Day 9: A winding road
We had 3 options for breakfast in the hotel: We went for menu 1: an egg with toast and fruit. When we returned to our room, our key didn’t work. Jelle went to the reception and got a new one. But this one also didn’t work. The receptionist called someone of maintenance and this guy showed us how easy it is to break into the rooms.. He could open the window very easily! There was something wrong with the lock. It locked us out..
First stop for today was Canyon de Chelly. We could visit the North or the South Rim. We chose the South Rim. In Canyon de Chelly there are ruins of houses in which the Indians have lived thousands of years ago. We didn’t have time for a hike, so we only saw the ruins from the viewpoints.
From Canyon the Chelly we drove to Goosenecks State Park. This should take about 2 hours. Goosenecks State Park is comparable to Horseshoe Bend in Page: curving canyons, carved by the Colorado River. It was a beautiful sight.
We were about 2.5 hours away from our next hotel. But we didn’t take the fastest way. We made a little detour so we would pass the Moki Dugway. This is a narrow dirtroad, that curves up the steep cliffs. Halfway we picked up a geocache and enjoyed the magnificent view.
After very long day we arrived at the Super 8 in Blanding, a small, but cosy town. The hotel was great and again, free breakfast!
For the first time on our roadtrip we had a decent meal in a Steakhouse. Jelle had some delicious spareribs and Heidi ate chicken with mashed potatoes.
Day 10: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park
A good night’s sleep, cornflakes and freshly baked Belgian waffles. We are ready for day 10!
We drove through Moab, past our next hotel, straight to Arches National Park. We wanted to walk to Delicate Arch before it was too hot.
We parked the car near the trailhead. It was quite busy on the parking lot. We doubted if we would hike to the arch, because the temperature was already around 34°C. We decided to go ahead with our plan, so we took 3l of water from the trunk and we started walking.
The Delicate Arch Trail is 2,5km one-way, but is quite strenuous. There is no path, you need to follow small towers of rocks up the steep rocky mountain. But we did it! We reached Delicate Arch and were rewarded with a beautifull view of the arch!
When we got back to the trailhead, our 3l of water was gone and it was already after noon, so we were hungry! We stopped at Subway for a sandwich before going to the hotel, Moab Valley Inn. We rested a little and then headed for Canyonlands National Park for a magnificent view!
