Days 10 & 11: Moab and Arches

This morning we bid a fond farewell to Mountain Village and set off towards Utah. We drove close to 4 hours to Moab and got an unbelievable campsite at Sandy flats Recreational area via Garth Franklins suggestions.  Adventure guru right there. The massive rock slab our tent was set up against made our tent look teensy tinsy. Then we set off into Arches fully realizing it was way too late to do the hike we anticipated so instead set our sights on something smaller but ended up seeing awesome plants, Arches, and a beautiful sunset.

After super stoked scrambling and sunset viewing we got back in the car and made it to Milts Stop & Eat. A burger and shake place also recommended by Garth- 3 minutes before they closed. It was SO GOOD. 

Then to the Moab Brewery where we had some tasty beers brewed right there and played a equally embarrassing/lucky/damn impressive game of pool. 

After checking local beer tasting off our list we went back to camp where we made the executive decision to sleep without the fly on so we could get a better feel for the 60 degree evening as well as a better view of the perfectly clear starry sky. 

We woke up after a crisp but perfect night at the planned and highly anticipated hour of 530 am. We wanted to hike to Delicate Arch... the most viewed arch in North America. We did as planned and got to the arch around 730- 20 minutes after sunrise. It was unique, bizarre and simultaneously beautiful. After taking some pictures and enjoying the view we got quickly annoyed with the hordes of tourists flowing in and started our descent.

 

We started our next hike at devils garden when it was reaching 80 degrees and proceeded through sandy trails and sloping slabs of red rock. We saw awesome arches- including Landscape and Double O -that seem to defy everything we know about gravity. It was a beautiful hike. 

By the time we reached our car again it was approaching 90 degrees and we were practically ravenous for coffee. We went into Moab proper, made sandwiches after grocery shopping and then embraced our exhaustion at an outdoor coffee shop. 

We anticipated only driving an hour out of Moab tonight but somehow we found ourselves 20 miles out of Bryce Canyon national park at a pristine campsite/mostly rv park. We are the ONLY tent here. But it's perfect. Our drive involved parts of Divergent 2 as well as some seriously desperate middle school jams that got us through the last hour while we searched for somewhere that accepted tents. 

We're here now and full of couscous  and ready for bed. Bryce and Zion tomorrow! !