The True Golden Arches
5/23/08
We awoke in the Days Inn and, after the usual simple carbohydrate breakfast of waffles, cereal and muffins, headed back into Arches National Park to continue exploring the famous arches. Trent and I drove separately from Isa, so that we could enjoy the day together, promising to meet Isa back at 5: 00 pm for our cruise on the Colorado River. I desperately wanted to go river rafting, a famous endeavor in Moab, but with my cast and the threat of getting wet, I had to refrain and chose a more subdued evening river cruise with senior citizens. Trent and I drove into the depths of Arches National Park toward the Devils Garden trailhead. The morning sun mixed with stubborn clouds, making speckled red, yellows and browns on the rocks. Being Memorial Day weekend , there were plenty of others on the trail. The Devils Garden Trail was a 7 mile loop that took visitors up a sandy path towards one of the longest and most fragile arches, Landscape Arch. Apparently the arch broke in 1991 , witnessed by local hikers, and lost a huge chunk of its side. Now the most narrow part of the arch measures only six feet wide. The path continued towards 6 more arches, this time up more primitive trails involving some scrambling up rock. At the Navajo Arch and further down at the Partition Arch, which provided a grand view of the entire park through it’s magnificent view hole, it began to rain rather rigorously. The wind nipped through my thin pants and I could feel myself shivering. Somehow since my last transplant I have become exceedingly sensitive to cold. We decided to forego further wandering in the rain and headed down, trusting the rubber on my cast’s boot to adhere to the wet sandstone rocks. What a gift it was to hike with Trent for the first time, after a year of oxygen, wheelchairs and crutches. FINALLY, we could have some fun together.
Trent and I made it back to the car as the rain subsided a bit. Arches NP is known to get only 12 inches of rain per year; how ironic that rain would happen on the one day we happened to be there. After a brief lunch of sandwiches, beef jerky, fruit and cookies in the car, we continued on the scenic drive following the park’s recommendations for the best visible arches - Skyline Arch, Sand Dune Arch and finally the most famous - the unofficial symbol of Utah - the Delicate Arch. The Delicate Arch lies on top of a mountain, by itself, unsupported by great walls of sandstone. It requires a 3 mile strenuous hike to get to and we were pressed for time. We decided to take an alternative trail that went up a mountain next to Delicate Arch so we could view it across a canyon instead of hiking directly to it. That viewpoint trail was only 3/4 mile long although it entailed further scrambling and hiking on large bolders. It gave us the time to sit on the ledge of the canyon and relax, overlooking the scenery, holding eachother in the cold and just chilling out ( a rarity for me- I need Trent to do this). In a way, having another person join us, especially someone as type B and relaxed as Trent, helped me slow down. Isa and I always push to the max to get it all in, to do that last hike despite the time pressure, even if it means running down the mountain. Having a third person meant being open to another person’s travel style and wishes. In the end it worked out that we didn’t hike all the way to Delicate Arch. As we were heading back to the car, we met Isa who claimed that she just finished the entire 7 mile hike at Devils Garden in the pouring rain and howling wind. She hiked in utter isolation to distant arches, as others turned back to avoid the rain, but the jackrabbits and blooming springtime cacti kept her company. It took her much longer than anticipated because of the severe rain and treacherous trail that involved steep hands-and-knee hiking up rocks. She even confessed to having to make a detour because the trail was too slippery to hike down.
She ultimately ran out of time to do the Delicate Arch trail. For a Stenzel to be deprived of a trail was like an alcoholic being deprived of a drink. We were due back at the Colorado River port for our river cruise in 45 minutes and had to let that trail go.
We arrived at the river cruise to find that our jetboat would have only 8 people on it. The good news was that we had ample room to move about on the boat for the best scenery. The bad news was that it was a jet boat using fuel and what a waste for just us.
The boat sped off and the cold, sunset air chilled our cheeks and blew our hair wildly, reminding me of the time I road an airboat in the Florida swamps years ago. Trent and I huddled in the cold. In a few moments the boat slowed in between towering red rock walls. We were engulfed in a canyon- the brown muddy waters of the Colorado were surrounded by fresh spring shore trees of tamarisk, cottonwood and others. We were told this was the highest the Colorado River had ever run, and it was threatening homes on the shoreline. The river was calm in this region- it was said to become whitewater about 5 miles down the river at Cataract Canyon, where the Colorado and Green River converged. That area was the experienced rafter’s dream. Along the river cruise the guide stopped to show us unique arches hanging over the canyon, salt mines, petroglyphs on the canyon walls, rock climbers, campgrounds, historic trails, and deep canyon locations where GMC truck commercials and Wild Western John Wayne movies were filmed. The clouds of the day were finally parting and the grey sky opened up to bright blue, reminding us of how much sunlight was left at 8pm when it shined through the clouds. At last the signs of rain were subsiding and the rock became golden on the canyons. Birds flew in and out of pirches in the canyon walls.
The river cruise culminated with an all-you-can-eat Dutch oven BBQ dinner. The scrumptious generous meal included salad, corn, freshly baked bread, baked beans, fried potatoes, and every possible BBQ’d meat you could imagine. It was our first AYCE (all-you-can-eat) experience on this trip and we were determined to go for the gold. We sat next to two elderly men who were on our river cruise- one was from Japan. It turns out they were also on a 7 week cross country trip in an RV, starting out in Virginia. In speaking to Joe further, it turns out he is married to a Japanese woman and was traveling with his brother-in-law, who in classic Japanese fashion was basically mute. We connected with Joe, and by the end of the evening he bought two of our books for his half-Japanese children. In the usual prednisone-induced feeding frenzy, we ate for two hours straight until the servers where ready to turn the lights off and lock the doors. *birp*
Feeling full from our indulgence, we headed back to our simple motel in downtown Moah. The night still felt young even though the sun was setting. We did a little shopping in the quaint touristy stores, trying to find the perfect souvenir that was not made in China. I left empty handed, feeling satisfied by the photos I had taken, and the water I had collected in my Colistin vial from the Colorado River- the best souvenirs.
It had been a long day. I had hiked about 5 miles total on my cast, and my foot was yelling at me. Not to mention it was brown and wet from the rain and dirt. But the day was a good one and I had seen more of God’s glory. Trent survived two days of “vacation” with the Stenzels. I could tell he was tired. He looked dismayed when I asked, “Could you handled 40 days of this?” We slept deeply as the temperature dipped outside. We were pleased we had chosen to stay in a hotel instead of camp after all.
Thank you for your continued interest in our blog.
We are posting these late, as you know , due to our poor access to internet last week.
ANA STENZEL