
Southwest USA
Retirement Trip
September 2019
29 Days – 6,500 Miles – 19 States
7 National Parks
Several State Parks – 6,000+ Photos
1 Trillion Insects Squished by Car Windshield
From 108 Degrees to Snow
From 282 Feet Below Sea Level to 12,000+ Feet
Bison, Elk, Prairie Dogs, Lizards, Wild Horses
Elvis, Aliens, John Wayne Westerns
Walking In The Footsteps of Forrest Gump
And More!


Today, we are driving north along the Utah/Colorado border on our way to Moab and Arches National Park.
First, we are kind of backtracking a little as we head northwest for an hour.

Up until now, we have seen very little farming.


Now we are seeing a lot of farming and agriculture.





It’s Sinclair!

Do you remember the comedy show “Dinosaurs” from the early 1990s?
I think they got the name for the dad (Sinclair) from this.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOWnLetNhM



It will be the last time.







If you look closely, you will notice a 16×24-foot opening at the base.
It was cut out in the 1940s for the owner to store salt licks and cattle feed.
Learn more about Church Rock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Rock_(Utah)




Here, you can see a person standing in the arch.



From there, it was north to Moab and Arches NP.


Off-roading, mountain biking, hiking, etc. Mostly sports where stores can sell you expensive STUFF you might need.
We grabbed a quick Subway sandwich and headed for Arches NP on the north side of town.



(6th if you count the Grand Canyon South Rim and North Rim separately)






It looks like a strong wind would just bring those down on the cars passing by.
Not today….. please!





The Three Gossips is just ahead to the left.

The Three Gossips is a mid-size sandstone tower (about 350 feet tall) sitting atop a roundish pedestal within the
Courthouse Towers cluster that includes the Argon Tower, The Organ, Tower of Babel, Sheep Rock, and The Lamb.
The name no doubt comes from a slight resemblance of the formation to three heads “gossiping” to each other.
(From SummitPost: https://www.summitpost.org/the-three-gossips/154843 )


overlying subsequent material, which later eroded away.


At one time, there was an arch spanning from it to the rock on its left.
(See next photo for more details)
The large formation to the right is part of Courthouse Towers.



We’ve seen some balanced rocks earlier on this trip (Lee’s Ferry Road), but none this big and this high off the ground!

For scale, you can see a couple of hikers way to the left, and they are still quite a distance from it.


Just the boulder on top is 55 feet high and weighs 3,500 tons!


This 3-mile side-road is a good detour to take to see Double Arch and the Windows.
Many of these large formations resemble elephants and have been named Parade of the Elephants.

One of the arches can be seen in the middle of the photo. (It looks like a hand giving the “OK” sign)





We were both pretty hot and tired by now and decided to view from a distance.
Hidden behind the large rock to the right is another arch. From a distance, they look like two eyes.


Our next stop was the Garden of Eden.



(Shadows of two hikers between the rocks show scale)




Our Next Destination Is Delicate Arch
While the name may not be familiar, most people will recognize
Delicate Arch as the “trademark” signature of the park.


Time for a hike.


There is a longer trail (3 miles round-trip over similar rocky ground) that takes you up to the arch, but we did not have time today.


This 52-feet-high arch is pictured on the Utah license plates and
US postage stamps.
The Olympic Torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics
passed through the arch.
Continuing north on the park road, we enter Salt Valley







Our next stop will be Sand Dune Arch. It is an easy hike from the road.




through this narrow gap.




Not the largest arch in the park by any means, but still pretty neat.
Back to the car to finish our northbound adventure.



TIME TO TURN AROUND
We’ve reached the north end of the Arches NP road.
Time to turn around and head south for a recap of today’s sights.








(See next photo)





Just guessing, I would say the boulder is about 100 feet tall.
Well, it’s been an exciting day at Arches National Park, but we still have over 120 miles
to go to the hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado. The scenery isn’t over yet, though!



We will go down the valley and turn left (east) and follow the Colorado River to….. Colorado!












It’s all eastbound from here!


Goodbye, Utah! (For the 4th – and last – time)
We have climbed from 4,000-feet elevation in Moab to 4,700-feet elevation here at the CO border.

And it’s still not the Colorado I envisioned – tall mountains and forests.
I’ll get my wish tomorrow, though, as we drive across Colorado and visit Rocky Mountain National Park.


It’s been a long day – 300 miles and lots of sightseeing. We’re ready to eat and sleep.
(And clean bugs off the windshield)



Thanks for joining us today exploring Arches National Park.
We hope you can join us tomorrow as we drive across Colorado and explore Rocky Mountain National Park.
We are also stopping in Loveland CO tomorrow to visit relatives.
Mileage Today: 307 Miles
Trip Total: 4,439 Miles
PROCEED TO DAYS 20-21 : CROSSING COLORADO TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK AND LOVELAND, CO