Day 2 - 5/9/07 (Zion National Park, Moab, UT/Arches National Park, Glenwood Springs, CO)

I spent most of today in Utah, which was so much more beautiful than I would have ever imagined (probably not a big shock to some of you). Because I got to Zion so late yesterday and missed hiking, I woke up early to drive through the park. It was great. It was also nice to drive through so early in the morning. The road was almost completely clear and the sun was just coming up, so there were great shadows throughout the park. I stopped once and jumped out and walked around for 30 mins or so, but that's all I had time for. Unfortunately, something happened to my memory card and some of the photos I took there weren't there when I uploaded my pictures tonight!! Which really is too bad because I spent a solid 5 mins trying to position my camera just right so that it would take a great picture of me using the timer. This set up included using pebbles to position the camera just right, using a thin leaf to tie the camera to the tree branch I was resting it on, and then running up the hill to be in position for the shot. ugh...

After the hour long scenic drive through Zion I was off to Moab, home of Arches National Park. I was told that there was great mountain biking up there and was really looking forward to getting a few hours of riding in. As I approached the city at about 2:45 there were all these signs advertising mountain biking, ATVs, rafting, and even skydiving (which I really want to do after my bungy jump in Thailand...click here to see my bungy jump). After going to a few different shops though it became quickly apparent that none of these activities were going to happen. Either because of the heat of the afternoon, or the long paths they took, all the rentals and/or tours started before noon.

Instead, I just drove into the park and did some hiking on my own. I went on a hike that was a couple miles each way. It wasn't that hard and had great great views of these crazy thin, yet massive rock formations. There were also arches (hence the name of the park), but those too got lost on the memory card (hoping this does not become a theme). I still manage to get great pictures from other rock formations though and from former arches (the bases were still there, but the connecting arch had long ago fallen down.

Due to the fact that I didn't end up going biking at the park, I was done much earlier than I anticipated. I was planning on staying in Moab for the night and then driving for 6 hours tomorrow to Denver, but instead decided to start out towards Denver today. I drove along the Colorado River and made it to Glenwood Springs, CO before it got dark, cutting my drive tomorrow to Denver in half. I know scenic pictures without people in them can get a little boring, but I had to keep taking pictures druing the drive...I couldn't help myself. Glenwood is a pretty quite city, but it has some great hot springs (supposedly) and is the gateway to Aspen. I found a pretty cheap motel and spent most of the night next door at the Ramada bar, eating dinner and watching the Warriors/Jazz game. (As a Lakers fan, I can't root for either team, but I definitely can root against the Jazz. Unfortunately, the Jazz won. The game featured a match up of my two favorite non-Lakers guards, former Laker Derek Fisher and UCLA alum Barron Davis. Davis had the better night stat-wise, but not only did Fisher's team win, but he hit a game-sealing three in overtime after only arriving at the arena in the third quarter because his daughter was in the hospital. "point 4" lives on). Except for me there was only one other party at the bar. A lady in her late 30's, her daughter (who was old enough to be in the bar...so you do the math), her daughter's boyfriend, and his friend. They were from Huntington Beach and also didn't like the Jazz. They were a bit weird, but they bought me a drink, so how bad could they be.

Tomorrow I spend my day in the more urban surroundings of Denver. Check back then for more "excitement."

Fast Facts:

Today's Mileage: 530 (and the car worked perfectly!)
Total Mileage: 998

Today's gas price: 3.34 (on the way to Moab)