Necessary Roughness

My first trek into Utah took me to Arches National Park, a 1.5 hour drive from Grand Junction. I left about 6:30am to avoid the big roast in the afternoon.

	Sun Shining Through Clouds Near the intersection of I-70 and Utah Route 128, I looked up and saw this.
	Along the Colorado Utah Route 128 follows the Colorado River near Moab. There was a rafting party down the river from here.
	Cliffs Along the Colorado Unlike most cliffs in the Rockies, the striations come not from upheaved earth but rather from rain filtering straight down through the sandstone.
	Park Avenue Viewpoint Now in the Park, Park Avenue is one of the first sites to see. The morning sun had yet to hit the right side.
	Courthouse Towers There is speculation that this used to be an arch or two a long time ago.
	Rock Pinnacles This is a small group within the Rock Pinnacles area. They reach up like fingers.
	Balanced Rock This is a view of Balanced Rock from the east side. The viewpoint is on the west side, which made for a silhouette (and a bad picture).
	Delicate Arch This picture was the most difficult. It involved a 1/2 mile hike, up 200 ft. in the sun. The digital zoom on my camera worked better than I had expected it to.
	Fiery Furnace Named because of its redness, not because it’s hot, the sign says. It was hot and red.
	Skyline Arch The coolest of the arches that could be seen from the road.

I got some sun, and along the way I could have used my hiking boots. I was wise to take along extra water. There were several tours of senior citizens and groups of multiple nationalities.

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