Thursday afternoon, I rolled into Moab around 3pm. My first order of business was to get my hair cut. I'd deliberately let it grow since before Christmas, because I thought it would be easier to put it back while I was traveling. Well, that was convenient for awhile...until it started breaking off and I got bangs I didn't want! So I decided to get it cut off so I could just use clips around my face and not damage it so much. It's...kinda messy...sort of like Rhonda's right before she went to the Netherlands.
Anyway, then I went and got set up at my campground, which is really cute. It's just off a side street, within walking distance from all the stuff on main street. It's pretty small and the sites are a little close, but it's really pretty and nice. I even got invited to a double bachelor party of Georgia Tech guys that was at some sites on the far end. I talked to them for a little while, but quickly excused myself...I didn't want to get involved in the testosterone craziness...and I did not want to be the entertainment!
I ate at Slickrock Cafe the first night, which was pretty good.
Yesterday I woke up and grabbed a salmon bagel at Red Rock cafe, and surfed the net, then went to Arches National Park, which is awesome. There are arches everywhere, although a lot of them are small and hard to see. The Windows arches were really cool, but I was mega-disappointed in Delicate Arch, which is the most-photographed arch in the park. You couldn't get close to it without a three mile, 427 ft gradient hike, and I'd already hiked several miles in the friggin hot desert sun:) But it was really cool. I had to hightail it out after a few hours because I was running out of gas.
I went for dinner to La Hacienda, which was awesome. They have really good green chile out here, and they put it on everything. I had enchiladas....OMG. The restaurant had a bunch of crosses hanging all over the restaurant...probably the most I've seen outside a church.
Then I went back to the campground where I feel asleep from exhaustion.
This morning I got up and had an awesome breakfast at Moab Diner. It was a skillet of potatoes, bacon, mushrooms and cheese, with scrambled eggs on top and green chile on top of that. Heaven! I left and went out Potash road which is across the highway from Arches. I wanted to hike out to the Corona arch, which is so big, a plane was once flown through it. I'll see if I can find that pic.
Article about the "Flying Cowboy"
I learned that it is not a good idea to hike in the desert at noon, no matter how breezy it might seem to be or how short the hike. It is hot, although I didn't feel it until I was out in the middle of nowhere scrambling up a cliff. Then I thought I was going to die. It was only a 3 mile roundtrip hike, but man it was brutal. No shade. Lots of exposed slickrock.
On my way back, I stopped and watched the rock climbers at a popular climbing spot along Potash road. It was pretty cool...I could see a range from beginners, to guys who made it look like nothing.
Now, I'm having a fruit smoothie at an internet cafe. I can't decide what I want to do tomorrow. I didn't ever go to Canyonlands because after reading more, it seemed like a ton of driving for not a lot of return. I'm supposed to leave in the am for Mesa Verde, but I have a day or so leeway if I wanted to do something else. I'll decide sometime before I put the car in gear.
Oh and I just realized that I never really talked about my visit to Bryce Canyon a few days ago..before I came here. I guess it's because I only had one day there and I felt kinda like crap. I think it was the altitude...I keep going up or down a few thousand feet from place to place, and it was giving me a good headache that day. It gave me some minor nosebleeds at the Grand Canyon too. But Bryce was pretty...I really only took pix from the overlooks...I didn't feel much like hiking. I didn't even feel like setting up my tent, so I just parked at my campsite and slept in the backseat. Ugh...glad I feel better now. Moab is at 5000ft above sealevel and Bryce was at the 8-10,000ft range.
I am uploading my other Zion pix now, then I will put up the Moab area pix.
My Southwest adventure is almost over, sadly. In a couple days I start heading back east, where I'll spend a few days in Memphis with my dad and stepmom, then a couple days in Nashville with my friend Lisaann. Then home!
It's hard to believe it's almost over. It's seemed long and short at various times. And thought I've had some lonely moments, I've seen a lot of cool stuff and had a lot of time to think about things.
It's going to be hard to go back to work:)
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