Moab

Moab ~ June 14, 2008

Yesterday after a good workout at a public recreation center in Cortez CO I went to Mesa Verde National Park. First let me say that the public gym was awesome! For $4 I could do a cardio workout, then weight work out, take a shower, and if I had wanted to, I could also have enjoyed the pool as well. What a deal! For $240 a year those that live in the community can have unlimited access. We need this in Madison!! Ever since I went to the gym in Columbia MO with my friend Ken, I’ve been looking for these places in the towns that I pass through. What a wonderful concept!

Anyway….. Mesa Verde was really cool. However, my legs were tired from the hiking and I just didn’t feel like walking around. It was very much like Bandelier only more extensive. So I felt like I had seen something just like it. I probably should have spent more time there, but I felt like I’d seen enough. Much of the place required a guided tour. I hate those things; too much talking and too many slow people!

I arrived in Utah in the late afternoon. I drove to Moab and found a BLM (Bureau of Land Mgt.) campground and took the last site available. It was awful! The whole campground was right along the road so there was traffic to listen too although it wasn’t a terribly busy road. There was no privacy between campsites and it smelled like fish! Yuk!! I found out that the fish smell was from the river being so high and then coming down and leaving fish stranded to die. Phew! I left at 6:15 in the morning and headed to Arches National Park. There I found a picnic area and fixed my coffee and oatmeal. It was cold so I sat in my car to eat. Then I drove to the end of the road in the park and got out to hike a bit. Arches is beautiful, but it is desert, and being a mountain girl, and sad to leave the mountains of Colorado behind, I wasn’t excited about going for a hike. I figured that I would just hike a bit and get a feel for what the park is about and then turn around. Well, I didn’t turn around; I loved it! I kept going and enjoyed the different formations along the way. There is a different kind of beauty and a different kind of life in the desert. I met up with a woman from California who was in Moab for a veterinary conference a few times during my hike and we ended up hiking the last mile and a half together. I love meeting new people and it was nice to have someone to chat with. The whole hike was 7.2 miles. Much more than I thought I could stand in the desert! What really amazed me was the fact that at 8:30 when I started there were very few hikers out there, but when I finished at around 12:30 there were hoards of people! This is the desert for goodness sake! I thought that 8:30 was a late start, and to see so many people heading out in the heat of the day seemed crazy. The parking lot was full and the roadside was lined with cars. It was 99 degrees. No humidity : )

After my hike I went into Moab and looked for a rafting place owned by an old friend of my aunt, Kristina. I signed up for a rafting adventure on the Colorado river tomorrow. That should be fun! I’m going to hike in the morning and should be ready for cooling off by 11:00 when I have to be at the rafting place. Once I signed up for that I went to the visitor center to find out about other campgrounds. I got the official list from the person at the counter and then found out about a hostel from the grounds keeper of the visitor center. $6 plus tax. I get to pitch my tent, take a shower and use the kitchen. I got to save a little of my gas tonight by using their kitchen to cook my pasta. After dinner I went into town to walk through art shops (there was an open house sort of thing going on). Lou, a professor from Wisconsin staying at the hostel came along with me. It was nice to have some company. I wish I could buy a piece of art from every artist! I think I’ve said that before!! Ok, that’s all; I’m ready for bed (tent that is : )