Day 11

Hello from Moab, Utah! Our destination this morning was Capitol Reef National Park, which is located near Torrey, UT. Capitol Reef is 378 squares miles of canyons, ridges and buttes. This photo is part of the Waterpocket Fold. The Waterpocket Fold is 75 miles of rock formations extending upward. Most of it is a beautiful, rich red color.






The earliest traces of people date back to the 9th century. These people were called the Fremont Culture because the Fremont River runs through the park. They were Native American Indians. In this photo you can see an orchard. This section of the park was called Fruita. It had apple, peach and apricot orchards.

Our next stop was one I was most interested in, the Arches National Park. It is located near Moab, Utah. This park contains over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. The most famous is the Delicate Arch but there are also many other interesting things to look at. For example, this rock formation is known as the Balancing Rock. This rock on top is the size of 3 school buses. It truly looks as if it is about to topple over!

You may have seen this arch before since it is the most popular. It is called the Delicate Arch. Some refer to it as "the Chaps" or "the Schoolmarm's Bloomers." The arch stands 52 feet tall. Matthew and I took the longer trail to get up close and personal with the arch. The trail was a round trip of 3 miles. It is a pretty steep walk to get there. At one point, the trail leads you down the side of a cliff. The arch is completely hidden during the walk to it. In some places the trail is not clearly marked. Just around a corner of the trail, the Delicate Arch finally comes into view. It is beautiful and very much worth the hike!

After seeing the Delicate Arch, we decided to head back. It was perfect timing. The sun was setting and I was able to snap this photo.

We are staying the night in Moab, UT and had a great supper at Pasta Jay's. Tomorrow we are heading toward Cortez, Colorado and visiting the Canyonlands National Park.

~Amy