The Land of Red Rocks

We veered off of Interstate 70 onto Highway 128 as we headed to Moab, Utah.  Highway 128 runs alongside the Colorado River.  And is crazy scenic!

As we arrived in town, the wind was REALLY kicking up.  I logged into The Weather Channel and discovered that gusty winds of 50+ mph were expected for the evening.  Not relishing the thought of being blown away with the tent, we started calling around to get rates for hotels for the night.  It was then that we made an awful discovery.  We were in the mountain biking/dirt biking/4-wheeling capital.  And on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  And there was not a hotel room to be found within a 100 mile radius!!!

So we quickly changed our plans and decided to skip Moab and head elsewhere.  As we were heading out of town, we decided to call the campgrounds - planning to brave the high winds.  Not a campsite to be had!  I was on the phone getting turned down by yet another campground when Vol Fan pulled in the last campground before 100 miles of desert.  Low and behold, they had a site.  Yes, we got their last site!!!

It was the crappiest campsite in the crappiest campground I have even been in but it was in Moab and it was cheap.  And with a campsite view like this, you can't be too upset.

So we set up the tent between gusts and settled in for the night.

The next morning we headed for Arches National Park.  I have planned/dreamed about a trip to Arches for years.  And it did not disappoint.  Words cannot describe so I will let the photos do my talking.

After hitting the majority of the easy sites, we decided to get away from the crowds.  We drove down an unpaved road called Salt Wash to reach the trailhead for Tower Arch.  Even though we had to hike uphill through deep, loose sand, it was one of my favorite hikes of the park.  It is harder to reach and thus, WAY fewer people.  It was the perfect hike to end a great day!

After a full day, we were famished and too lazy to cook at the campsite.  So we went to town and let our noses pick the restaurant.  They picked Pasta Jay's.  I had the most delicious pasta that I have had in a long, long time!  And plenty of leftovers:)