We left Salt Lake City on Tuesday, September 10th by way of   I 15,  We quickly left the Interstate and proceeded on State Road 214 until we reached  US Route 6 which is a scenic drive, we took Route 6 to I 70 another Interstate and proceeded to State Road 191 which leads to Arches National Park and Moab, Utah just past the park. I only mention this because of the lovely and scenic rest stop were we stopped for breakfast. The rest stops along US 6 are not really formal in the way that rest stops are formal on the East Coast. They are essentially large pullouts or gravel extensions of  the shoulders on the side of the road. Since we are self contained and didn't need gas, oil or water it didn't much matter, although the sign did say the Woodside Service Station was open.

We arrived at Arches National Park after 12 PM but all the sites had been taken by 11 AM so we drove into Moab and spent the rest of the day and night in a private campground. The next morning we drove back the five miles to Arches and got on the campground line a little before 7 AM. After getting one of the limited  registration  envelopes we proceeded the 18 miles to the campground. There is limited water, no electric and no dump station in the campground, only peace and tranquility.

That was sufficient for the two nights we spent in  the Park, touring, hiking, attending Ranger talks and sightseeing.


Sand Dune Arch


Balanced Rock
 


North Window


The famous Delicate Arch (it's on the Utah license plate and 2002 National Park Pass)

One of our most interesting walks was in a dry wash (at least it was dry while we where there) from a formation called "Park Avenue" to another formation called  "Courthouse Towers". When we got to "Courthouse Towers" the sign said "pick up 'Park Avenue" hikers here'. We waited a half hour but nobody came to pick us up so we truged back up the wash to our truck.

We even visited the cabin of an Ohio gentleman who tried his hand at ranching in this arid desert country. "John Wesley Wolfe, a disabled Civil War veteran and his son Fred, settled here in the late 1800. A weathered log Cabin, root cellar, and corral remain as evidence of the primitive ranch they operated for more then 20 years."

Amazingly the cabin that remains was not his first, his daughter and her children visited with him for awhile and she objected to his living in the primitive cabin with a dirt floor so he built this cabin with a wooden floor to satisfy her.

We spent two days in the Park. Most people seem to spend one day or even less. We wanted to go to Dead Horse Point State Park which shares a plateau with Island in the Sky of Canyon lands NP and didn't think we would get a campsite if we showed up at their doorstep as the Canyonlands campground was closed for repairs. Utah State Parks allow reservations but they must be made at least three days in advance.  By the time we made the reservation we had to return to  Moab for another night. At first Debby made the reservation for two nights one to explore Dead Horse Point and one for Canyonlands and then she remembered that the third day was Yom Kipper. Obviously, she immediately called back and extended our stay by one day. We walked in the desert and fasted on Yom Kipper. However, we did drink water. Religious people even in the Israeli desert fast without drinking water but we didn't think it prudent.

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