Jan 6th

Arrived in Moab, Utah, last night and set out early this morning to visit Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Moab is a mountain biker's mecca, so maybe next trip we will spend enough time for biking. If you have not visited either of these parks, add them to your bucket list! Neither words nor pictures can adequately describe or transport you there. Thanks to a flukey Mother Nature this winter (warm and no snow) the parks are very accessible and beautiful. We hiked the Grand View Point Trail in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands (see photo). This is definitely a "hike at your own risk" adventure as nothing prevents you from standing with your toes hanging over 1,000 foot drop cliffs except your desire to keep living. In the Arches, we hiked into Delicate Arch (the best known arch in the world - see photo) and watched the sunset turn the arch into a glowing shrine. We almost needed our headlamps to hike back out (which amazingly we had with us!). We will post a few pictures once we settle into our "home away from home," so stay tuned. We met some delightful folks on these hikes who were skiers that bagged skiing because of no snow and headed to the canyons. One couple were "rock hounds" and they have excited us to explore for geodes which are apparently abundant in Utah.