Not Surprising. We woke up hungry. Aram, the owner of the Hotel, was extremely welcoming to us. We found out he was from Armenia and start to chat about some of the history of Armenia. Long story short, I added Armenia to the places that I want to go and I’m pretty sure that I may have a tour guide there if I want one.
After stuffing ourselves with the full continental breakfast we packed up and headed out for more adventures on the road. Destination? Moab, Utah. Ben drove most of the day to help me work on homework and the blog. Having modern technology sure is wonderful sometimes. Allows me to study on the road and to take pictures and share what I’m doing. Pretty neat. There wasn’t much on the road to see. Just more beautiful scenery going by. Utah has some wonderful scenery.
Our first stop was in Moab itself. Had to fill up the beast. It is thirsty but it makes for a great road-tripping vehicle. I can’t complain that much about it. The Landcruiser has done everything I’ve needed it to do and more.
Second stop was The Arches National Park. During summer. In the middle of the day. It was warm. To date, it was the most strenuous hike we’ve done. I’m not sure if that is because it was hot or the elevation; probably both. The Arches has over 2,000 natural stone arches. We only when to a few of them. Double O is a good one to see along with Devil’s Garden. Again, it wasn’t an easy hike out there but it was worth the walk. We did stop on the way back down to see Delicate Arch. We didn’t hike up to see it because we have just finished about 8 miles hike in and around the Devils Garden. Did I mention it was hot? It was hot. Above 100 hot. You can cook cookies in the car hot.
Our third stop was Canyonlands National Park. Ben and I learned our lesson and got a campsite as soon as we got to the park and then decided to hike around. I think Canyonland is underrated. While the Grand Canyon gets credit for being more accessible, Canyonlands is just as, if not more impressive. I think the entire time the word that kept coming out of my mouth was epic. Nothing prepares you for standing on the edge of a canyon and looking out for what seems like hundreds of miles and all you can see is more canyons, in layers, like an onion. Not just one continuous one but what seems endless canyons cut in the sandstone. It is stunning. Canyonlands is broken into three sections, Island in the Sky (where we stayed), The Needles, and The Maze. I do want to come back here. Other than the incredible views, there is an off-roading/Backcountry 4x4 trail that takes you around the entire park. Supposedly it takes about 3-4 days to complete so if anyone is interested let me know. Permits are the hard thing to come by so I’ll work on that for the next time around.
We did finally cookout steaks that we have been keeping. We were hungry enough that it didn’t matter that we had no seasoning for them, or the veggies, or the sweet potatoes. It all tasted good to us. We finally did get to sleep eventually. Canyonlands is certified Dark Sky Park. Meaning that there are no lights within the area and you can see all the stars. It again makes you feel pretty small but in an amazing way. we meant to have an early night and by early, I guess I meant early morning instead of evening. Partially our fault though we did go into town to a brewery in Moab. Ben spent the time talking to a couple of Danes that have seen an incredible amount of the US. I was talking to a Journyman Lineman who was now working in corporate Headquarters. And I did make Ben stop for a Mcflurry. M&M if you must know. It was delicious and it didn’t ruin my steak at all.
We did start keeping track of quotes we had on this trip. Ben is an adorable kitten (only in Japanese though). Who knew? Our goal is to get to Colorado and see Black Canyon of the Gunnison and The Great Sand Dunes National Park tomorrow. Looking forward to it.