Finally the stars aligned today and I was able to get up earlyish to go for a bike ride.  It was a beautiful morning, with the early sun making the rocks glow like fire.  It’s definitely worth the effort to be up and about before the heat of the day rises and the roads get congested with other tourists.

This morning we tried to get everyone moving early (for the above mentioned reasons) and went on a hike that left practically right from our campsite.  We walked through a lot of desert and red rock scenery to Broken Arch, then went on to the refreshing Sand Dune Arch, which is housed between two giant red rock fins and is therefore nice and shady.  There were lots and lots of rocks to climb, and you could get right up inside the arches.  (Fortunately we were able to tell the girls that it is against the rules to attempt to go on top of the arches.)

Our time at Arches is proving to be a lot more relaxed than at our other destinations.  There’s not as much too see, so there’s less pressure to stay on the move.  Also, you’re almost forced to take a break in the afternoon, when the heat becomes overwhelming.  So, we motivated the kids through the morning hike with promises lunch in Moab, at a nice air-conditioned restaurant (no peanut butter!)  As we were driving into town, Bob and I saw this billboard shining out like a glorious beacon: “Moab Microbrewery, 1 mile ahead.  Kids Welcome!”  There was much rejoicing.  The brewery turned out to be very popular with the whole family, in fact.  The food was quite good, the kids loved the homemade root beer, and there was an in-house gelato bar for dessert. 

From Bob:

Even at the time we knew that we would miss the cold we were experiencing on those Yellowstone mornings.  The kids even seemed to grasp this, as they clutched their tea cups and huddled by the fire.

                The afternoons here are the proof of that earlier hypothesis.  It’s around 100 degrees – only 9 degrees shy of the hottest temperatures they say one can expect here in August.  It is, of course, a dry heat, and there’s often a soft breeze that makes it bearable.  The sun does get oppressive, what with all the sand, the short trees and the fact that we’re still 5,000 feet above sea level.  It all conspired, once our three-mile morning stroll was done, to get us off the Arches National Park plateau  (you should see the road you have to drive up once you pass the visitors’ center) and into neighboring Moab by noontime.

                This city is almost mythical, such is its reputation as an mecca for extreme outdooriness. Most storefronts on the main strip are advertising river rafting, mountain biking, atv or Jeep excursions, mountain climbing, hang gliding, parachuting, or a bunch of other activities that people have thought up that fall in the range of having an acceptable chance of survival, yet a titillating enough possibility that you’ll wind up broken up in many pieces.  The main practice of law in this town must concern the exact wording of waiver forms.

                Even the brewery has boats hanging from the ceiling and bikes riding up the wall.  There were multiple advertisements for extreme sporting opportunities – several hours of beer drinking is probably a prerequisite for checking out a verticalwhitewaterJeepskydive adventure.   We just stuck to the beer.

                

Once we were back at our camp site and things started to cool down a bit, the girls were able to climb on the big rock behind the tent.  Simultaneously, many children were climbing on many rocks adjacent to tents and campers right along the campground road.  It’s that kind of place.