Moab, Utah (Arches NP, Dead Horse NP, Canyonlands NP)

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Omigod! I have spent the past three days around Moab, Utah and am in hiking, treking heaven. I will have to visit this place again only for the outdoor fun such as kayaking on the Colorado River, riding the rapids in a blow up boat, mountain biking, climbing, walking, canyoning, motorbike riding and I’m sure I forgot heaps of other stuff one can spend money on around here. Moab is surrounded by National Parks, State Parks and BLM areas and the camping is fantastic. I spent two days on the Colorado River, one of them by birthday, and while I spent the day walking every trail I could find without needing a backcountry permit (not easy to get) and returned every afternoon for a dip in the river watching climbers scale the famous Fisher towers, stand on top with their arms spread and then take of base jumping. Just put ‘Fisher Towers’ into the YouTube search engine and I believe heaps of clips will come up for you to look at. Since I’m way too old to attempt that stuff myself, I love watching it with Mrs Reece’s binoculars. Lying down with a pillow behind my back and just watching those people spider up those massive sandstone cliffs, it is truly amazing what they can do and I envy them terribly. I’ve taken lots of photos for one of my best friends back home so she and her husband can plan their next climbing trip.

The weather has been fantastic so far, only today the clouds have moved in and the heat has gone down, which is a bit of a blessing. Yesterday it was 91 Fahrenheit (please work that out for yourself, I cannot remember exactly, only that it is bloody hot for trekking) and a 4 hours walk took me probably one extra hours because I had to stop so many times to take a breath and drink water. It is a desert after all.

I’m staying this night at Dead Horse Point State Reserve, hoping for a nice sunset although the clouds might have a different idea. This park was named after an incident about 150 years ago where this ‘point’ was used to coral in wild horses. Apparently the cowboys made a natural wall out of juniper trees and rocks but after taking the horses they wanted, they forgot to release the others and the poor little buggers died of thirst in view of the Colorado River. I’m going to spend tomorrow going into Canyonlands National Park, walking, taking photos etc. but the plan is to spend the night in a hotel with wifi. With a bit of luck I will upload some photos as well so you can have a look.

To end this little blog with the words of Edward Abbey:

‘Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are enphasized here, in the desert, by comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places but scattered abroad in sparseness and simplicity, with a generous gift for space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. The extreme clarity of the desert light is equalled by the extreme individuation of desert life forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom.’ I’ve been reading his books (yes, I bought another one) and I believe I’m falling in love with a dead man. Unfortunately, Abbey died about 20 years ago but his thoughts on nature and desert are most intriguing.

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