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John Wayne once famously said that Moab is "where God put the West" and I'll agree with that! I had a couple of days off work, and decided to go west.
Since the weather has been decent in the mountains, I was able to take I-70 from home to Grand Junction ( a town on the west side of the Rockies), and onward to Moab, Utah. Grand Junction is the home of the Colorado National Monument, which I must confess I had never even heard of until I got within 5 miles of it. Of course, I couldn't pass by without checking it out. It was established as a national monument in 1911 by President Taft. It was awesome!! It reminded me of a mini-Grand Canyon, but no less breath-taking. Sheer walled canyons of gorgeous colors, it is in the Colorado Plateau area. It's all canyons and sandstone monoliths that have been naturally eroded over the years. There was this amazing drive I took. 23 miles long, Rim Rock Drive goes all along the rim of the canyons. It was pretty scary for a few minutes! It's only 32 square miles, but looks larger than that. I can't believe
I've never even heard of it before, but since it's on the west range, it's understandable. I don't really know anything that's over there. I'll definitely be back!
After my side-stop at the Monument, I continued onward to Moab, where I stayed the next two days. Moab is a cute little town, really only one Main Street, and mostly locally owned stores and restaurants. People flock to the area for the outdoor recreation it affords, and its got a real outdoorsy and active vibe. It's named for the biblical kingdom at the edge of Zion, the promised land. With it's striking red sandstones, it reminded me a little of Sedona. And like Sedona, there have been tons of movies filmed in the area, hence the John Wayne quote. Movies both older and contemporary, including: Rio Grande, Wagon Master, The Comancheros, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, City Slickers II, and even Thelma and Louise took their final leap into the Colorado River near Moab!
Arches National Park is one of the most gorgeous parks in the area. It has the worlds greatest concentration of sandstone arches, more than 2,000 in all. The park has been home for people
for over
It is known for its dramatic rock foundations, including petrified dunes, balanced rocks, soaring arches, meandering canyons and massive sandstone buttes and walls. I took a couple of hikes, to some of the different arches. Each one was different and gorgeous in it's own way. One of them, Skyline Arch, used to have a smaller opening, but one night in 1940, a large chunk of rock fell from the arch instantly doubling the arch opening! The huge boulders that fell are still on the ground, and as I scrambled around them, the sheer size of even the smallest ones had me a bit scared... I can't imagine what I would do if rocks started falling around me! Someone told me that as you walk around the park, listen carefully, especially in winter, and you may hear spontaneous popping noises in distant rocks - the sound of arches forming. (If you hear popping noises overhead, move it!) Scary 😊
There were also some petroglyph rock art in the area. Some were on some boulders inside Arches. They were made by the Ute Indians, sometime between 1650-1850.
One of the last arches I checked out was Double Arch.
As I was wandering around a couple of the arches, a bus load of Mormon singers went under the arch and began singing acapella. The acoustics were great!
After my hikes in the Arches National Park, I went to check out a couple more Native American petroglyphs, and walked around the Colorado River. Petroglyphs are drawings or designs that are scratched, pecked, abraded, or ground onto rock surfaces. These were designs of a bear, people holding shields, other animals, and many other objects. They were made around 2000 years ago!! It amazes me that native americans were around back then! Nearby I also saw a dinosaur track on a rock. As I walked along the river, I met a few people, and learned more about the petroglyphs from a guy who lived in the area.
The weather was in the 90's and super hot, so I decided to go looking for some type of swimming hole. I found a great hike following Miller Creek though a canyon, and which ended by a pool and waterfall. The water felt cool and refreshing, and I got to splash around in the creek any time I got warm during the hike,
since the trail crossed the creek tons of times. There were a bunch of people enjoying the warm weather and cool water!
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