From Hoodoos to Windows

Yesterday was a busy day. The goal was a little hiking and exploring of two National Parks about 270 miles apart. Bryce Canyon is one of my favorite National Parks. I love the magical hoodoos that are a fairy world of castles and turrets. Last time we were here, we only looked at the views from above. But this time, we chose a short hike called Navajo Loop which was a steep descent into the canyon and then back out. The hike itself was only 1.3 miles, but the elevation change was dramatic and the views were exquisite. We took lots of photos mainly because I stopped so many times to rest and drink some water.



















Around mid-day, we said our goodbyes to Bryce Canyon, and drove toward Arches National Park. The plan was to get there early evening when hopefully the temperature had cooled down a bit. The drive was long and desolate. Not much but open space in this part of Utah. The boys watched the movie Inception (David's favorite) and Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog (produced, written, & directed by Joss Whedon during the writer's strike) to pass the time.

The massive rock formations at Arches National Park are impressive. The red rock looks like a giant's play area filled with red clay that has been rolled, balled, and pinched. Everything is huge. The temperature was bearable so we got out of the car several times to hike around the big structures as the desert wind blew through our hair.

It was getting late, and we still had more than an hour drive to our motel in Grand Junction, Colorado, so we left the park and decided to eat dinner in the town of Moab, Utah. We were hungry and the food was delicious. We arrived around 10:30 p.m. and collapsed into bed with satisfaction of a mission accomplished. We could have spent more time at any of the parks we visited, but we got a decent taste of each and a renewed appreciation of the glory of God's creation.