Somehow this post didn't get published or saved, so I will have to remember what we did, and all the details. Oh well.
We got up and headed to Arches from Moab. It was the Fiery Furnace tour! We arrived at 8:45, right on time for our 9:00 tour. Glen was our Naturalist. He definitely was not Ranger Boy. The first thing he did was make sure we all went to the bathroom. I had to put my hiking stick back in the car. We had to be sure we had plenty of water and a snack as it is a 3 hour hike. According to my fitbit we went the equivalent of 75 flights of stairs.
Glen set a pretty brisk pace, and John and I were in the front. Glen talked about how the rock formations were formed, the flora and fauna, secret tests that went on there, and many other things. We stopped frequently enough in shady places to rest, but of course the shady places were not the best places for taking pictures. We went up steep steps carved in stone and down the same type of steps. We found a tree that was thousands of years old. We crossed a crevice that was 20 feet deep. We learned cool mountaineering techniques such as the duck waddle where you straddle a crevice and waddle forward. Also, the booty belay where you sit on your rear end, stick out one leg, and slide down the steep rock. Then there was the one where you put your hands across the crevice on the wall on the opposite side and crab walk, ending with a twist and jump. That one was interesting. The only one that scared me was where you just jump across 3 feet to the next rock. I had to count to 3 and say go! to myself to get myself to jump. There were some very narrow passages that I might not have been able to get through if I hadn't lost weight last year. Seriously, I almost got wedged in one as it is. Glen was always there to give a hand and at one point the girl behind me gave me a booty boost.
Glen was a very entertaining guide. He used "oatmeal package" jokes that were corny but still made you smile and he knew a lot about the area. When we saw other hikers, he checked their permits. He gave us the tools to get through the area but let us try our own ways if we preferred. Some of the cool formations were Twin arch, also known as Skull arch because when you imagine it upside down, it looks like a skull. Then there was a long, narrow arch called Surprise arch. We saw many arches and their names were pretty boring but the arches themselves were cool. We learned that it isn't an arch if it isn't at least 3 feet in any direction, naturally occurring, and completely through.
Fiery Furnace sounds like a hot place. It isn't. Even though it was in the 70's when we arrived and 100 when we left, the hike overall was very cool. That is because we were in and among the rock formations and there was lots of shade and cooling breezes. We saw plants that are used for epinephrine. We saw a pothole where these shrimp creatures live and breed. Apparently when the water dries up, the eggs survive until the next rain. We learned that scientists secretly came and studied the movement of an arch and found that they move quite a bit. Fascinating hike!
Next, we took some short hikes to see some viewpoints. We saw Sandstone arch, which we hiked right up to. There was a lot of sand that had worn off the arch underneath it, so I couldn't even get to the other side of the arch without slipping back.
Next we went to the Delicate arch overlook. This is the famous arch that is on my credit card. I was so thrilled to see it, but when I realized that I couldn't get a view of blue sky through it without hiking 3 miles in 100 degree weather without shade, I confess I was a bit disappointed. Lucky for me, John agreed to doing the 3 mile hike early in the morning the next time we come to Utah.
Next we went to the view of the Garden of Eden rock formations and had lunch on the curb of the parking lot. It was way hot but beautiful.
Next, we drove to the Windows area and took the mile hike to see the North Window, which we were able to get under, South Window, and along the way were able to see Turet arch, which looked to me like a hand saying OK next to a circular hole, and Double arch which looked like a peace sign.
Next stop Balanced Rock. This was amazing to me. Naturalist Glen had told us that there was legend and belief among the native Americans that this was a sacred space. I can see why they would feel this way. For God to make such a beautiful, amazing, unique formation - God can do anything. If He can form that rock so that the boulder is precariously balanced on that column yet won't fall, I know he can solve the small problems that I have.
By mid-afternoon we had done as much as we could without hiking in the heat, so we went to Moab and did some grocery shopping, then back to the KOA for a swim. I will say that John got in the cold, cold water very quickly. I was amazed. I take a long time to get in the pool when it's cold but it was such a welcome respite from the heat.
We had fajitas for dinner, and then did laundry. By the time it was all done, it was past bed time.
This was a re-do of a previous post that I thought I had already done but apparently it did not post and did not get saved. It might have been posted or might not have, but according to my list, day 5 was missing. If it's there, I'm sure there are different thoughts and the same thoughts, so sorry!
By the way, if you are reading my blog and like it, you can click the +1 button and it lets me know you liked it. I just found that out recently, which is why I mention it here.
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