Day 15

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States: Utah
Miles driven: 85
Miles hiked: 6
Slept: Sofa surfed at Ardell’s in Moab while he was away for work.
10 words or less: Driving/hiking Arches National Park. Drank at Woody’s till 1am.

How do you say “back off” in German?

Sprawing oak, Moonflower Canyon, Moab, UT

I took the day to drive through Arches National Park. Wow! Very stunning. Unfortunately the haze still hung heavy from the wildfires. I’m not totally happy with my photos from that day, but enjoyed hiking to several of the arches. My main regret is that I didn’t take a photo of a Chinese girl wearing a black evening gown on a 4 mile hike through mostly soft sand, but it did give me, and everyone who passed her, a smile.

Up till now, I’d only encountered a small amount of traffic in Memphis and Denver and I’d certainly been tail-gater free so far, mostly because I’d taken less travelled roads or been in interstates during off peak hours. But today? Every tourist was hell bent on driving like crazy to get through the tour. It was so stressful! I kept pulling over every few minutes to let them pass, but after 30 or so times I said fuck it. They’d learn to relax the hard way. At scenic view stops and trailheads all I heard were German, French and Dutch tourists talking. The French have the most kids and have no concept of sharing a narrow sidewalk or trail. The Dutch are the most shy (they wouldn’t smile or wave back). The Germans are the most loud and most stinky.

I did short hikes to (or around) Balanced Rock, Double Arch, the famous Delicate Arch’s Upper Viewpoint, and then did a quick 1.6 mile hike to see Landscape Arch. I tried to go easy on my blistered foot by taking these short hikes, but I was itching to get more miles under my treads.

That night I stayed at the house of a friend of a friend of a friend. He was out of town and had graciously offered me the use of his home. Hot showers, cooking on real stove and doing a touch of laundry was nice. Veggin’ out and watching a netflix on my tablet with his wifi was a real treat! Ardell, the friend of a friend of a friend, had suggested the world famous Woody’s Tavern for local night life – quite a hit. I drank till 1am, mostly because of the fun characters there, but also because it took nearly that long to catch a buzz on the weak drinks.