Day 7 (Jan 15): Rocky Mountain High

Greetings from Moab, Utah!!

We began this morning in a frosty town in Colorado, leaving Salida around 9am. The car read 1F when we left the parking lot! Our goal for the day was to see Arches National Park, so we headed west on Rt 50 all the way to I70 near the Utah border. This drive was incredible! Amazing views, thrilling driving adventures, and the Continental Divide!

I got to practice my driving a stick up a huge mountain (3rd gear all the way, baby!) as well as using the engine break on the way down. We crossed the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, which was 11,312ft. The temp here was -6, though this was not the coldest we saw today.

Leaving Salida!

Heading up...

Yes, it's -6 and B is wearing just a t shirt and a fleece...

Going down...

Mountains!

We are back on flat ground.

We found our coldest temp near Doyleville CO: -14! The back passenger window froze over..

Blue Mesa Reservoir 

Dillon Pinnacles

Lunch was in Delta, CO at C & J's Cafe. Pretty good, nothing special, small-town cheep. Our next stop was going to be the Colorado National Monument, but the road was reported as open but snow-packed and icy, so we drove on for Arches. We hit Utah around 2:30 and the landscape gradually changed to being more desert-like with incredible views.

Still mountains too!

Right outside Arches on Rt. 191 South

We arrived in Arches at 3:35 and were finally able to purchase our annual National Park pass (thank you Cheever family!!!!). The website claimed the roads were bad, but the ranger said they were clear so off we went to see the Windows and the Balanced Rock at sunset. It turned out to be an ideal time to visit because there were no crowds and the sunset light was epic.

Benoit in the North Window

The 2 windows

Turret Arch

Another Fiesta advertisement shot! 

Balanced Rock

We were both blown away by Arches National Park and felt so lucky to have been there at such a perfect time. We highly highly recommend this to EVERYONE! Come visit us and we can go back for free with our annual pass! :) 

Most things in Moab seem to be closed for winter so we ended up eating pizza again tonight. Tomorrow we hope to visit Canyonlands National Park on our way to Salt Lake City. It's hard to believe we're almost to California...