Durango, Co. to Arches NP & Hanksville, Utah

Mon - July 6th

It was a nice 69 degrees when we left the campground in Cortez, Colorado and turned northwest. Destination - Arches National Park, Utah.

We traveled on US491 with the mountains behind us. Most of the terrain was flat, farmed, and covered with Alfalfa. Numerous very large ditches were cut around the farms for either drainage or irrigation.

We enjoyed the peaceful drive along the country highways.
Once we crossed the state line into Utah it didn't take long before we started seeing the mountains again.







We turned north on US191 and started to see what looked like solid rocks for mountains. They continued with many different shapes and colors.




We arrived at the Arches National Park after a 2 1/2 hour drive. It was already in the upper 90s and the sun was HOT!!!!
Arches are formed by water & ice, extreme temperatures, & underground salt movement. They range in size from a 3' opening (the minimum) to 360' base to base like the Landscape Arch. (the most popular arch) As time goes on new arches are formed and old ones change or disappear with the effects of weathering and erosion.
More than 20 motion pictures have been filmed here and not all of them were westerns.


The road to the Arches zig-zags up the mountain behind the motorhome.

Also the walking trails will do the same to get to the viewing areas of the Arches.





A view back down to the parking lot shows the twisting road that we used to get up the mountain. Little did we know what was in store for us later.





Here is an outstanding view of the terrain.








Sharon, with the view of "Balanced Rock" behind her. This trail was only .3 of a mile








Native Plants - Juniper. they have a strong pungent odor about them. The roots grow very long digging into cracks in the rocks for water. The tree will cut off water to some limbs, letting them die, to preserve the rest of the tree.





Look hard and you will see me and quite a few others in the north Window Arch. It was very shady underneath with a strong wind. That made it worth while to hike to this Arch.




Here's a view back to the parking lot. The trail to the north Window Arch is 3/4ths of a mile.







We continued on the trail until we could see both the north & south Window Arches.






The most photographed arch is the Landscape Arch. We drove to the parking area near here, got our water bottles, hats, and determination in check then hit the trail. It was 102 degrees in the shade and we were looking at over 1 1/2 miles of up & down terrain, sanding trails, & very little shade to get there.

Sharon at our 2nd break in the hike.


Finding some shade to cool down under was limited on this hike.

The prairie is beautiful and fitting for any postcard.






Most of the time you're looking up and will miss some of the flowers and desert creatures that live here. Here's a picture of a Spotted Lizard. I tried to find out the name but all I can find is Spotted Lizard. Guess that will have to do.




Whew! What a hike! We finally made it and believe me, it was worth it. This fragile arch may not be here for our grandchildren to see.





Red face, hot, and sweating we asked another red faced person to take some pictures of us and he took about 5 of them. We thank him and took a couple of pictures of his group before we left.

Even though we were tired, hot, sweaty, & winded we managed to keep our tempers in check and enjoy what we came here for.

We left Arches NP & continued north on US191 towards I70. We stayed on the interstate for about 30 miles. We then took Utah 24 south to Hanksville, Utah. We were both pretty tired from the miles and the heat, so we nailed a campground in the desert.





Here's a view of the campground. We were surprised by the sand spurs that were in the gravel all over the campground. These little guys hook to your shoes and end up in the motorhome. Trust me, they don't feel very good when you are barefoot. It only took one lesson to get us to police the carpet in the MH and check our shoes from now on.


When Sharon was directing me into the campsite she heard this loud noise behind her. Cattle climbing on piles of pipes to get to a bush by the fence. They must have been pretty hungry.






Check our the horns on this baby. That would make anyone a fine hat rack or a hood ornament for their truck. (haha)





I couldn't pass this one up either. Another junk pile directly behind the campsite. I guess we are spoiled.
We have noticed that out here most people collect their own junk.
The more they have may say something for their status in the neighborhood. It doesn't represent their net worth but what they have spent, used, and discarded.
Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah will have an enormous supply of metal if we ever need it.


We stayed here a couple of days, no cell, & no Wi-Fi - just rest and relaxation. When we leave here we will travel to Capital Reef NP & then to Bryce Canyon NP.
Hopefully, not too many more trails but if necessary, we will tackle them too.

Stay tuned and Happy Trails.