From looking out to looking up


June 3, 2018


There was no use trying to get into Arches National Park until Memorial Day was over. You can see the line of cars waiting to get in with a webcam on the internet. So we went back to Canyonlands and “Island in the Sky”. We loved this park because the vistas are so amazing and although there are always other people on the trails, we were frequently alone on parts of the trails. 


Yes, Steve is the one who moved all the rocks.



The country seems so massive our here in the west and I wanted to ask "whoever is in charge" why we can't let in more immigrants who seek asylum from atrocities going on in South America. There's room for them, they work and pay taxes, and they are not the ones committing the school shootings. And the hundreds of children in custody  of ICE under the age of 10- don't get me started.

After Memorial Day we spent time at Arches National Park. Soon after we drove into the park the first day we had to turn around because of an accident. But we were able to get in Tuesday and Wednesday to see the amazing arches nature has formed in the canyons.

One of many arches in Arches National Park




Thursday we drove a long way to get from Montecello, Utah to Hurricane, Utah. The campsite here in Hurricane is one of the prettiest- paved sites with grass and trees. So many times we have avoided being outside in our chairs and on the “rug patio” because it has been too hot, too cold, or more likely, too windy and dusty. So Friday when we realized the temperature was perfect and the chairs so inviting, we decided to go nowhere. It was one of those days when you move slow, read most of a book, wash a rug to air-dry outside, and eat leftover lasagna from the freezer.

Home


Friday we drove to nearby Zion National Park. This is the most “Disney-fied” National Park we have visited. “Disney-fied” in that there are thousands of people who visit this park daily. No one is permitted private cars through most of it so you wait in line for a shuttle and ride to the different trails and sights. At 8 different stops you can get off to hike. There are miles of trails and they are mostly paved. And, maybe because it was a Saturday, there were SO many people. Steve minds that worse than I do.

Steve says the difference between Zion and the other parks we have been to is that at Zion all the views are found looking up and the other parks the views are found looking out and down.




Back at my lake house I had a 3 mile walk I did several times a week. I rarely felt breathless or exhausted during or after the walk. But now—after all the hiking and biking we have done, I still huff and puff and am the slowest on any trail we take. People who look older than me go zooming by and I feel discouraged. Sometimes when we have been hiking at 7000 or 8000 feet above sea level I had a good excuse. But Saturday at Zion we were only at 3000 feet and after 2 miles hiking I was done. Granted, it was 96 degrees outside and the trail went up and down.

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