Saturday, Sept. 28 - Today's posting will deal with contrasts. If you read my last blog, I talked about how it's possible to start the day on the road without a plan, and end up having an unexpectedly great day. That was Wednesday. On Thursday, pretty much the opposite occurred. It was a pleasant enough day, sunny and mild after the morning coolness wore off. But as my good friend Ken Marshall advised when we called to wish him a Happy Birthday, the traffic once you hit the area north of Salt Lake City gets really heavy. He was so right.

Normally I like to drive the r.v. at around 100 kph. With the press of traffic, particularly as we got closer to Salt Lake City, it was almost mandatory to up the speed to 120. The speed limit on the interstate is 80 mph, as is true in Montana and Idaho. But the traffic to the north is sparse so it's easy to cruise along at about 60. (Pardon my switching from kph to mph.) Once we hit the outskirts of SLC, there was a lot of construction going on, with altered lanes, hoards of transport trucks, and drivers who imagined themselves in a Grand Prix race. So it wasn't much fun, which is true of many of the large cities one can drive into. But we managed.

We had thought to revisit the central area of SLC, as it had been 18 years since we were last there. So in we went, following signs to Temple Square, an area of beautifully designed buildings focussing on the Mormon system of faith. Try to find parking. Try to avoid major reconstruction. There was a huge empty public parking lot near Temple Square, but after driving around it at least twice and failing to find the entry point, we contented ourselves with having seen the home of the NBA Jazz, and drove back to the freeway. So much for Salt Lake City. We found a very nice park in Provo, and called it a day. Talk about a contrast to the day before.

The contrast continues...for the better. Next day, yesterday, we drove from Provo over the mountains, peaking at Soldier Summit (7,477 feet), up onto a plateau, and then down, down, down to the lower elevation on the east side. The drive was most interesting, as there was a great variety of landscapes, high rocks enclosing the highway at times, and open desert at other times. Down we came to Arches National Park, and since it was only 2 p.m., and since we'd booked a site in Moab, only 5 miles down the road. we decided to give the park a go that very afternoon. By 6:30, we'd driven to the end of the road that runs through the park, as well as the side roads. We had a great afternoon.

The park is a wonderland of form. Most of the landscape is sandstone, and over the millenia, Mother N has done an amazing job of creating all manner of shapes and forms and configurations. Arches are the central theme, as there are more than 300 of them in the park, not all of them readily accessible by any means, but the main ones highlighted along the way. They have named some of the formations quite creatively, such as the Courthouse Towers, the Three Gossips, the Garden of Eden, BalancedRock, Pothole Arch, and Delicate Arch (the highlight of the tour). Cameras were kept busy by all who passed, including yours truly and Gail. Hard to stop clicking.

Speaking of 'all who passed', the park was very busy, as today is National Parks Open Day, meaning that entry is free. Hoards of people had therefore descended on the park for the week-end to take advantage of this deal. The result is that several of the parking lots for the highlight 'sculptures' were jammed, so getting space for an r.v. was not possible. We were told by a ranger at the Welcome Center that the national parks are being overrun, attendance way up in the last few years, to the extent that it may soon become necessary to force people to book reservations to gain entry. September and October have become especially busy.  Certainly Bryce and Zion have been considering limiting their numbers for a few years, and already restrict entry to cars and other transit by having people go in on park buses.

There was also an article in this week's local paper talking about the pressure put on nearby towns when the tourist numbers go up drastically. Infrastructure costs, availability of housing for locals, penalties of popularity that government doesn't recognize as worthy of increased transfer dollars. Sounds like the problem we're having in Prince Edward County.

Despite the crowds, however, we still saw most of the main highlights, and were in awe of the forms and shapes created by wind and water. I'll post a few pics to illustrate. Today, we are hunkered down, not going anywhere, taking a day to regroup, catch our breath, and stay away from the crowds that will no doubt be assaulting the park. A nice change. Actually sat and read a book this morning for awhile. Tomorrow, we may try one of the hikes nearby, and then dry camp in one of the local Public Lands

before heading into Colorado. So much for now. More later. Stay tuned.
The photos, by the way, are the Three Gossips,  Balanced Rock, then Pothole Arch, and finally Delicate Arch. Much to see should you ever have the opportunity.