Haha. This is one of the few pictures Oat took of me that can’t see my double chin or the super roundness of my face. Whenever he took a picture of me, I always said, “make me look skinny.” This one may not be skinny, but it’s much better than most others.
Going through these photos has me dreaming of a vacation, like one’s Oat and I took many years ago. Covid has stopped my adventuring for a while.
My Arches trip was in 2009, part of a triple park tour: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Arches. There was lots of driving, beautiful mountains, and an abundance of wildlife. The parks were great, but the rock formations at Arches were spectacular. Making me want to go and visit again.
What I would do differently
Don’t go to Moab in July, too hot. There is so much to do outside but visiting in the middle of summer wasn’t the best idea. We went out by six, explored for lunch, and spent the afternoon resting in the ac of the hotel room. In the late afternoon, we would go out for more exploring and dinner. Not a bad use of time, but I would like to be out on the trail between 7-8 and come back to the room around 4ish to relax and shower before dinner.
Spend more time in the area. A two-week triple park tour was not enough time to explore Moab. Next time, I’ll want to spend at least a week in Arches the places we didn’t have to see on my last trip.
Be brave. I’m not really afraid of height but on this trip, heights seem to bother me. I was a bit apprehensive when scrambling over the large boulders. And the slopping area by the slopping made me very nervous, that I didn’t walk up to it. I did feel very disappointed. I hope on my next trip I will be able to summon up the courage to do it.
What I would do again
I most definitely would do the Fiery Furnace guided hike with park ranger again. We hike through narrow canyons and scrambled over boulders with the ranger leading the way and pointing out the interesting rock formations and the hows and whys they were formed. I also really like being lead so I could concentrate on the beautiful rock and not where I was going and how I was going to get back.
Princess Hot Flash 