used to be a ski instructor at Jackson Hole, WY. When the sun came up it lit up the whole underside of this arch, making it seem it radiate. Very cool. For me it was also neat to see all the photographers running around lining up the best shots. When that was just about over I started driving around the park. The part of Canyon Land’s I was at is called Island in the Sky and isn’t really known for much hiking, just a lot of huge over looks. There were 4 spots I think I could see hundreds of miles. I think it is also called that because there is sort of a haze that comes in and if it were to come in think enough you really would think of it as an island. Next I stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park. It gets its name from cowboys that would corral horses there, pick the best ones and leave the rest to die. The park is on a point so there is one grand overlook. It’s really unbelievable to see these sights. In the morning light it seems like every red rock cliff is just glowing. After that I started to the Grand Canyon. I took a slightly different route there then when I came up. And I’m glad I did, this way took me through the Valley of the Gods. Some very cool sights on that drive, lots of rock formations, and different colored landscapes. Once I arrived near the canyon I stopped to plan out the hiking paths I would be taking, and to type this.
the pics were taking to long i have more but the store is closing
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