I left off yesterday with us settling down to sleep in Monticello, Utah which has a booming population of just under 2,000 souls. So I'll begin today with us leaving our fine abode at the Rodeway Inn. Right off the bat I misplaced my phone so there was a lot of digging and rearranging the back seat looking for it. Eventually it was discovered on the roof- we had not yet put the top down for the day! Then when Nancy aka Louise started the car she got the dreaded "low tire pressure" warning. We assumed it might be due to the temperature drop we had experienced the day before - from high 80's to mid 40's. There was some road construction going on outside our hotel and we had to swim upstream against the traffic to get to the nearest gas station, but we did. She checked all four tires, put some air in the one that was a wee bit low, and the warning light went off. All was well.
We set off for
Arches National Park, in Moab, Utah which was our first destination of the day. We got there, parked the car, went into the visitor center to get a map and look around and then headed back out to drive to our first hiking location. As we approached the car from the rear, Nancy noticed that the two rear tires had a problem. They had white marks on them. Silly me,not understanding what I was looking at, bent down and ran my fingers over one and came away bleeding. The steel belts of the tires were poking through. This was not good.
 |
| Bad tire |
I have to stop here and give major props to Nancy. She was cool as a cucumber. She asked that I look up tire dealers in the Moab area as she went out to get the tire measurements. The first couple of dealers weren't able to help, but the third place said if we got the order in to them in the next 15 minutes he could have new tires for us in the morning. She elected to replace all 4.
Next while I called around looking for hotel accommodations for the night, she called rental car places so we would still be able to do some of the things we had planned for the day. Once we had all these items lined up, we very slowly drove the 6 miles back into Moab to our home for the night,
The Redstone Inn, and unloaded the convertible. Let me just say, there was a lot of stuff in that little car! Then we picked up the rental car and dropped off the convertible at the tire dealer.
So as things happen,
Moab was a pretty cool place to be furloughed for the night. We ate lunch at a hip restaurant right on Main Street called
The Spoke. We made note of a coffee shop for the next morning and a bookstore for later in the evening and then we got in our rental car and headed back to Arches National Park.
 |
| Our lovely rental |
Once at Arches, the next big decision was what hike should we do. We settled on the hike to Delicate Arch, which is the most famous rock formation in this park chock full of amazing rock formations. I must admit, I got a bit psyched out by the trail head sign stating that this hike was considered "difficult." If you know me at all, you know I am a wimp, especially when it comes to hiking. So even though it was difficult it was not too long at about 3.50 miles round trip so I said I'd go for it.
 |
| Official proof - difficult - a big deal for me |
Let me tell you, that was the best decision ever. Nancy had done this hike on a previous visit and she kept encouraging me that it would be worth it when we got there and she was 100% correct. I was so stoked that I was actually standing under Delicate Arch; I was very proud of myself!
Below are a few shots of the approach including the great trail markers the park has thoughtfully put up to help guide you.
 |
Trail sign pointing off a cliff
|
 |
Trail sign in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness for the people above us.
|
 |
This is called slip rock
|
 |
And there it was
|
 |
| I don't know the people in this photo, just giving perspective |
 |
| The little person under the arch is Nancy! |
After a hot day of hiking to Delicate Arch and driving around Arches stopping to take in the glory of the scenery all around us, we finally headed back down to Moab. Next up, a shower and dinner. All in all a relatively quiet day for us road warriors!
Some things I learned on Day 4:
- In case of emergency, I want to be on Nancy's team
- People are basically good and decent and want to help
- I can do more than I give myself credit for
As always, thanks for reading along. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the fun day that is day 5.
Comments
Post a Comment