Day 4

*This blog post is one day late because our Internet connection in Moab was too slow. I think this post will more than make up for it being a day late. :o)

Before I tell you about day 4, I’d like to let you in on a little secret. After 3 days of surface details about my trip, I think it’s time to let you know something a little more personal about my trip thus far. While at Bryce, I discovered a new passion. I am obsessed with clouds. I know what you’re thinking. Umm…that’s weird. Hear me out. I saw the most beautiful clouds I have ever seen while in Bryce. I wish I could have jumped up on one of the fluffy clouds to read a book, take a nap, and look down at the magnificence of the canyon under the bright sunshine. In case you think I’m crazy, below are two pictures to show you just how beautiful the clouds are and why my obsession is legit.

Bryce Canyon City, UT to Moab, UT

300.2 miles

Time: N/A

(We drove through Arches National Park before arriving at our hotel, so I’m not sure how long it took to get from Bryce to Moab.)

Highest Temp: 107 (Arches National Park in UT)

Pictures Taken: 145

The drive to Arches was easy and enjoyable. The hostess at a restaurant in Bryce Canyon City told us we should take a different route than we chose because it was more scenic. I can only imagine what “more scenic” means because the drive we took was gorgeous. Below are two pictures from the drive.

I drive for most of every day and let my mom drive when I get tired. Today, I had fun DJ-ing and singing along with the music. I’m quite talented, if I do say so myself. In fact, if the actress who plays Elphaba (Wicked) ever needs a break, I’d be happy to take over. I know almost every word to her songs and am totally fine being painted. Green is my favorite color, which is a bonus. There’s a catch, though. I’d need to have someone else’s voice used in place of mine. While I’m stellar at signing in the car with the music blasting and in the shower with the water drowning out my voice, my voice on stage isn’t quite where it needs to be. I’ll work on that during my spare time in graduate school.

At one point during the drive we encountered a sign that said, “No bull (with a cartoon bull leaning against the sign). There are no services for the next 110 miles.” Well, we freaked out upon seeing that and stopped at the gas station to get the essentials we couldn’t be without for the next 110 miles. Thankfully, the gas station had everything we needed (tea, red vines, and gummy bears).

When we arrived at Arches it was HOT! The temperature while we were there ranged from 100 to 107 degrees. During our hikes the temperature ranged from 101 to 106 degrees. We took about a 20-mile drive through the park and stopped at various places along the way to take pictures and go on hikes.

We started off on our first hike (in 106 degree heat) with the intention of seeing "Balanced Rock". About half a mile into our hike we discovered that "Balanced Rock" was nowhere close to where we were so we turned around. The hike was not pointless, though, because we saw some awesome rocks. Below are two pictures from that hike.

Below are some of the rock formations we saw throughout the rest of the park…

The Three Gossips

Balanced Rock

 North Window

North and South Windows

Turret Arch

 

Delicate Arch

In total, we hiked about 5 miles. It was hot and exhausting, but well worth it. By the end, my left knee hurt to the point where I had to take the “stairs” (rocks made to be stairs) one at a time because I couldn’t bend my knee without pain. When I got to the hotel, my right kneecap hurt every time I bent my leg. I wouldn’t trade my pain for anything because the hikes and views were incredible!

When we got to the hotel, we checked in as quickly as possible and went to a restaurant around the corner so we could watch the final for women’s volleyball. We were so happy that Kerri and Misty won!

We passed the 1,000-mile marker today!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention the type of people we have encountered on our trip thus far. I have never seen so many Europeans outside of Europe! It is really neat to hear people talking in their native languages and to hear their accents when they speak English. My mom and I try to guess what languages they are speaking and are usually wrong. The only time encountering Europeans is frustrating is when they give us blank stares because we ask them a question and then realize they don’t speak English. So far, we have seen people from France, Holland, and Ukraine. I think we’ve seen people from Germany, but didn’t ask what language they were speaking so who knows where they were from haha.