Day 12 - Arches & Canyonlands

Today, Peg had a "great" idea. She decided they would ride to Moab while Lou and Denise and Brenda rode the motorhome up. It was really cold and a huge black cloud was right in front of them as they were riding. Today was definitely an electric gloves and chaps day. The black cloud never gave us more than a few spits and spurts of rain and as we rode farther, we got closer to the blue skies and rocks. On the way to Moab, we decided to ride into the Canyonlands. What a beautiful curvy ride through the canyon and across a mesa. However, it was 34 miles in to the Visitor Center and we decided we didn't have enough time to ride any further but before we left, we decided to get gas @ $6.00/gal. We each got one gallon which would get us into Moab to our campground.

We checked into the campground and found that Lou, Denise & Brenda had already left for a ride so we decided to go on into Arches National Park. Arches National Park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, like the world-famous Delicate Arch, as well as many other unusual rock formations. In some areas, the forces of nature have exposed millions of years of geologic history. The extraordinary features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures that is unlike any other in the world. To really see the arches we needed to take some hikes. We saw some people high above us underneath one of the arches and we wondered how they got there. We found a trail that lead to that spot. Absolutely beautiful. Well, worth the hike.

Lou, Denise & Brenda rode River Road along the Colorado River. Brenda said that was one of the most beautiful rides. Then they tried to enter the north end of Canyonlands but they were tarring and chipping the rode so they turned around. They ended up in Dead Horse Point State Park. Dead Horse Point State Park is perhaps Utah's most spectacular state park. Dead Horse Point is a promontory of stone surrounded by steep cliffs. The overlook at Dead Horse Point is 6,000 feet above sea level. Two thousand feet below, the Colorado River winds its way from the continental divide in Colorado to the Gulf of California, a distance of 1,400 miles. If you want to read more about Dead Horse Point State Park, click here

Before they came back to the campground, they rode around Arches National Park. Denise said even though they rode the same road in and out, the scenery was completely different because of the setting sun.

Tomorrow we start heading back east. We want to see you all but yet we don't want this wonderful trip to end.

Need to stop blogging for now. Lou & Bill want to leave by 6 a.m.!!! Will add pictures as we're heading down the highway.