Day 5: Capitol Reef to Arches National Park (Tuesday)

We got up early (again) and packed up the car and tent. Mike discovered a nice red rectangle on his foot; the top of his foot got sunburned and his sandles made an odd pattern. We haven't really "bathed" since Saturday, although we did clean up the best we could with washclothes and the sinks at campgrounds, where washing was prohibited. We knew we were going to spend a few hours in the car so even if we were clean, we'd feel like a shower by the end of it. We said goodbye to our fellow campground neighbors and headed up to the visitor center on our way out. We ate our breakfast scones (they were yummy) and continued on 24 through the valley once more. We traveled through typical Utah scenery, flatlands with short scrubby bushes with occassional mountain ranges of bare rock. We got to Arches National Park at 10:30am and it was packed! It seems as popular as Yosemite; the visitor center is huge! It was really nicely done with a nice theater and short film. They have a great set of exhibits outside with bronze sculptures of big horn sheep and other critters. There were signs everywhere warning of water dehydration and had lots of potable water spigots everywhere. We grabbed our maps and headed up the main park road.

There were a few stops along the way, like Park Avenue with the large cliffs on either side that are reminiscent of city skylines. There were also large solitary monoliths like the Courthouse, the Organ, the Three Gossips and Sheepshead. There are arches hidden along the main cliffs everywhere, and every one has its own name. We continued up the road to see Balanced Rock and walked around it. We took a lot of pictures of it as well as arches and formations in the distance. Mike had to wait awhile to get a shot without tourists climbing on it. Mike is trying a new technigue called HDR (High Dynamic Range) which takes one shot at normal white balance, one at +3 and one at -3 to be digitally combined later.

We continued on a side road past Balanced Rock towards the Garden of Eden, a large collection of monoliths. From there we continued to the Windows area, with the famous Double Arch. There is a short hike to the North, South and Turret Arches. There were so many people climbing on the arches, we couldn't get the iconic empty arch shots we wanted. We were able to take quite a few pictures though. We ate lunch there before heading over to the Double Arch trail. It was very warm and we tried out our new Camelback to stay hydrated. Tired, sunsoaked and definitely dirty, we headed into Moab in the early afternoon. Everything is outdoors- and park-oriented in Moab; most businesses are on "Main Street" which is also the main highway. We found our hotel and were able to (luckily) check in early. Mike immediately showered and felt better. Bree immediately blogged and felt better; but she showered too. After relaxing for a few hours, we decided to go out to eat.

We headed to the Moab Brewery down the street. We always try to stop at breweries as we travel; the food is always good, Mike likes beer and collects pint glasses. We had a great meal and Mike tried two of their microbeers, a Heffenweizen (Elephant Hill Heiffenweizen) and another wheat ale (Lizard something). They are famous for their "Can't Beat a Dead Horse Ale." We may eat there again while we're in town. The whole place was decorated with all the great outdoor activities you can do in the area. There were parachutes, hang gliders, rafts, bikes, etc. all hanging from the ceiling. And in great bit of marketing, each peice of gear had the contact information for the business that sells/ rents the equipment. They even had half a jeep against the wall to advertise the local jeep rentals. They also gave each customer a wooden token that was a $1 coupon towards retail merchandise.

We headed back to the hotel and have been relaxing since. "Its nice not to go to bed just because its dark out," Bree said. Mike is enjoying the flatscreen TV in our room and Bree has spent the evening finally catching up on the blog. We're currently planning tomorrow's adventure and will be going to sleep shortly.