Arches and Dinosaurs

Headed out of Durango for Moab Monday morning. Moab's high tourist season is on! Jack and I have been to Arches National Park a few times but it never fails to wow a person. This is where picture postcard moments are made or to quote a popular commercial "Nature Valley" moments.

We ended up staying at Spanish Trail RV park on the south side of Moab. The park was clean and spaces large but too close to RT 191 and a bit on the noisy side.

We got an early start the next day, we were on the trail by 8:00AM. We hiked to Delicate Arch, it is bit of climb and I could not even imagine doing this hike in the heat of the day. But that being said it was truly worth the effort. The views were incredible - I got my granola moment for sure.

By the time we left the park it was packed. So my advice is to get to the park early before the heat and crowds are stifling. We also took drive down highway 128 which follows the Colorado river. The rivers are very high and swift this year, it is great to see this much water after how dry New Mexico has been this year. Supposedly, there is a bike path that follows the river but the water was so high it was completely under water.

Next we headed to Vernal. Vernal is famous for it's fossils in particular Dinosaur fossils. They make the most of it, with giant plastic dinosaurs everywhere. The landscape is not as dramatic as Moab but still quite beautiful. The town has a natural history museum worth taking the time. Unfortunately, the quarry museum in Dinosaur National Monument is closed and will not be opened till sometime in the fall.

We stayed at Steinaker State Park just north of town. A few sites had full hookups. Nice park on the water. It was quiet during the week, but I suspect that might not be the case on the weekends. Headed out on Friday morning toward Flaming "George" Gorge.

From Moab