Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Our last day in Arches. The final arch was Delicate Arch, a 3 mile hike with about a 500 ft climb in elevation. Truly wonderful. And I survived the hike. I didn't know it was possible to go uphill in both directions, but it seemed so on this hike.

The arch is best viewed in the afternoon, but we didn't have that luxury as we wanted to move on to our next destination, Bryce Canyon, about a 4 hour drive southwest. There was no rain, we both felt great, and I managed my mild acrophobia as the rock ledge we climbed on was quite wide, about 5 feet, and the summit where Delicate Arch can be found had a lot of rock around so it didn't feel as though you were stting on the edge of a very, very tall seat. The most recent photo on our blog is Fred underneath Delicate Arch.

In the morning, we packed up our expanded 10 lbs, and miraculously put it back in the car before we headed to the Delicate Arch hike.

On the road again, with huge Utah vistas all around. Mountains, higher mountains and ones higher than those. Although we're headed south, the weather isn't getting warmer - it's getting cooler as we climb.

We arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park just before sundown. We found a campsite, happily within the park. That tent went up in record time! Air mattress was inflated, sleeping bags installed. Oops. Restrooms that are close by are closed. So is the Port-a-Potty. Let's leave the tent and see if we can find another spot. If not, we can walk to the toilet - I'm thinking, "how far and how many bears?"

Luck was on our side as we found another campsite down the way just a bit. Great! Restrooms available! Even better, flush toilets! Running water! We're in the groove!

Bedtime arrived early after a quick supper in town. As we're preparing for the night, Fred casually remarks, "You know, the average low this time of year is 29 (degrees, not my age)." He can be a cup half-empty kind of guys sometimes. But he's usually right, and he was on this tiny fact.

I don't think I have ever been as cold as I was at 3 o'clock early Wednesday morning. No bears in site. They're smart and found someplace warm to bed down. The air mattress de-inflated at the most inopportune time, and the pump is charging in the car. The ground was really cold. But I'll not dwell on the negative!

If it's 29 at night, what will tomorrow bring???