Southwest USA Trip - September 2015: Day 5 - Arches National Park and Dead Horse State Park

Wow! Already Day 5. But then if you ask my feet, they'll tell you it must be around Day 14. Thank goodness for Advil! No seriously, as much riding and driving and walking and hiking and climbing that I've been doing so far, I'm actually very surprised at how good I feel and really not having any soreness or pains at all. I mean I am alittle stiff initially getting out of the car if I've been sitting for a long time, which is pretty normal anyway, but I'm not waking up feeling like I can't move or anything. Well not yet anyway so hopefully things stay that way.

So, as with every morning and with every blog entry, I'll start with how my day started today. First off, the hotel I'm staying in (Archway Inn, Moab, UT - very nice) includes breakfast so that's nice. And by breakfast, I mean scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, fresh biscuits w/sausage gravy, all the pasteries including muffins, danishes, and toast or bagels you could want, all the juices, coffee/flavored creams, cold cereals, fresh fruit, and make-your-own pancake/waffle station. Oh, and yogurt. I'm sure I missed something but I think you get the idea.

Anyway, it's a fairly large hotel and is completely booked so the breakfast room was very crowed this morning. Therefore, I asked a couple sitting alone if they minded if I joined them. Of course they said sure so we got to talking. They are recently retired and taking a 20+ day trip across America. They're from Cleveland, OH (my birthplace) and so far have driven across Wisconsin, visited Yellowstone, friends in Salt Lake City, and making their way down to New Mexico to visit more friends there as well as friends in Dallas. We had a nice chat about all the places we've visited and then said our goodbyes and wishes for safe travels as we finished up. After finishing up breakfast I head out for today's activities.

First stop this morning, just North about 1 mile from my hotel, was the entrance to Arches National Park. My favorite park so far this trip. I say on this trip because I still have many others to visit this trip (Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion, Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon) and I really, really love the Grand Canyon. But Arches is definitely near the top of my all time favorites after today's visit. Hopefully some of my pictures will help show why.

I took over 200+ pictures just in Arches alone today if that gives you any idea of just how many great photo opportunities there are in this park.

After leaving Arches, I came back to Moab to have a quick lunch in my hotel room, clean off some of the dust and dirt from all the hiking I did in Arches (and I mean it requires a lot of hiking to get back to some of the arches), and then actually got to catch the first few minutes of the Cowboys game.

After leaving my hotel room, I headed over to Dead Horse Point State Park. It's also near Moab so that gave me plenty of time to go visit the park and arrive back to Moab for dinner. Dead Horse Point is so named because it's made up of a huge canyon and at the bottom of the canyon are a series of white rocks. The way the rocks are naturally laid out, it looks like a dead horse lying over on its side. And from the overlook at the park, you look down into the canyon floor below and can see the rocks laid out pretty well. Of course I've got some great shots of the canyon and horse formation below so you can what I'm talking about. It's actually pretty cool.

Now, with most of Day 5 behind me, it's relaxation time! Therefore, I'm posting today's updates and then I'm going to go find a nice spot in the middle of Moab for dinner and hang out awhile. Hopefully I'll meet some more travelers to talk to and unwind before coming back to my hotel and getting ready for tomorrow.

I'll be heading out of Moab in the morning on my way to Capitol Reef National Park and then spending tomorrow night in Torrey, UT. Please continue to follow for the latest updates on my trip and enjoy the pictures. If you see something you really like or want a copy for yourself, please feel free to download. Thanks again and good night!