Moab

Moab

Poor Jake and Peggy. Canyonlands Campground is a large RV park with a lot of shade trees and a lot of RVers but not one blade of grass – not even in the pet walk! Of course any tree will do for Jake but Peggy, being more particular, waited until the next day to finally go in the dirt. They are both looking forward to having their own backyard again! The two best opportunities for good eats here both turned out to be mediocre at best but we came for the two national parks so we’re not disappointed. Our visits have been compressed into the late afternoon after work but we’ve seen a lot by driving and taking the shorter hikes. The first day we drove the short distance to Arches National Park which is just outside of Moab.
The photo above is the famous (at least in Utah) Delicate Arch and the photo to the left is what they call Park Avenue. The clouds kept the temps very pleasant but the pictures we took don’t compare in any way to the what it’s like actually being there. Hiking to Sand Dune Arch was like walking on the beach in the deep, fine, red sand. The photos look like they were done in sepia but they really are in full color. We finally got this picture once the goofy German with the green hair had moved along.
The next day we drove to the Island in the Sky entrance to Canyonlands National Park since The Needles entrance is a 3-hour round-trip drive away. Before you even get to the park entrance you see some remarkable scenery, like this formation named Monitor and Merrimac . The sign at the trail-head to Mesa Arch said it is a 30-minute round-trip hike but it didn’t take near that long, although it would have been worth it if it had.Here are some more photos of this amazing place.