Sunday morning, 722 AM:

I'm sitting on a bed looking out a window at Mt. Peale, still with snow on the top. We stayed at Mt. Peale Lodge last night, a B/B type place that is - you guessed it - in the middle of nowhere. Since I don't have internet access, I'm writing this in notepad to be posted to my blog later.








Yesterday morning we left Provo and started driving. I took lots of photos along the way, as the landscape kept changing and was eternal fascinating. Two things that I noticed that I tended to obsess about were that there almost always seemed to be a fence running along the side of the road, no matter how barren or hostile the landscape, and that there were telephone lines EVERYWHERE. I've got some gorgeous landscape-y type photo that proudly show high-tension towers on the top of giant mountains. Someone somewhere must be so proud.



We saw everything from fertile farmlands, valleys, to grey and brown sculpted cliffs. We went up, down, around, through mountains. Utah is BIG and incredibly varied. We saw areas of such desolation that they looked like what you imagine after a nuclear holocaust. You drive forever and ever seeing no other signs of life besides the other cars and trucks.



We finally arrived in Moab, where (we'd been warned) there was a car show. We don't know the details, except the town was FULL of people and cars, like hot rods and muscle cars and lots of motorcycles. We had lunch at a nice cafe with an outdoor section, but the whole time we were eating, we were blessed with the sounds of people revving their motors. Noisy, annoying people, noisy annoying cars. NOT why we came to Utah. Moab has a very touristy downtown anyway, lined with hotels and restaurants and trendy souvenir shops. I'm always confused when a place that people go to because of the incredible natural beauty - a place that attracts tree huggers and granola eaters - ends up being much like the strip in Virginia Beach with all it junk and gimmicks. But whatever. We didn't stay in Moab long for obvious reasons. We did visit a yarn store with lovely yarns, but nothing that I had to have (although I did get an inspiration for a felted box).

We signed up for a rafting trip for Sunday, and then we headed to our Lodge. More driving, lots of it. Some time sitting on the porch at the lodge, looking through our pictures so far, then back in the car to Canyonlands. I swear, the gauges on the maps are wrong, or I've just lost all my mapreading skills. It was way farther than we expected, but very much worth it.



First stop was Newspaper Rock, the site of some petroglyphs. Hardly any people. :-) A little tent in the parking lot where some Native Americans were selling jewelry - presents for P & M and me, too. Then more driving through incredible landscapes to the National Park. We were down to a quarter tank by then, which probably would have been plenty, but when we saw a sign for the "Needles Outpost" that they had gas, we went down a dirt road that actually takes you just outside the park border to this little store with gas pumps - $4.05/gallon - and some food and drink, and a campground. The lady there was an absolute trip and I got another cool souvenir.

















Back on the road to the Visitor's Center - pretty unremarkable - and ultimately to several stops with great views and small hikes. The final stop was the best; we climbed around and explored a bit and discovered a REALLY BIG dropoff with water at the bottom. When I first looked down, my knees started to shake. But that was where we wanted to be - in the middle of nowhere, alone, no telephone poles, no people, incredible quiet but for the sounds of nature (and there aren't even many of them). I know we were at a high elevation, because I was short of breath. I *hate* that, it scares me, but even Rick was a little short of breath.





Somewhere along the drive back I invented a new hobby, "random photography." It's where you hold the camera out of the window of the moving car and point and click in the general direction of your target. That way you avoid all the slimy bug spots through the window. I took lots of pictures that way on the way back. Then we went to Monticello for dinner - another gazillion miles drive - and had a very nice dinner at the Lamplight Restaurant. Finished eating around 8:30 PM, then about a 40 minute drive back to the lodge. We were tired.