Stopping at Arches on our way back

Tuesday September 3, 2014 
Arches National Park
Moab, Utah

 

 

 

We get a real send off from Capitol Reef today and it makes it all that much harder to move East rather than stay here.

In our yard this morning while we are getting ready to leave there is a gathering.

 

 

 

 

And then walking down the path next to the river opposite us is this group.  They are all enticing me to stay.

 

 

 

We drive separately again as we have to go back over the Rocky Mountains and come down into Moab.  It seems like we just did this route.

On the way out I stop by the petroglyphs and by the Behunin Cabin.  Both are barely disguised efforts to keep myself from leaving.  Here are just a few of the many great petroglyphs.  I’ve omitted all the crap left by selfish, self centered people for whom it is all about me and carving MY initials or my name. 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1882 Elijah Cutler Behunin and his family built this cabin. The family of 10 living in this cabin was among the first settlers in this area.  The cabin had a dirt floor and a fireplace for cooking.  The information says the Mother, Father and the two youngest children slept in the house. The boys widened the dugout in the cliff for a place to sleep and the girls made a bed in an old wagon box.  But what about winter??  Can you even imagine 10 people living in a home this size regardless of the season?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrive in Moab and get set up at Portal RV Park where we spend a whopping $37 a night for FHU’s within 5 miles of the park.  This is perhaps the most we’ve ever spent for a campsite but we didn’t want to be 18 miles into the park where their campground is located since we are cutting our time at Arches and Canyonlands from a least a week each to 4 days total.  

Portal turns out to be a great place and worth the money to us for the nice restrooms, the great laundry and the location close to the park entrance.  The people in the office are extremely nice and helpful.   Unfortunately we are so busy trying to pack everything into these days that I forget to take pictures of our site.  It is the typical commercial campground site right next to your neighbor and row after row but the ground is white gravel so no dust or dirt.  If you don’t want to boondock in the park, I recommend it. 

 

I feel like we are in high gear and really do not like to travel like this.  It seems like one of those quickie vacations before you go back to work where you try to cram everything in to a few days.

But, it can’t be helped, since we have 2000 miles to go before the end of the month. 

Since it seems that David may not be able to return west, he wants to make some stops along the way back even though greatly shortened.  As a result,  a number of our other days will have to be PDD days.  Hope Paul has some medals ready.  But not just yet. 

After setting up, we head out to the visitor center to figure out what we’ll do when.   The VC fits into its setting just perfectly.

 

 

There is a great deal of information outside about the Colorado Plateau known as Canyon country and about the features and arches of this National Park.  It is just the information we would need if we could keep on the original plan to do more of the Colorado Plateau that we have not already seen this year and in our 2011 trip west.  

Outside the VC there are also some really fine sculptures of the permanent residents of Arches National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside we watch the film and as usual go through all the exhibits reading every word to learn about this place we are about to see.  The view out this VC window really whets your appetite.

 

 

 

 

We determine that our best approach is to drive the 18 mile park scenic drive and do every short hike along it hoping that we can return to do some longer ones in the future.  We also learn that had we not turned back, we could have been at Canyonlands for their 50 year anniversary celebration this September 11-13.  Now that’s a bummer.

 

 

 

We rent a copy of the audio Drive Tour for $5.  It’s a real bargain.  You can buy it for $10 or rent it for $5 and bring it back whenever you want.  They charge you $10 and you get the $5 back when you return it.   So we’re all set for early tomorrow morning when we intend to head straight for the very popular windows section before everyone else gets out on the drive.

We can see from the visitor’s center and its parking lot that Arches is still filled with people mid week even more than a week after Labor Day.  Our original schedule would have had us here later than this but who knows if there is ever a slow period here in Moab.