Wɔatintim: 08.07.2016
Today we set off early to Arches National Park. From the park entrance, it is a steep uphill climb to a plateau. In the scorching heat, we made our first photo stop at a particularly beautiful rock formation. After an hour of driving and a thousand curves, we reached the furthest point of the national park. In the intense midday heat, we continued on foot to the famous Landscape Arch. An impressive stone arch that stretches freely over the wild landscape for about 100 meters. We then retraced our steps through the desert landscape back to the car.
We continued driving back to Moab. From there, the plan was to travel north. Unfortunately, we couldn't agree on which route to take. Dad wanted to follow the GPS, Marielle wanted to navigate using the map. Of course, the daughter won and so we took the route along the Colorado River. A fantastic landscape awaited us and we were satisfied with our decision to take this road. We kept driving and driving and driving... Meanwhile, our tank was getting emptier and emptier, and the driver was getting more and more nervous. So, we finally asked the GPS when the next gas station would be. The next pump was 80 km away, and the fuel gauge of our mobile home showed that we had just enough gas for 52 miles. After another 2 miles, the promising "low fuel level" message appeared. We counted every kilometer until we reached the next gas station, and we were relieved when we finally arrived. You should have seen our faces when the friendly attendant told us that the computer system was down and she didn't know when it would be back up. It could take until the next day. The next station was 7 miles away! The gauge was already below the red line, and we prepared ourselves for another nail-biting experience. Luckily, our camper didn't let us down, and we reached our destination in Flaming Gorge just before the office closed at 9:50 PM.
It was the 2nd longest stage of our trip.