Day 4- Grand Junction to Moab, UT (Arches National Park)

The vista as we entered Utah was so cool you could see for miles. Tucker was very impressed :)

As we got into Utah, the rock formations began to get more and more red colored and the plant growth got considerably more sparse and dry looking. Even though we enjoyed the Colorado scenery, it was nice to see some different types of scenery in Utah.

This shows some of our first glances at red rocks. I'm not sure red really is the right word. They have a beautiful almost purple hue to them.

After we found our campsite at a Bureau of Land Management Area called "Goose Island" on the Colorado River, we set out to Arches to do a driving tour of the park to get ourselves acclimated to the scenery and figure out which hikes we wanted to do starting the next day.

Katy got a kick out of the bighorn sheep crossing signs, but we never did actually see one.

This was at the visitor's center entrance, and Katy continued her fascination with the Bighorn Sheep, so we had to get a picture with them.

This first formation is called the Courthouse Towers. They were HUGE! These were located about 4 miles into the park.

All along the driving tour, the park had pull-over viewpoints where you could get out of the car and get a better vantage point for seeing the sights. At many of these sites, the park provided information panels about what you were seeing and most of them were very insightful such as this one about the location of where arches might have been in the past.

Even though the park scenery is based mostly on sandstone and arches made from it, you could still see the La Salle Mountains in the background, which gave the view a little extra "post-card" feel.

This is a picture of Tucker beside balanced rock, a precariously perched stone on top of some other stones. We did a short hike out to get closer to the formation.

And this is Tucker "holding up" balanced rock with his mighty bear strength.

A first look at the Windows section of the park. This area has 3 arches that you are able to view in one picture. Though we did not hike this section, we used it as a point of reference for the remainder of the trip as you can see it for miles and miles!

In the Windows section is also the Double Arch which forms a triangle of arches.

Pothole Arch. We couldn't figure out what the over look signs were indicating until a little way down the road. But it was neat to see an arch (or circle) in this case that was not standing upright

view of the Cache Valle salt hills. Notice the Windows visible to the right of the picture.

The salt deposits are very visible around the park. This was as we were climbing the road to Devil's Garden.

The Devil's Garden

This is the Skyline Arch, which we also got out to get a closer look at on our drive through the park. All told, the drive through the park was about 25 miles one way including side roads.

the Fiery Furnace- It almost glows red. The spires really do remind you of fire. We saw a ranger beginning a guided tour of this section. You need reservations to do the hike. It is said that it is difficult but worth the time.

This is the Delicate Arch, the "poster-arch" for the park and the inspiration for many Utah license plates. There may or may not be some closer up pictures of this arch in later posts :)

The park didn't give a name to the rock formation on the left of balanced rock here, but to Katy and I, it sure did look like a giant hand.

This first day was a great introduction to the park. We went back to camp and made a great meal after driving around Moab and finding a grocery store.

Taking the time to explore the park in the car first was an awesome idea. I feel ready to hike the Delicate Arch Trail tomorrow and explore some of the sights closer, but many of our pictures are already taken and enjoyed :)