Bob and I pressed on with our journey to explore the beauty of America – specifically Utah – on the afternoon of Sunday, March 27, 2011. We had departed Escalante and our visit with Mildred Kornman at around 3:20pm, and about fifteen minutes later, we were already locating attractive and interesting sites to behold. This self-described “View from the Head of the Rocks” gave us a look over the Escalante River basin and the Aquarius Plateau all the way to Navajo Mountain on the Utah-Arizona border. Even if the cell phone reception was nonexistent during this four-hour trek, the scenery was majestic.
Overlooking the Escalante River basin and the ‘view from the head of the rocks’
One other stop we made about 100 minutes into the journey was a view of two geologic formations known as the Chinle, which is spread over five states, and Windgate Sandstone, which is spread over four. If I know more about geology, I could explain the significance of these formations and the intricate way in which they were formed. For the layman such as myself, let’s just say that they were awful purty. Nearby was the cool Fruita Schoolhouse, which had been built and organized by Mormon settlers in 1896. Eight grade levels were taught in this building for 45 years.
The Chinle Formation and Windgate Sandstone
Hanging out at the Fruita Schoolhouse. Puts me in the mood for an apple.
Our final destination of the evening was the city of Moab. After fearing that we were going to run out of gas amidst the mountian ranges, we safely arrived at our lodging for the night, the Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge, at about 7:40pm. The name could not have been more appropriate, as even though I had envisioned us finally finding civilization and getting a phone reception, we were literally surrounded by giant red cliffs and mountains.
The red cliffs of Moab, on the road to our lodgings
The Colorado River makes for great scenery and an eqully great place to pee
Evening arrival at the Red Cliffs Lodge, after four hours in the car
Bob had tried to get some information on a tour that would take us to movie locations in the area. Such flicks as Once Upon a Time in the West, Rio Grande, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Thelma and Louise, and in computer generated form, Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace, were partially filmed here. We had the desk clerk leave a message with the guide that would be the one to take us on the tour, but we never heard back. Thus we didn’t have any formal tour at all in the area, instead just basking in the surroundings and our very comfortable River King mini-suite.
We had dinner that night in the lodge at the Cowboy Grill, where I enjoyed some sun-dried tomato penne. Then Bob and I explored the Red Cliffs Lodge Museum, that featured photos and displays of Hollywood’s history in Moab. In fact, sets had been constructed for Rio Grande in the open field right outside the back of our suite.
A hearty meal in the Cowboy Grill. Bob ate none of those vegetables on his plate.
The inside of the Red Cliffs Lodge Museum – and movie memorablia on the walls
With a standee of John Wayne inside the museum. He’s the one on the right.
Bob and I set out early the next morning, both wishing we had had more time to enjoy the Red Cliffs lodge and Moab in general, but we had to press on to keep on schedule. Since we didn’t get a formal tour of the area, we decided to instead visit the Arches National Park, which was located just outside of Moab. We did take a few nice photos at the lodge before we left, and Bob got to be a true cowboy when a departing motorist lost his camera tripod out of the back of his car. Bob swooped in and was the hero of the day, darting out into the street to return the lost tripod to its owner.
Bob patiently waits for me to get ready to depart Moab on Monday morning
The area outside our room’s back door – where John Wayne’s cabin from Rio Grande was located
The corral and beautiful mountain scenery in front of our cabins
More corrals and moutains and where we lodged, in between
Departing the lodge, getting a photo at the entrance
Cowboy Bob crosses a busy street to return a lost tripod
As always, there were other fun locations to see along the way, including the Negro Bill Trailhead, which led into Negro Bill Canyon. The name had been wisely changed from its original title, Nigger Bill Canyon. Less than 30 minutes from our lodge, we arrived at the Arches National Park at 9am on that Monday morning, March 28.
The trailhead into Negro Bill Canyon
At the entrances to Arches National Park
The first portion of our journey was via car to the most easily accessible of the geological structures, which included the Tower of Babel, The Organ, The Three Gossips, The Courthouse Towers, and Balanced Rock. We stopped at several and took some nice photos.
Amongst the Courthouse Towers, with the Tower of Babel and The Organ side-by-side on the left
Great view of the sun rising over the La Sal Mountains
The Tower of Bable made me speechless
Wobbly with the Balanced Rock – which stands 128 feet tall
The second half of our stay at Arches was the Devil’s Garden area, which was not accessible via motorcar. We parked at the entrance to the area and set out hiking on foot. I had wanted to hike at least as far as the Landscape Arch, which is the longest of the arches in the park. The trail once went under the arch, but in 1991 had been declared 0ff-limits to tourists after a 60-foot-long slab of rock peeled away from the arch and fell to the ground.
A bit of amateur rock climbing near the entrance to Devil’s Garden
The hike was about a mile and a half, including many ups and downs over the hills. Bob’s knee was bothering him, so he petered out and began to head back – even though he wasn’t all that far from the arch. I pressed on alone, got my picture, turned back, and caught up to Bob and we walked back.
Setting out toward the Landscape Arch via the Devil’s Garden trail
Bob brings up the rear as we make our way toward the Landscape Arch
In the end, only I reached our destination: the incredible Landscape Arch
Overall, we had spent about 2 hours and 45 minutes at Arches, which was not nearly enough time by any stretch of the imagination. My big regret was that we didn’t see Delicate Arch, which is one of the most famous in the world, seen on Utah’s license plates and a postage stamp commemorating Utah’s centennial celebration. Oh well, something for next time.
As if we hadn’t had enough arches, we saw another good one about 30 minutes outside the park along Route 191: the Wilson Arch – so named after Joe Wilson who once had a cabin nearby. Apparently, it doesn’t take much to have an arched named after you.
One more final arch, and then we shall move on…
Bob and I had considered visiting Canyonlands National Park – which was also near Moab, but time just didn’t permit. That is, if we wanted to have ample time to really explore Monument Valley, which was one of the main reasons for the entire trip.
Our road trip will continue…
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