Arches

We thought the entrance to Zion was stunning and hard to beat and then we arrived at Arches National Park. We had been driving for most of the day and were fairly worn out, but the higher than high and impossibly red cliffs once again captivated us. We took the time to drive through the park at sunset, mouths hanging open in astonishment, and quickly making plans for hiking the next day. With a fresh skiing knee injury, we opted for the a more moderate hike with the most views of arches. We were not disappointed and have some wonderful photographs to prove it.

Since we were staying in Moab and had some shiny new bikes, we definitely had mountain biking planned. We headed out to the famous Bar M trails and couldn’t believe how warm it was. We shucked off some layers and headed out on the trail. There was a good climb at the beginning but the Rusty Spur trail at the end had lots of fun twists and turns without being too technical. The sun had set and we realized what a difference that made in the temperature…it was a race to get back. Except that…we had….no keys!  We started with keys, but dropped them somewhere along the trail.  The pockets were empty except for some lint, which was just about as exciting as the prospect of riding the 5 miles into Moab. Luckily, an energetic biker popped up next to us and she offered us a lift. Adrian turned out to be the short straw holder while Morgan from Moab took Cameron back to the hotel for a spare key. In the end, we got to take Morgan to dinner as a thank you, and enjoyed meeting a fellow traveler/road/work/warrior to boot. All’s well that ends well when people are nice. And you know what, they usually are!