Day 33-August 7, 2017-To Moab, Utah, Arches National Park
Drove 120 miles in 2-3/4 hours
Hazy in the morning but sunny, hot and dry in the afternoon. Up to 94
Most of the drive today was on I-70, a 2 lane each way divided highway, the last 36 miles on US191, aka “The Old Cisco Highway” in Utah. The Colorado National Monument was on our left for part of the way, beautiful mountains, but we couldn’t see much of it from the highway. Speed limit in Utah is 80 but we don’t go that fast. Got to the campground early (before 1), checked in, had lunch and went to Arches National Park, about 7 miles down the road. Spent the afternoon looking at beautiful arches, spires, rock formations, and vistas. Arches NP contains the world’s largest collection of sandstone arches along with fins, spires and balanced rocks. There are over 2,000 arches in the park but many you have to hike to. You drive up an 18 mile paved road with lots of view points and pull overs to stop and take in the vistas. Many of the formations are named and some actually resemble their name. Quite a few people were in the park today, especially for a Monday. They’re doing a lot of construction and the park is closed from 7PM-7AM and there’s a lot of new paving along the way. All the way back down again the same way but the views are different now because of the clouds and the shadows. A lot of trails and informational markers throughout the park also. On the way back we stopped in town at Moab Brewery for a beer and burger, then back to the campground to enjoy the views from our own RV site. We watched a beautiful full moon come up over the mountains and enjoyed the evening outside until a gale force wind picked up and it started to sprinkle. Didn’t amount to anything but the wind was fierce.