ON THE ROAD AGAIN Since we had full hookups at Mesa Verde National Park, we emptied the black and gray tanks prior to leaving. Besides, we wanted to reduce the weight as much as possible before descending the multi-switchbacked mountain road. We were scared to death! But the good Lord took care of us and we had no problem whatsoever coming down in 2nd gear. In fact, the brakes on DunnGone were applied only sparingly. We stopped at Cortez just outside the park to fill with gasoline and do some much needed shopping at Walmart. Between Cortez, CO, and Monticello, UT, we observed extensive farming operations, including row crop production. High prairies began almost immediately after proceeding north through Monticello. South of Moab, UT, significant rock formations began to appear, along with high mountain ranges. It was interesting to note the almost sudden change in topography today as we traveled north, dropping 3,000 feet in elevation.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK It had been over 30 years since Donald last was at Arches National Park and his memory had faded considerably. He did not remember having to drive from the valley floor up several switchbacks to enter the park. Also, many trails had been added, and some of the formations had changed. Since we had reserved a site in the campground, we drove immediately to the site to set up DunnGone. Unfortunately, it was at the other end of the road, 18 miles from the entrance. Our site was across from the restrooms, slanted downhill, but had an arch in the background. We did not have enough leveling blocks to compensate. We were both hungry for vegetables—Donald prepared another skillet dinner of potatoes, jalapenos, smoked sausage, zucchini, and onions—and we ate like there was no tomorrow.

ARCHES GALORE Driving back almost halfway to the entrance, we began our tour in earnest, with our first stop at North Window and South Windows (what Donald calls Looking Glass Arches).

We proceeded to Balanced Rock, some 54 feet tall balanced on a base double or triple that height, then to Delicate Arch, Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, and Landscape Arch. Photos of these, as well as the entire trip, will be made available via Picasa when we return home. This is an awesome national park, and offers relatively easy hikes. Anyway, you can get a taste of the park from the photos we’ve included here. The campground was packed with no vacancy. Kay couldn’t believe how many campers there were and especially how many tent campers there were. Donald took an extra trail to try to see the famous Arch that fell and broke this past August, but he never saw where it was. Kay thought this was one of the most beautiful parks she’d seen. It’s almost like a moonscape. The sand is slightly pink (from the pink/salmon colored enormous monolith structures) and they are so enticing. One can see why the Indians thought they were people/giants who had offended the gods and had been turned to stone in this place. There was a quiet and serenity there that was intriguing.