Canyonlands National Park

Today was our last day of  being tourists! Yay! It's been great, but we're tired and we want to go home!

We spent all day in Canyonlands National Park. The weather was beautiful.

Our first stop was at a place going into the park where two formations have been named Merrimac and Monitor after two ironclad warships from the Civil War. One was Southern and one Union and they clashed. Eventually they both ended up at the bottom of the sea, but these two rock formations have memorialized them forever!

Merrimac and Monitor

Shafer Canyon Overlook

Mesa Arch

Green River Overlook

Our next stop was at an interesting place called Aztec Butte. Along the path we re-stacked some toppled cairns. When we got to the butte I couldn't have made it up or down without some help from Eldon and some friendly fellow hikers. But it was worth it to see a granary the ancient Indians had made.

Rebuilding a cairn

The Indian granary

View from Aztec Butte

Buck Canyon Overlook

The farthest point of the main part of the park was Grand View Point Overlook.

Farewell to the canyonlands. I don't think we'll ever be back. The wonders of God's creations have inspired awe. This was a good time of year to come before it gets hot and too full of tourists! Plus it was a good way to celebrate our upcoming 50th anniversary.

Arches National Park

We spent all day exploring Arches National Park. There is a higher concentration of natural arches here than any where else in the world. We didn't begin to see all of them. Plus there were plenty of interesting rock formations. We saw more tourists than we have so far--must be spring break!

Park Avenue

Balanced rock

Balanced Rock

Cairns mark the trail

The North Window

Turret Arch

The South Window

Double Arch

Delicate Arch

Narrow trail to the Sand Dune Arch

Stopping for a picnic

Ute Rock Art Panel

Wolfe Ranch Cabin

Fins

Tunnel Arch

From Blanding to Moab

First we stopped in Monticello to attend the temple. It was beautiful. Reminded me a lot of the one in Medford. The temple president greeted us at the door. We were asked to be the witness couple. Something that stood out to me was how joyful Adam and Eve were when they heard the Savior would come.

The Monticello Temple

Then we  stopped at Newspaper Rock. These etchings were done by ancient people and no one knows whether it's a history, doodling, or art work!

Newspaper Rock

Wilson Arch

After checking into our motel in Moab, we drove out to Dead Horse Point State Park. The view was as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and many movies have been made there. The legend has it that some cowboys rounded up wild horses on the point, chose the ones they wanted, and then blocked off the point and left the others there to die of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2000 feet below. Pretty darn mean if you ask me.

Natural Bridges National Monument

It's getting warmer! Which is a relief.

Today we drove through the Natural Bridges Monument. You can't see that much from the car so you have to get out and hike a short or a long ways to see the formations.

We watched a dramatic movie at the visitors center, had a picnic there, and headed out on a 9-mile one-way loop.

The Sipapu Bridge

Sipapu is a Hopi word that means "place of emergence." They believed their ancestors came up into this world there.

Horse Collar Ruin

We saw this from across the chasm, not wanting to make the strenuous hike up to it. It's name is from the shape of the openings to the Anasazi's granary.

Owachomo Bridge

This is how the bridges were formed. A meandering stream cuts back on itself, carving into the rock wall. Over time the river breaks through and takes the shorter course under the new bridge, abandoning the old meander. This is an old bridge which has worn pretty thin (about 9 feet).

When one of us gets tired, the other says, "We can do this!"

A wonderful Sunday

The most exciting event of the trip--we heard that our grandson, Zachary, received his mission call to Cambodia! He'll enter the MTC in Provo on August 6th. We're so proud of him and know he'll be a great missionary and learn a lot in Cambodia.

We really enjoyed attending church in Escalante. In Sacrament Meeting the stake Primary presidency spoke. The first one spoke on music in the Primary! I love serving in Primary music. The last one spoke about letting children know how the Lord blesses them. Sunday School was an interesting lesson on how the Lord was with Joseph, as it says over and over in Genesis. She asked how do we know if the Lord is with us? Really thought provoking. The RS was President Packer's wonderful talk on how the scriptures will protect us from evil. I need to read them more diligently.

In the afternoon we drove up to Capitol Reef National Park. The drive was through some high country over 9000 feet in elevation. Lots of aspen and still snow on the ground.

Then we dropped down in a valley. Very beautiful scenery in Capitol Reef. The petroglyphs were particularly interesting.

Petroglyphs

Gooseneck