Arches Day. Kind of the goal of our whole experience, since it was the only place we were weren’t sure of getting into because of potential in-season restrictions as to how many they allow into the park. After April 3rd, you have to have an assigned entry ticket time. Sounded difficult, so our only deadline this whole trip was to get there before April 3rd. Well, not so difficult for us after all. we drove right up and presented our lifetime senior pass. In and through. Easy Peasy. The visitor’s center wasn’t even open yet (We got there around 7:30), so we took the map the ranger at the front gate gave us and headed on in.
The
terrain of the National Park – and of Utah in general - continued to be
entirely different from anywhere else we have ever been. All that red.
And the other thing I decided I was missing when comparing with Colorado
… vegetation. There just wasn’t much of
it. It is beautiful country, though. And often awesome. As Chris has said numerous times, “How can anyone
see all this and not believe in God?”
We
started our hikes yesterday with one little one. You know.
Easy Peasy. Gave us some
confidence and all. Not sure what it was
we looked at, but we made the hike all right, so it was on to the next one. This hike took us to a place they call The
Windows. Guess because it looks like a
couple of monstrous windows. Imagine
that. But we were on a roll now. That’s where we met some fun people who had
ridden motorcycles through rain, sleet and snow – literally – from Spokane,
Washington, to Albuquerque and even on into Texas. They were on their way home, saw the sign,
and decided to check the place out. What
a surprise for them! We ended up seeing
them off and on all day. And they weren’t
the only ones who didn’t mind stopping to chat.
I think that may be one of my favorite things about hanging out with
retired people. We even met a lady from
Idaho. And why is that so significant? Because I have been calling the state we are
currently investigating “Idaho” for the last three days. So I guess I was just happy to be meeting a
local …
One
young couple approached us on the trail.
He was deep in explanation with her, and quite seriously intoned, “Those
are definitely more mature.” I waited
until they passed us, then said to Chris, but just loud enough for them to
hear, “Hey was talking about us, you know.”
They both turned around in horror at the thought that they had
unintentionally offended a couple of old geezers. But when they saw my huge grin, they knew I was
kidding. He did assure us that he was
talking scientifically about the arches and NOT us.
The
Sand Dunes Arch was another little hike.
This one was like walking on the beach to get to. Seriously.
Well, with no water, of course.
Just sand. Lots of sand. Adults were plodding through the loose
stuff. Several children were digging in
it. Just like being on Jamaica Beach on
a summer weekend. But no water, of
course. I miss water. Lots of pictures were being taken. We took a photo of a couple we met, and they returned
the favor. I think they were the ones
who recommended a place to eat barbeque.
More about that later. The second
half of this hike involved walking a mile or so to see what they called The
Broken Arch. I wasn’t sure why we would want
to walk so far to see something that was broken anyway. We made it, though. And it was still intact. We did see a crack down the middle, but I
guess it was safe enough for thousands of people to crawl under it every
year.
Somewhere
in there we took a hike to see The Delicate Arch from quite a distance
away. Why? Because the parking area for the actual hike
up to that site (three miles) was full.
Phew. We did finally get into
that lot later in the day. We did not,
however, attempt that three miler.
Instead, we walked over to the area where they have discovered a lot of
picture that early artists (Like, very early artists) painted on the
side of the mountain. There’s a word for
it, but it’s a mouthful. Besides, I can’t
remember it right now, and it is just … nonessential information. Another perk of retirement. The pictures were great. Told a story of Indians apparently hunting
mountain goats with, in the words of the explanation placard, “dog-like creatures.” Gee. I
wonder if maybe the dog-like creatures were actually dogs.
By
the end of the day, I think we had hiked just about every possible route (except
that one long one). I even picked up
one unexpected souvenir, given that it has been so cold. I now have a syndrome affectionately called, “Rudolph
Nose.” Guess we need to find some suntan
lotion.
We
finally headed to the front gate and made our way into the now-open visitor’s
center. After some searching, Chris
found a Christmas ornament. I located one
of the most unusual creatures I have yet to add to our menagerie. We saw evidence of them in the park – hidey holes
and the like – but still have never seen one in person. It was a hooded lizard. The kind that stands on its hind legs and
runs. Think Jurassic Park, those cute
little adorable critters that spit acid, only a much smaller scale. And without the acid. This dude’s name is Sammy. Nickname of Speedy. He’s proud of that one. He and CC are already inseparable pals. Quite a pair.
Guess because they come from the same region and don’t generally try to eat
each other. I was excited to hear his
name. Kind of like an homage to our own
Sammy at Seaside.
We
ended the day with barbeque. Not sure what
kind, but it came highly recommended by that couple we met. I suppose it was wonderful if you are from Idaho. But, Toto … we’re not in Texas anymore. After supper we made it back to the hotel in
time to watch Texas A&M get defeated – barely – by Xavier. Great back-and-forth game. A&M just looked tired, though. Kind of like I was last night.
Ephesians
6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.”
Father,
thank you for the people we are meeting from all over the country. I really like that part. Amen.
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