CW has prided himself on setting up the Directv dish with minimal hassle. He carefully studies the sky, levels his dish, and then turns on the TV so he can pivot the dish until he hears the lovely beep to acknowledge some sort of signal strength. Well, in Moab, he hit red, white, and blue 7’s on the slot machine, aiming his 18 inch dish at a 50 foot object 25,000 miles away, and when he came inside to turn on the tv, there was no beeping noise, just some lame show on the Speed Channel. He had perfectly aimed the dish. While raising his hands in victory, Amy informed the Old Man, “The Bill Gates Foundation developed a very promising vaccine for Malaria. Isn’t that cool?” CW promptly asked, “You couldn’t have given me a few moments of glory before reminding me about the insignificance of aiming a satellite dish.”
Wednesday rolled around again, so our day was plotted out to make sure we got back to camp in time for Must See TV. We decided our feets should carry usthis day. Morning Glory Arch was the first destination. It features a pleasant hike through a canyon with a politically incorrect name. It also provides a free flowing stream for many crossings and photo ops.
The trailhead to Morning Glory Arch was just a few miles upstream on the Colorado from Moab, we reversed course and headed for the Moab Bridge. This time, heading north and out of town to our next hike . . . the Fiery Furnace. We had visited this area of Arches National Park on a previous trip, and it was anything but fiery, snow was on the ground. Arches NP can be easy, just one road, ample pullouts for photo ops, and short hikes to the famous viewpoints. The Furnace is different; it’s an absolute maze of vertical sandstone fins. Leave GPS and cell phones in the car, neither works in here. And those handy cairns we followed in the Canyonlands, forget about it, make one of those here and you earn yourself an arrest for vandalism on federal lands.
We signed up for the ranger led guided hike through the Furnace a few years back, as the NPS makes it sound like you can’t go in there on your own. While on that hike, we noted other groups without guides, we inquired about such a permit this time around, and they happily obliged us since we had been there before.
It was an adventure, picking our way between the slabs, not sure where we were headed, and never knowing what lie around the next corner or through the next crack.
Wilson had some trouble here, his waist may be 32 inches these days, but that belly will not squeeze through a six inch crack.
Around a few more fins of sandstone, he found a crack that was more his size.
Remembering your route was critical . . . back up that, across the draw, third crack on the left, make a u-turn around the slab, take the slot on the far right, then down the rocks etc etc etc. . . In this view, our only path out was the crack with the large shadow from top to bottom in the right-middle of the photo.
The entire Fiery Furnace is just a few square miles, but you can get trapped quickly with the desert in view, but tantalizingly out of reach.
After negotiating our way back and having some time to spare before sunset, we took a side route and were rewarded with an enormous arch, completely hidden from view until you stepped under it.
In this land of adventure and extremes, today, we felt like the cool kids. Going at it alone, no maps, having only yourselves to rely on. When and how we returned was solely in our hands.
Wednesday rolled around again, so our day was plotted out to make sure we got back to camp in time for Must See TV. We decided our feets should carry usthis day. Morning Glory Arch was the first destination. It features a pleasant hike through a canyon with a politically incorrect name. It also provides a free flowing stream for many crossings and photo ops.
The source of all that water, a crack in the wall where a side canyon abruptly ends, revealing a fabulous arch. According to the Moab West map, it’s the 6th longest arch in the world. On our travels, we have learned the difference between an arch and a bridge. A natural bridge as a regular flow of water under it, while an arch does not.
We signed up for the ranger led guided hike through the Furnace a few years back, as the NPS makes it sound like you can’t go in there on your own. While on that hike, we noted other groups without guides, we inquired about such a permit this time around, and they happily obliged us since we had been there before.
It was an adventure, picking our way between the slabs, not sure where we were headed, and never knowing what lie around the next corner or through the next crack.Wilson had some trouble here, his waist may be 32 inches these days, but that belly will not squeeze through a six inch crack.Around a few more fins of sandstone, he found a crack that was more his size.Remembering your route was critical . . . back up that, across the draw, third crack on the left, make a u-turn around the slab, take the slot on the far right, then down the rocks etc etc etc. . . In this view, our only path out was the crack with the large shadow from top to bottom in the right-middle of the photo.The entire Fiery Furnace is just a few square miles, but you can get trapped quickly with the desert in view, but tantalizingly out of reach.After negotiating our way back and having some time to spare before sunset, we took a side route and were rewarded with an enormous arch, completely hidden from view until you stepped under it.In this land of adventure and extremes, today, we felt like the cool kids. Going at it alone, no maps, having only yourselves to rely on. When and how we returned was solely in our hands.
soooo awesome! you both are definitely the cool kids.
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