moab: in the beginning

We're about halfway through the laundry from our Moab sojourn - that, and mowing the lawn, and sifting through thousands of work emails, and going out for beers with friends has really gotten in the way of posting here.  But now the weekend approacheth, and it's going to be a rainy one, so there's no excuse for not sitting down and sharing with you.

 May flowers in the desert

We shared the first part of the Moab week with H's folks.  They got up at the crack of early in upstate New York and then were landing in Salt Lake City before noon on Friday.  H picked them up at the airport while Milton and I loaded up the truck.  And then, looking somewhat like the Joads with gear piled high in the back of the truck, and four people and a very drooly dog in the cab, we headed southeast.  H's folks were understandably exhausted by the time we got down there so we had an early dinner so they could head to bed.  H and I watched the stars come out first.

Balanced Rock

Everyone in the crew is a pretty early riser so we got up and got going Saturday morning, hoping to do a quick survey course of Arches National Park before the tourist hordes arrived.  I think it's been several years since H and I have gone into Arches, despite our love for Moab; I like the hiking at Canyonlands better and Arches just gets so very crowded.  It was just past 8:00 a.m. when we drove in, however, and there wasn't any line at all.

So delicate and yet so hardy

It was a little chilly at the start but the sun was out and grew stronger as the morning wore on.  We drove out on the scenic drive, making several key stops wherever we could find a parking space - Balanced Rock, Sand Dune Arch and the Fiery Furnace overlook - but it was well after 10 a.m. by the time we got to the Devil's Garden trailhead and the lot was completely full.  And the people kept pouring in: it was around 11 a.m. when we left the park and we figure there were 175-200 cars in line at the entrance, waiting to get in.

Cannot beat that view

That afternoon it was clear what we were going to do: it was Kentucky Derby Day so we went to the Alley sports bar to watch the horse race.  I figured we'd have to ask them to put the race on one of the televisions but boy, was I wrong about that!  Not only was the race on multiple screens (including the biggest one) but several people were wearing Derby Day hats and the bartender had made Derby pie for the occasion.  We had all picked our horses but AMAZINGLY, with the massive upset, H's dad actually won, having picked the longest of long shots - Country House to win.  We told him he had to pick up our bar tab.