THE RAIN STOPPED…OFF FOR A RIDE

Tuesday, September 10 – Again this morning we had a downpour (over 1.60 inches in two days). It finally stopped around 1:00 p.m., so we “hit the road.” We checked into hiking but the rangers were advising hikers to stay out of the canyons and off slick rock because of possible flash floods and the risk of falling on slippery rock. Most of the trails we are interested in hiking have been closed by the forest service. The following are from the Arches and Canyonlands websites…

THE NEEDLES
Scenic Drive: open
Elephant Hill Access Road: closed…Where we begin our needles hike.
Colorado River Overlook: closed
Elephant Hill: impassable due to flood damage
Lavender Canyon: impassable due to flash flooding and quick sand
Davis Canyon: impassable due to flash flooding and quick sand
Salt Creek/Horse Canyon: impassable due to flash flooding, quicksand and cut banks

Wolfe Ranch/Delicate Arch and Salt Valley roads are closed due to flash flooding. Willow Flats 4X4 road is impassable. The roads will remained closed through the end of day 9/11/13.

There were many other warnings, so we took a ride through the La Sal Mountains and Forest and down the canyon along the Colorado River.

Moab waaaaay below.

It was further than we thought (over 3 hours) with tons of switchbacks and some pretty steep grades.

We were surprised to see so many cabins located in the mountains. They sure must like their solitude.

We found a little friend.

The return trip along the Colorado River is very beautiful. We sure love the red rock cliffs.

We also stopped along the way at the Red Cliffs Lodge and neighboring Castle Creek Winery. The Lodge is gorgeous! It would sure be an amazing place to stay or hold a wedding. What a wonderful setting among the red cliffs.

Red Cliffs Lodge

The winery was fun as usual. Free tasting, so we took advantage and sampled several of their wines. Marsha purchased a couple bottles for next summer's wine tasting party with family. She loves parties!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

WE SAW CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK…SORT OF

Monday, September 9 – This is what we woke up to Monday morning.

With NOA predicting a 70% chance of rain and possible heavy thunderstorms (They call it MONSOONAL MOISTURE), we decided to delay our hikes and instead drive through Canyonlands NP. Utah has been getting hit pretty severely with thunderstorms lately, and we don't want to experience one of those flash floods.

Didn't get to see much in Canyonlands. It's been raining pretty good here. Almost a half inch of rain has fallen today according to Paul's rain gauge. That's enough! This area of Utah only averages 9" per year and less than an inch average in September. Rain, Rain go away!

In case you have never been to Canyonlands when it is raining, here is what it looks like.

So much rain so fast, there were little water falls every where.

The Colorado River was picking up speed…fast!

We saw this for about 5 seconds, then it was gone.

We need to get moving on our hikes. We've already extended our stay in Moab a week and changed travel plans.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

 

 

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Sunday, September 8 – We visited Arches National Park today.

Our first stop was the Visitor's Center to watch the informative movie and learn a little about the history of Arches & Canyonland National Parks.

We then drove through the Park and saving future days for hiking. We did some short walks (a mile to a mile and half) out to viewing areas to see some of the arches and beautiful country. This is a very amazing park!

Here are some highlights of the Park.

Just simple beauty.

Balance Rock

Three Gossips

Double Arch

North Window and South Window

Bet you can name the next image. Yes, you are correct…Sheep Rock.

The most famous arch…Delicate Arch

The next rock formation doesn't have a name. What would you name it?

Original cabin.

We didn't drive any further than Wolfe Ranch and Delicate Arch. We will finish the park when we do our Devils Garden Trailhead hike.

We saw this guy rock climbing without any equipment. Must be a tourist for sure.

For being Sunday, the crowds weren't too bad. Of course, getting a picture of one of the arches without a dozen perfect strangers in the shot is impossible. That's why one hikes into the back country. We'll do that in the next several days.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!