Wonders of the American West
Day Three – 31 May 2011
Moab-Arches-Mesa Verde
Weather: Breakfast was eggs cooked on the sidewalk
I slept like a log but was wide-eyed and bushy tailed at five, so I was up typing while the sun rose over the fast moving (and fast rising) Colorado River. Our luggage was out at 6:45, which was a little disconcerting. Anyone could have tossed a bag into their trunk and taken off, but I guessed it hadn’t been a problem.
The horses were keeping a close watch.
I waited around until the little golf cart came along and loaded up my bag. Breakfast was out on the patio just above the Colorado again. Gorgeous!
We all boarded the bus at 7:45 and headed out for Arches, traveling back down the gorge one more time.
The park had a new visitor’s centre, and after a brief visit to the gift shop, we watched a short video on the formation of the arches. (See Wikipedia). The video showed us footage of a piece of an arch falling from Landscape Arch in 1991.
Afterwards, the bus took us to the first of three stops. Park Ave was an area between two rock walls about a mile long. Gordon gave us the opportunity to walk from one end to the other and meet the bus on the other side.
We jumped at the chance.
It took about forty-five minutes to do the whole walk along the valley floor and take dozens of pictures of the two massive walls of rock on either side of us.
There were a couple of rocks balanced hundreds of feet above us.
Guess Andrew has been a busy man.
The footing was a bit tricky at parts and those unable to do any amount of walking stay on the bus after getting some pics at the start of the valley.
We met up with the bus at the other end and then moved on to Balanced Rock. We passed the Great Wall on the way which is a long unbroken wall of rock. Then Balanced Rock came into view.
Yes, Andrew has been very busy.
Whoever named these things either didn’t want to get fancy or was just chuckling at the obvious. The joke was probably on us.
It was a short walk to the rock, and all I could think was that if it falls, where do we run?
The soil in Arches was actually alive and there were signs everyone telling people not to walk off the trail because cracking the soil could damage it and then it would take centuries to repair.
Yeah. Some people either don’t care or don’t read. All day we came across people off the trail.
After Balanced Rock, we moved on to the most difficult of the three walks where we could see both arches and windows.
A word of warning. Bring two bottles of water if it’s hot at all. The walk took a little more than an hour (if you stay on the trail) and I started to have symptoms of heat stroke near the end.
The trail first went to Turret Arch.
Then it wound down to North and South Windows which looked like two huge eyes in the side of the rock.
The trail curved around the end of the rock so that you could see it from the other side.
Now, the trail was primarily marked with rocks, so it wouldn’t be hard to find yourself in Kansas if you don’t watch where you’re going. At one point, we were the only people to be seen and really had to question if we were on the trail.
It wasn’t a trail for anyone with mobility issues. At one point, we had to climb the side of a smooth boulder.
As we followed the long route back to the parking lot, two other tourmates were staring at something in the desert bushes.
A rattle snake!!!
He pointed it out in the bush and then tossed a pebble at it.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!
The snake rattled and moved closer to the bush.
I took a picture (with the telephoto) then went in the opposite direction, towards the last set of arches – Double Arch.
This one was two arches located close to one another and you can get great pics from the right location. It was worth the walk to the base of the arches – even if you’re suffering from heat stroke and/or altitude sickness. (In fact, skip the walk through the desert behind the Windows After you see Turret Arch and the Windows, turn back and go see Double Arch. It was the real treat there).
Back on the bus, I got a cold bottle of water, drank it all and turned on the cold air above me. The nausea had just started but I was able to nip it in the bud before it ruined the day. From Arches, we moved on to Moab for lunch. Some of us got dropped at a super market and I picked up a couple of bananas. What a great way to help the heat stroke!!
We left for Mesa Verde, making a stop at the Drive-by Arch.
It was just on the side of the road which made for easy access.
The drive to Mesa Verde took about two hours with a stop first at the Anasazi Visitor’s centre.
The Anasazi were the ancient Pueblo people of the region who disappeared about 1200 CE. At least some say they disappeared. Some groups of native Americans claim they are the descendants and that that Anasazi simply moved when life became too hard – perhaps due to an extended drought. The visitor centre had some ruins nearby.
We got some photos of McPhee Resevoir and the foundation of some Anasazi homes. Even back then, they could appreciate a house with a view!
The view included Mesa Verde which was the long mesa on the horizon.
The drive up was amazing, if not a little knee buckling.
We arrived at the Far View Lodge at 5:30 and I was wiped!!
The hotel was also motel style with the doors on the exterior, but it was no where near the quality of the Red Cliffs Hotel.
There wasn’t even a TV.
Yeah. First hotel I’ve ever been in without a TV but I’d later learn that this was likely because it was inside the national park. They want you out exploring the park, not watching TV.
Otherwise, it was a basic room with iron, board, kettle, hair dryer, fridge, internet in the lobby (unless your room is close to the main building like mine was).
There was no air conditioning.
I used to be in the army, so anything with a bed works for me!!
We went to dinner at six and the meal was very very good. I had the chicken, but there was also trout, steak and vegetarian pasta. I was back to my room by 7:30 and it wasn’t long before I was out cold.
Go to Day Four
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