The Golden Arches
Note: as I am not responsible for selecting the pictures for the blog, it is not my fault that this entry was delayed. I hope you will forgive Carrie. 😀
Luckily, we didnt lose power over the night. So, alarms were able to sound to rouse us from slumber. But, before the alarms did that job, our upstairs neighbors handled that themselves. Apparently, they are with the Dutch wood-canoe building clog-dancing team. Yes, from the sound of things, they were hand-fashoining high quality wooden sailing vessels while clog dancing. I didnt know that was a thing, but I can only guess it from the sound.
So, fully awake and packed, we loaded up the car to make our reservation time at Arches National Park. This is another on my list of new experiences. We took another Shaka app audio guide through the park, and were happy to hear our original Hawaiian tour guide leading the way. Our first stop was the visitors center to get our passport stamped, and pick up some artistic goodies.
Back on the road, we started the tour, and enjoyed the beauty of this park. With the timed reservation system, it wasn’t crowded at all, and we could go at our own pace - stopping whenever and wherever we wanted. We did have a bit of a construction delay, but that just made us have to sit and enjoy the scenery a bit longer. On the walk to Delicate Arch viewpoint, we overheard a father telling his daughter to go get a drink, and heard our advice for the day when she replied “Drink Water, Finish, Go Home!” with the level of certainty and passion you can only hear from a child. It was so complete and appropriate, we had to document it for posterity.
This is a truly impressive park, and I would like to come back when it isn’t so hot, and spend a lot more time there. We took advantage of our long lens, since we weren’t going on the multi-mile hikes today. We drove all through the park, and saw most of the great arches there. On the way out, we hit the head at the visitors center, before leaving Utah altogether (for this trip anyway).
Our next stop was in Grand Junction - a botanical garden that turned out to be closed on Sundays. So, we continued on to Colorado Springs, where we are staying tonight. We did pass through FairPlay, Colorado, which is in the South Park grassland flat. For those wondering, TV’s fictional south park is based on this area, and the town has adopted the animated show. I was careful not to exceed the speed limit, so that I didnt run into Officer Cartman - “You Will Respect My Authoritih!”
As we got closer to Colorado Springs, we got a good look at Pikes Peak. The idea of being at 14 thousand feet elevation has not been filling Carrie with excitement. So, she had immense relief when I told her that we didnt have to go. She had been graciously willing to go because I had said we should do it. Both Pat and I have been up before, so it was mainly for Carrie’s benefit, and if she was stressing about it, there’s no need.
As we exited the freeway to check into our hotel, I saw a magical icon on the “Food this Exit” sign - the friendly orange W of Corpus Christi’s own Whataburger (or waterburger if you are Texan). We checked in, and unloaded, and got the ladies up ready to paint, and I left to get some burgers. Unfortunately, I didnt prepare Pat that Whataburger prepares hamburgers like they should be made - with mustard. So, she was les than pleased. I, on the other hand, was exstatic. I am still grumbling about the fact that California gave In-n-out to Texas, but Texas has refused to reciprocate with Whataburger.
I’m in the room, sated, typing away, and magnificent artwork is being produced across the room. Now that we are going to skip Pikes Peak, we can have an easy morning tomorrow. I think we all need it.
