We had a bit of a scare last night. We had been in bed maybe ten minutes before someone started trying to unlock and open our door. Jeff got up and checked the peephole. It was some touristy woman who kept jiggling the handle. She tried two or three times before Jeff called through the door, “Hey, I think you have the wrong room.” She apologized, and we didn’t hear from her again.

This morning, we had breakfast at the Retro Inn, where I just ate a blueberry bagel and a big cup of orange juice. Jeff made a meal of cereal, chocolate muffins, and toast. We left the hotel at around 9 and started toward Canyonlands National Park. I would estimate we lost about an hour of our time because there was so much construction on the highway. At one point, I think we sat still for 30 minutes while a crew was trying to clear a rock slide. It made me wonder how often that sort of thing happens around here.

We ate lunch at Milt’s Stop and Eat in Moab. We had seen it online and thought it was cute little place. We got burgers, tots, and milkshakes, and the food servings were enormous. The order of tots was so huge, we split it. The place has been in business since 1954, and I get the sense not much has changed. I really liked it.

We drove further down the road quite a ways to get to Canyonlands. The park is not very developed because it is meant primarily for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. Jeff and I are neither, but we do love to see nature. We decided to do the portion of the park that has the least strenuous walks, and was more driving and site seeing than anything. The views really were spectacular, though I kept worrying about Jeff getting too close to the edge of the cliffs. There was a very strong wind blowing, and I kept imagining what would happen if he lost his footing and got blown off. I know, I’m a worrywart.

 

Toward the end of the day, we decided to hike a short trail to see the Mesa Arch. Jeff had to potty, so I went on ahead, knowing he walks faster than I do and would catch up. The hill was pretty steep, and it just about did me in. I kept going, though, and as I thought, Jeff caught up with me before I got to the arch. We were able to see it from an outcropping, but because there was another steep grade to get up close to it, I opted to wait for Jeff to go get some pictures of it.

We left the park pretty close to sunset, and could see clouds rolling in with the cold front that is supposed to come through overnight. The lighting as we drove out gave us some beautiful views.

When we got to the Moab Rustic Inn, Jeff got a load of laundry going because we are out of clean clothes. Once the clothes were in the dryer, we drove about a block to the Moab Diner, another vintage looking place that had reasonable prices and fast service. I would be fine eating there for every meal while we are here, because everything else in town is way overpriced.

We’re off to bed now, with enough clean clothes for the rest of the week. Tomorrow, we go see Arches National Park. I’m hopeful we can see the Milky Way tomorrow night there, because that has been my most anticipated experience of this trip.