resources it has and of which it takes advantage. Moab has the Colorado River, so it has kayaking, white water rafting and tubing. It also has incredible hills, mountains and petrified 
dunes. Because of that, it attracts ATV fanatics, Jeep enthusiasts and motorcyclists by the thousands. There are multiple ATV/Jeep/Bicycle rentals. Moab also has parachuting and hot air balloons for those who like to “get high”. They also have a huge canyoneering (repelling) business. It’s too bac it is so far from Michigan (1,700 miles from home). It would be a great destination for an active family. There is so much to do and there is also gift shopping, etc. Sounds like I am a Chamber of Commerce spokesperson for the town!
We got started with bright blue skies and relatively warm temps. It is going to 77 degrees today. Our first stop when we entered the Park was Park Avenue. What a stunning introduction to what was in store for us. While there weren’t any arches on this short walk, a
beautiful vista was for the taking, along with some gorgeous white flowers. A bus loaded with tourists descended upon us and they quickly took over the 
area. Not a one spoke English. French appeared to be the language spoken by the group. Driving along the main road, we quickly came upon five different rock formations that had names, based on their appearance. The organ, Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, Courthouse Towers and the Tower of
Babel were all around us. The Three Gossips consisted of three pinnacles and each pinnacle had a round head like rock atop. They looked like they were talking to each other. The Sheep Rock REALLY looks like a sheep!The next iconic formation was Balanced Rock. It looks as the name implies
and absolutely befuddles the viewer. How can that rock stay on top of that pinnacle? I think this was Dennis’ favorite as every time we drove by it during the day, he wanted to take more pictures. Lol 
Next, we turned and went to the Windows Section of the Park. Multiple arches are located here. Dennis went one way and I went another, 
each trying to capture in a picture the fantastic things we saw. We spent over an ninety minutes at this stop. I tackled the north and south windows. I climbed the north window and photographed what I 
could, but I was still looking for that “WOW” shot. One 
photographer who was a chatty cathy told me that the 
iconic shot required one to climb quite a series of rocks in order to get. Now, I wasn’t going to leave until I got the shot. I climbed, rearranged my camera equipment to keep it safe and reached the destination Wrong, except for some good light on the arch, it was a waste. Close by was the second arch. Both of these rock formations are incredible and the number of people looking at them and climbing them is great. It’s Thursday morning and there are hundreds of people here. In fact, we had trouble finding a parking place.
Dennis photographed the double arch. You know how he likes those arches; well, the golden arches that is.We then drove to an area called the Garden of Eden. The song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by
Iron Butterfly kept going through my head and I annoyed Dennis by singing it. A large group of monoliths shoot up out of the ground. We walk around, capturing a couple pics and then see three guys practicing canyoneering (climbing and repelling) on one of the tall rocks. Cool. We turned around and saw a group motorcyclists 
park their bikes in a row. Neat shot. A beautiful cactus plant proudly displayed five blooms. Wow. We turned at the next road and drove to Wolfe Ranch. The remains of the homestead of
disabled Civil War Veteran John Wesley Wolfe and his son stands on the land they farmed. Wolfe moved from Ohio in the late 1800’s. The home, a root cellar and corral remain. 
Back on the road we pull into an overlook area, providing a panoramic view of the Salt Valley. Snow capped mountains 
in the background provide a great backdrop for the beautiful valley. Spectacular. The next turnout provided a completely different look. Fiery red rocks, which are even more dramatic late in the day, are before us. Called Fiery Furnace, they are a great example of the rich layers of sandstone.
We drive to the end of the main road and find ourselves at the Devil’s Garden. First we enjoy a lunch overlooking a garden area. The walk at Devil's Garden is over seven miles, but there are multiple arches along the way. While we don’t intend to walk the full seven miles, we did walk two miles to the 
Landscape Arch. This elongated arch, the width of a football field is dramatic. When you look at the top, it looks like a couple more thousand years and it may collapse. It is comparatively thin on top. As a matter of fact, the Park experienced the collapse of an arch less than two years ago. Wall Arch collapsed on August 5, 2008. Erosion 
and gravity work against these natural works of art. Throughout the day, we saw so many hikers enjoying the trails. We saw four or five different flowers. Spring is a great time of the year to visit National Parks! The flowers add a touch to images by adding a touch of color.
It was sad to leave Arches. Dennis and I have admired photographs of this park for over thirty years. We used to be involved in the
Photographic Society of America and we would see many stunning photos of Arches (as well as the other parks) in competition. Nothing can compare with seeing them in person. We head north and then east on I-70. Destination this evening is Colorado National Monument located in Grand Junction Colorado.
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