Balanced Rock 7/4

I love Balanced Rock! Seeing the different angles of this rock really made me appreciate how balanced it really is! I don't want it to fall nor would I want to see the base with no rock on top. But if it ever did fall, to witness that would be amazing! According to a park pamphlet, it's weight is approximated at over 7,000,000 lbs. Holy cow!

Park Avenue - 3 Gossips 7/4

Park Avenue is one of the first stops and formations seen in the park. I think that most visitors may just drive by because it is viewable from the road. I know the first time I visited the park we did not stop here. But the immense span of this formation is amazing and it is appropriately named to represent a red rock feel of a large city. Well, we did stop and snap some shots. What a great start to our journey here in Arches.




3 Gossips is also viewed from the road. I love the names here in the park. That would be a great job - naming formations and arches. Sign me up! What, they're already all named? :-{ bummer

Moab/Arches 7/4 - 7/5

I know - two days in Moab & Arches just isn't enough. You're absolutely right! But that's what we had and we made the most of it. I had only been to Arches once before and we had just a few hours then. So I got to see so much more than I had before and words cannot even describe the beauty here. There's a lot of pics from Moab, so I'm going to show it all in several postings. Enjoy!
Here's the order of the posts and our travels through Arches National Park.

7/4:

• Park Avenue/3 Gossips
  
• Balanced Rock
• Parade of Elephants
• North & South Windows
• Turret Arch

7/5:

• Delicate Arch at sunrise - amazing!
  
• Skyline Arch
• Tunnel & Pine Tree Arches
• Landscape Arch
• Fiery Furnace

Devil's Garden 7/3

We made a couple of stops after Bryce on our way to Moab. Our first stop was a very bumpy and long ride down a washboard dirt road. We didn't know if our little Aveo would make it, but we were determined! We had heard that Devil's Garden was worth the trip - I was so glad we made the trip off the beaten path! We wanted to do more near Escalante, but time did not permit. Hopefully next trip!

Metate Arch

Our last stop along scenic byway 12 was what is called the Castle.

Bryce Canyon 7/3

As we said good-bye to our luxury hotel in Mt. Carmel, we embarked on our Bryce Canyon tour! I love Bryce and sometimes forget how beautiful it really is. We had a great time.

Natural Bridge

Diane & Trish

Zion NP - The Narrows 7/2

We didn't have time for a lot, so we opted for the long shuttle ride to the end of the canyon to hike the narrows. It was incredible! I have certainly been to Zion's before, but I'd never hiked the narrows. We had a great time. Trish was actually the returning hiker - yes, the one that didn't live in Utah for 25 years had hiked the narrows before!

Angel's Landing

The Narrows! Thanks for the poles Kent - they were the bomb!

Hoover Dam - Vegas 7/1

I didn't spend a lot of time in Vegas, but I went to pick up my friend Trish for our national park tour of Utah. We spent a few hours at Hoover Dam and it was awesome! We took a tour and actually got to go inside the dam. The pictures don't do it justice, but the new bridge and road are amazing. We then went to a show that night, Beattles Love.

Trish & me

Love this pic!

Trish's friends Loni & Lisa joined her in Vegas and joined us at the dam.

Lake Mead

Pics from inside the dam.

Linda (Lonnie's sis), Lonnie, me, and Lisa

This picture was taken from a vent inside the dam looking up at the top! Awesome!

Great show!