Southwest trip day 14: Arches National Park, UT

After our rafting adventure on the Colorado River we didn’t have much time left to visit the national parks near Moab—Arches and Canyonlands—as well as Dead Horse Point State Park which offers fantastic views of the Colorado River (and was the location of the unforgettable final scene in Thelma & Louise, one of my all-time favorite movies).

We decided to do a short tour of Arches National Park since it’s the closest to Moab and it was already past 6pm when we set out. It was actually drizzling when we left Moab and the cloud cover looked to be fairly dense. However, by 7pm the clouds began to break up and pretty soon the sky looked quite dramatic.

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We didn’t have time to do any hikes so we drove around to take in as much of the scenery as possible.

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Even after the sun had set, the sky still offered plenty of drama.

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There is so much to do in the Moab area that we will come back soon to explore the incredible scenery in more depth—and do more rafting.

By the time you read this, we will have started on our 900-mile drive back to Northern California.

Comments

  1. I love the pano1 shot... so beautiful! I think I'm destined to live in the desert some day.

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    1. Me too! Who knows, we might be neighbors after all some day! Maybe Loree will join us, LOL.

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  2. Thank you for sharing your awesome vacation Gerhard. I truly enjoyed your vacation. Safe trip back home.

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  3. Lovely pics! Looks like a very fun vacation.

    I actually looked you up today to ask about this high heat week. Up to 107. How often do you water during this heat to keep things healthy?

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    1. I usually water my succulents once a week but when temps climb above 100°F I give them an extra drink during the week. I use fast draining soil so it's almost impossible to overwater in the summer.

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  4. Thank you Gerhard! Great info. Good to hear from someone who lives not too far away. My soil has been amended to about half rocky/ half organic so I will continue doing what I was doing. Glad to know I was about on your schedule. ( though some get a bit more with the sprinkler hitting them) I however had one agave (confederate rose) completely close up its leaves. Maybe heat protection or drought protection?

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    1. Many "artichoke"-type agaves form tight rosettes in full sun. In partial shade the rosettes are more open. Is your Confederate Rose in full sun? If so, it's just exhibiting normal behavior. I wouldn't worry about it; these plants are experts at dealing with hot temperatures.

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