More of Utah today, and there is so much more to see.  We left Tremonton and made our way to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument.  It was almost a shock to go from the flat of the Great Salt Lake basin up into the Wasach Range at American Fork Canyon to find the caves.  And, find them we did.  However after some discussion we decided to save the 3 mile hike up 1000 feet of elevation on a switch back trail on the mountainside for another time.  While we would have LOVED to explore the caves, I’m not sure my hip would have cooperated, AND it was already 99 degrees and only 11:30 a.m.  So instead, we just enjoyed the forest and the bubbling stream near the ranger station.

We found our way back to within sight of the Great Salt Lake and then headed east on U.S. Highway 6 in the direction of our destination for the day, Moab.  Visualize the bareness of the landscape in old cowboy movies with just the occasional rock formation jutting up from the surface — for a couple of hundred miles.  When we spotted the first sign of rock formations in the far distance – (almost 30 miles distant) we got so excited Randy said “Look how those rocks jut up like a staircase – chee, chee, chee.” And we couldn’t stop laughing. And all the rest of the day we spotted ‘chee-chees’ everywhere.  And they grew larger and larger and the rock started turning pink and then a deep orange-red.  And we had arrived at our destination, Arches National Park. Here we learned they don’t call their rock formations “chee-chees” but “hoodoos” And we laughed all over again.  But, they are beautiful!  So many and varied the mind can hardly comprehend.   We had arrived at 5:30 p.m. and rather than waiting until tomorrow to view the beauty, we just traveled on and enjoyed the sights with the most beautiful light of the day – sunset.  Working with three cameras you just have to imagine the other shots I was able to capture.  The beauty and the astounding grace of this place defies description.

Before the sun set the temperature had reached 103 degrees!  But we kept on.  There was just too much beauty.  And now we know we have to come back to just this spot for a longer, extended visit so we can enjoy the depth and richness of the entire park.  We hardly scratched the surface today.

Absorbing beauty takes energy and we had to revive ourselves with a late evening meal at The Broken Oar Restaurant in Moab.  The Steak Tip Caesar Salad and the Cowboy Pork Chop were excellent and the service friendly and efficient.  When you are next in Moab, you can try it yourself and see what I mean.

As we came out of the restaurant we looked up to see a brilliant Venus and Jupiter lighting up the night sky as a crescent moon was setting.   What more grace could there be in one day?