After our bus drive through Arches National Park, which you can read about here, we spent the rest of the day exploring Moab on our own. People come to Moab, Utah to visit the nearby National Parks, and they come for biking, hiking, driving jeeps, boating and rafting. Some come to ride in hot air balloons. No wonder Moab is called the "Adventure Capital!"

We enjoyed a quiet stroll along the Colorado River. Moab is just one town that the river meanders  through, ever southward, on its way to the Grand Canyon and beyond. Here its banks are lined with invasive tamarisk trees and other plants, a ribbon of green ​beneath the towering red hills.

We crossed over the river on a foot bridge to get a closer look at the red rocks. Was there a peek hole in the rocks, an unnamed arch high in the varnished cliffs? Yes, there is. Can you see it, too?

Red and yellow wasps were buzzing in the heady fragrance of these flowering plants. And the milky white trumpet shaped flowers of Datura plants were open to the sun. Their unpleasant odor is a warning that although beautiful, ingestion of the plant is toxic.

Earlier, we had a chance to see petroglyphs from the bus.These intriguing symbols left by an ancient people remain, mysterious messages carved into the rock varnish of the sheer rock face.

This petroglyph panel can been seen on Kane Creek Blvd. There are many other places to see petroglyphs around Moab. Most involve a hike.

​In this area centuries ago, people left pictures for others to see, pictures captured in rock. Today, people like me capture pictures with a ... 

... camera.
​
Well, not with this metal camera sculpture made of hand tools and other odds and ends. But this unique camera certainly captured my attention, so I captured it with my camera!

There is much more to Moab, and we hope to see more of this area some day. Our next stop is Monument Valley, so come along for the ride!

​~ Debbie

If you missed the earlier stops, follow the links and enjoy the view. 

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 
Ninth stop - Bryce Canyon here.
Tenth stop - Utah's Scenic Byway 12 here.
Eleventh stop - Ancient Petroglyphs here. 
Twelfth stop - Goblin Valley State Park here. 
Thirteenth stop - Arches National Park here.
Fourteenth stop - Moab, Utah here.
Fifteenth stop - Monument Valley here. ​

Continuing our tour brought us to the town of Moab, Utah and its prime attraction - Arches National Park. The world's largest concentration of natural arches is located in this National Park. There are over 2,000 arches with openings that range in size from 3 feet to 306 feet. The park receives over a million visitors each year and the wait time to enter the park by car can be lengthy. One advantage of being on a tour bus was quicker entry to the park, but a major disadvantage was the lack of parking. I was disappointed that we were unable to stop at many of the overlooks and viewpoints due to no parking. But we were able to get out and walk around at a few stops, and of course, I took pictures of the stunning scenery. 
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From the Balanced Rock trail, the Windows Section of the park with more stone arches, including Turret Arch can be seen in the distance with the La Sal Mountains further beyond. The La Sal Mountains are the second highest mountain range in the state of Utah. With peaks up to 12,000 feet, these "Salt Mountains" were an important landmark on the Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. On the return drive to Phoenix a few days later, we saw that the first snow of autumn had "salted" the high peaks of the La Sal Mountains.

That morning, most of the arches had to be seen from the windows of our moving tour bus, but we were able to stop and take the short walk to a beautiful arch "hidden" in a slot canyon shaded by two sandstone fins - Sand Dune Arch. The easy trail leads through deep rust colored sand and becomes quite narrow until opening up into a cathedral like room with a ceiling of blue sky. Sand Dune Arch stands alone. It was quite beautiful with golden sunlight streaming from above. 

Perhaps the most photographed arch in Arches National Park is Delicate Arch. With its opening of 46 feet high and 32 feet wide, this beautiful arch is the iconic symbol of the park and is the largest free-standing arch in the park. We viewed the arch from the lower viewpoint, which is one mile away. To get up close involves a 3 mile roundtrip hike up a steep slope of slickrock and takes 2-3 hours. Hundreds of visitors gather throughout the day from sunrise to sunset to take in the view, and some venture out at night.

Some of the nearby rocky hills were covered with a beautiful turquoise green layer of earth, a natural patina produced by minerals in the soil. 

Here are a few more beautiful stone arches that we saw while driving through Arches National Park that sunny day in September 2019:

Here is another view of Balanced Rock:

We only spent a few morning hours in Arches National Park. Someday I hope to return and enjoy more time in this awe inspiring land of balancing rocks and stone arches. 

That afternoon my husband and I took a scenic walk along the part of the Colorado River that winds through Moab on its southward course through the canyons and deserts of Utah and Arizona through the Grand Canyon and beyond. You are welcome to join us in the next post! 

~ Debbie

If you missed the earlier stops, follow the links and enjoy the view. 

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 
Ninth stop - Bryce Canyon here.
Tenth stop - Utah's Scenic Byway 12 here.
Eleventh stop - Ancient Petroglyphs here. 
Twelfth stop - Goblin Valley State Park here. 
​Thirteenth stop - Arches National Park here.
Fourteenth stop - Moab, Utah here.

It's been a while since the last post of this tour, which was about ancient petroglyphs in the Fremont River Valley of Utah. While that post highlighted the strange and fantastic pictures etched into a rock surface bordering a valley, this post is about strange and fantastic rock shapes carved into a valley of red dirt.

Goblin Valley State Park is not as well known as the other canyons that I've written about in previous posts, but it is well worth visiting this remote spot which is located between Capitol Reef National Park and Arches National Park. Unlike the towering spire hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, the hoodoos of Goblin Valley are smaller sandstone formations that resemble mushrooms or the not so nice creatures of fairy tales called goblins. It's interesting that the old German, Norse, and English word for goblin all convey the idea of a hollow or cavity in a cliff, rock, or earth. In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, three trolls turned to stone at sunrise, and I can imagine that the fantastic shapes that fill Goblin Valley State Park could indeed have been goblins or trolls turned to stone in the baking heat of the San Rafael Desert.

There are thousands of goblins in this small valley that is 2 miles long and a mile wide. Visitors are free to roam the area. Three short trails wind through two narrow slot canyons or atop a ridge overlooking the valley. Apparently there are petroglyphs and pictographs here, but we didn't have much time to explore and missed seeing them. Another reason to visit Goblin Valley again!

Like most deserts, Goblin Valley has extremely high temperatures during the hot summer, over 100 degrees, but the nights are much cooler. Most of the hardy animals that live here are nocturnal, starting their day under twinkling stars in the clear night sky. Goblin Valley State Park is a designated Dark Sky Park with one of the darkest night skies in the world. There are camp sites and even two yurts that can be reserved for those who aren't afraid of goblins. 

You never know what kinds of travelers you might meet. Apart from the stone goblins that congregated in that valley, we met a macaw, a colorful bird that, when in the wild, makes its home in lush tropical areas. This particular macaw was traveling with its owners in a specially adapted area in the back of their van. We took a few minutes to admire its beauty before leaving the valley of goblins.

Near the entrance of Goblin Valley State Park are three hoodoos known as "The Three Sisters." Our next stop would be Moab and Arches National Park where another "Three Sisters" are located. But that is another post for another day. Until then, thanks for joining me in this tour of Arizona and Utah.

~ Debbie

If you missed the earlier stops, follow the links and enjoy the view. 

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 
Ninth stop - Bryce Canyon here.
Tenth stop - Utah's Scenic Byway 12 here.
Eleventh stop - Ancient Petroglyphs here. ​
​Twelfth stop - Goblin Valley State Park here. 
Thirteenth stop - Arches National Park here.