We got up this morning a little before 8:00 and got ready for breakfast at the Moab Diner. We ordered two different dishes but ended up sharing them. I got pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and Jeff got a ham and cheese omelette and hash browns. We divied up what we didn’t want. We then asked them to make us a box to much take on our way to the park. It’s a very convenient service that they offer at the diner.

The entrance to the park was backed up I would say a quarter to half a mile. We didn’t anticipate there being such a crowd here, but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to summer time. We decided to drive the main park road and pull off at the various overlooks to see what we could see. We saw the Balanced Rock, the Three Gossips, and other rock formations. Jeff hiked to the Windows arches to get some good pictures while I stayed in the car. I’m not up to much hiking if it involves climbing. We had our ham sandwiches and chips at Panorama Point, and then drove to the viewpoint for the Delicate Arch so I could get some pictures. Then we went to the Delicate Arch trailhead so Jeff could make the two or three hour round trip hike to get some pictures. I stayed with the car because the trail is rated difficult even for people in good health. I did get some pictures of the abandoned Wolfe Ranch, and then I read, edited pictures, and even snoozed a little.

When Jeff got back, we drove further into the park and both hiked to see the Broken Arch, about 1.3 miles through grassland. A man who happened to be at the arch when we arrived offered to take our picture and did a nice job.

 

The only part we hadn’t seen yet was the Devil’s Garden portion. I’m not sure how all these places got their names, but when we got to the end of the way, Jeff wanted to hike a little to see the Landscape Arch. I had done my walking for the day and waited for him in the car. My phone was completely dead from taking pictures and navigating, so I worried Jeff might need me and not be able to reach me. It turns out, he did fall on the trail and scraped his palm and knee, and tore a hole in his pants.

We decided to go back into Moab for supper. We picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut and ate in the room. By this time, it was finally dark, so when we finished our meal, we headed back to the park. It was eerie driving the winding roads with hardly anybody else there. I had hoped to see the Milky Way, but the moon was too bright. We experimented with the night setting on our phones and got some interesting moonlit vistas, so the night turned out pretty well. We couldn’t stay out very long, though, because it got really cold.

We came back to the hotel for the night, where I doctored Jeff’s wounds. We’ll probably go to bed in a few minutes, and sleep late tomorrow. It will be a travel day as we split up our journey to Denver Airport. We will take a leisurely drive to Glenwood Springs, where we’ll stay our last night out west.