Left n back Again - A Continental Road Trip - Main Narrative - September 2004

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We decided to spend the rest of our Utah days in Moab. Moab is a south-eastern town in Utah that has lots of interesting parks and attractions around it. From Goblin Valley, it is a short 1.5 hour drive to Moab, and we got into town late in the afternoon. I had intended to camp in the scenic Devil's Garden Campground in Arches National Park, but by the time we get there it is full up. We instead headed to a BLM campground along the Colorado River just north of Moab. It is very basic but gets the job done.

Sunday, September 19

Arches National Park

Fiery furnace from the outside

Entrance to the Fiery Furnace.

Wanting to explore a different part of Arches National Park (which is just north of Moab), I proposed that we do a hike in the Fiery Furnace. The Fiery Furnace is a trail-less area of jointed sandstone fins, and ranger-led hikes guide groups of tourists through its maze-like interior. I feel we can explore this on our own, so we applied for and get a hike permit at the entrance ranger station (after watching a video on how to not damage the fragile desert vegetation).

Guided group

Wandering around in the furnace

Although we are warned that the standard Ranger-route is not marked, and that it is easy to get lost in the Fiery Furnace, we did manage to carefully find our way around. It really is a neat area, with towering narrow walls of sandstone that are mere centimeters apart in places. In spots, we could see where years of passing traffic has left scuff marks on the slickrock. We even managed to locate the well-hidden skull arch, a neat double arch that very much looks like a human skull's browbones and eye sockets.

Fantastic playland

Scrambling through a joint

Secluded scenery

Luke and boulder cave

Look... bubbles!

Interesting passageway

courtesy Luke

Stemming a deep crack

Fantastic spires

Sophie in the furnace.

courtesy Luke

Thanks, Luke!

Luke and Sophie's scale

Jabba the hut

Massive fins dwarf Jenn

Skull Arch

We finished our Fiery Furnace hike in mid-afternoon. Jennifer had never seen Delicate Arch, and I propose that we go up and see it in the late-day light. Luke and Sophie opted to skip the hike and head back into town to investigate mountain biking opportunities, and so it was just myself and Jennifer. we were up and down in no time - we took the standard way up, including the dramatic finish where one comes around a corner and - bang! - sees the arch in all its glory. On the way down, we descended via the cool slickrock bowl to the west of the arch, and I got an interesting and different perspective on the arch as a result.

Wolf Ranch

Nearing the amazing vista

The amazing vista

Delicate Arch's slickrock bowl

Native Petroglyphs

Once back into town, we had dinner at a mexican restaurant in town (La Hacienda) and then caught a movie at the town's Cinema (The Manchurian Candidate).

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