twas hot

we're currently exiting mormon country (oops, i mean... utah). we actually arrived in grand junction, co at 1:30am on tuesday night (technically, wednesday morning).. and awoke the next morning -- EARLY -- to drive the 1.5 hours to moab, ut where arches national park is located. and wahoo, arriving there at about 10am, we got a campsite in the park (first come, first serve). not too shabby. we set up camp, reorganized the car, and set out on some easy hiking..... which turned out to be rougher-than-expected hiking because it was freaking hot outside in the desert (duh) and we hadn't really eaten a full lunch. smart, smart, i know. so after 2 miles of relatively flat hiking, a few bazillion photos, and 2 very cool arches, we took care of the dear turtle, rehydrated ourselves, and drove our sweaty butts down to moab for lunch and airing-out. muccchhhh better :) around late afternoon/evening, we headed back for the epitome hike to delicate arch -- it was moderate, going uphill, but didn't take too long, and it was REALLY pretty. i like arches, but it's definitely desert climate and conditions, so bottles of ice are totally necessary. after that hike, we ventured back down to the sweet little town of moab and had some good, solid dinner (and a cold beer) at the brewery. yum. then, back to camp to sleep.



moab is a pretty cool place -- very laid-back it seems, all adventure-focused. haha, the women at the brewery/restaurant last night had arms -- ARMS!! as opposed to dinky skinny little limbs that look breakable. hehe. it's also quite the small town, so i'm not sure exactly what happens there besides tourist-y stuff associated with arches and the colorado river expeditions. but nice nonetheless.

in the park, the red ants are freaking evil. one bit my toe while i was peeing in the bathroom earlier in the day, and it hurt like hell. so before we went to sleep, there was a thorough scan of the tent floor to make sure that none of the little red devils had entered and was waiting for hot flesh to chomp into. happily, sleep was un-interrupted. and the stars were so close in black night sky.

this morning, i woke up with the sun (chilly night, warm morning), and we packed up and left... went back to moab for a shower and breakfast, and headed out on the road again. while willie drooled on the passenger side window, i drove all the way west on 70, passing through... mormon country. really. a few dead deer carcasses on the side of the road, lots of signs warning about frequent deer and elk crossing, a lot of farms and latter-day-saints signs, some solidly windy roads, 178 miles -- of which 110 were without exit, rest stop, gas, or food. pretty deserted, huh? but the scenery sure is pretty -- it's cool to watch the the landscape change from desert into mountainous green with more deciduous and evergreen trees instead of red rocks, dirt, and tumbleweeds.


ohhhhh -- and at arches, there were jack rabbits! and desert mice! and lizards and little chipmunks! and on the way back up the 18 miles of windy road from the park entrance to the campgrounds after dinner last night, we saw an itty-bitty baby bunny wabbit on the side of the road, going hop.. hop.. hop. sooooooooo cute :) i guess the animals balance out the fiery ants and the buzzing flies that sent willie into spasms. HAHA :D

okay, heading out of mormon country and planning on spending the day crossing the broad expanse of northern/central nevada -- yet another land of nothing-ness. but gorgeous nothingness at least. let's hope for good weather, solid tires, and safe roads. and no death along the loneliest road in the united states. oh, and there is NO cell phone signal or service out here -- ZILCH!

p.s. nevada is state #10! virginia, tennessee, georgia (albeit briefly), kentucky, illinois, missouri, kansas, colorado, utah, and nevada :)