Arches National Park & no good wine

27.05. / Friday / Moab-Palisades

Can it really be that we flew off from Germany a week ago today? One week? We have seen so much already and are so far away from everyday life!

My camera is lint-free . We will pick it up after breakfast. At 10:30 a.m. we are standing in line in front of the Arches National Park. Memorial Day Weekend is approaching quickly and it is not only populated by foreign tourists. I wonder what it is like during peak season?

The Arches National Park (only a national park since 1971) is located in Utah and offers the world's largest 'collection' of natural stone arches, formed by erosion (without water influence!) and weathering, which are still constantly changing. There are over 2000 of these arches to see in the Arches NP.

About 300 million years ago, this was a saltwater lake the size of over 300 sq km. The salt, which settled here through the evaporation of water in this basin (Paradox Basin), is up to 1 km thick and mixed with earth types such as clay and marl.

There were tectonic movements over millions of years, pressure from above and below, and various underground and above-ground faults and fractures that created these and other formations, which surely excite the heart of every geologist, but challenge my understanding - especially because it is relentlessly hot here.

First, we stop at Balanced Rock, a rock formation that looks somewhat threatening due to a huge round rock resting on a sharp rock.

We also have a beautiful view of the La Sal Mountains with the snowy peaks from here.

We continue driving and see the rock arches at the Windows before heading to the Fiery Furnace View. There we see rock pinnacles rising from the ground, which have very bright knobs on top made of different rock. Very funny. Colors on a rock can be so different.

We drive the road to the northern end, turn around, and have new views again. There are warnings of rattlesnakes at several viewpoints. No wonder - it gets super hot here in the summer and the ground is rocky.

We take photos of bushes of yellow flowers on the side of the road, which will continue to enchant us throughout the entire trip. Whole mountain slopes are covered with them, it's blooming wonderfully everywhere up here in the spring, but not necessarily with such large flowers. Many flowers are tiny.

The famous Delicate Arch can only be seen from a distance or by undertaking a very steep hike over a smooth rock. Given the temperature before noon and the fact that the rock is named "slick rock", we decide not to do it and limit ourselves to a short climb, which is already exhausting and brings us a bit closer to the arch.

Delicate Arch

The fissures that were formed over millions of years and the tectonic movements, which remain standing like ribs or elongated stone walls in the plain, look funny and we see them as we exit the Arches National Park.

Actually, the entire route in the National Park is only 18 miles long, but we have been here for 4.5 hours in the end. Only here you can get so close to the rocks (unlike Monument Valley) and there are so many different rocks right in front of you.

Our route now takes us through the canyon that we drove through last night. Highway 28, which is a one-lane road along the Colorado River, stretches for 45 miles through the canyon. After about 30 miles, it becomes a plateau with desert-like vegetation and light sand. In the distance, we see huge mountains with snow again.

Actually, we wanted to stay in Grand Junction, but we keep driving and find a room in a Winery in Palisade, a small town next to the highway. The wine-growing area is quite small, so it's surprising that they sell wines from a neighbor here at the restaurant, as well as various other things. So we stay here for dinner, which is delicious and beautiful, unfortunately the restaurant is in a windowless room, albeit nicely furnished. The quality of the local wines is such an amazing taste experience that I decide on a Spanish red wine...

View from the hotel window of the mini wine-growing area

Windowless dining

There is a loud argument under our room at night and I keep hearing a woman yelling at her husband, "Do you wanna go back to jail?" that I wonder if he might be breaking into our car.