Um, yeah!
Luckily for me, this landed right near my birthday. So when Mckay asked what I wanted for my birthday I told him that I wanted him to come with me. Neither of us had ever been to Moab, but taking time off was a sacrifice for Mckay because it would mean that he would miss school and work (I'm pretty sure this was only the 2nd time Mckay ever skipped school). He agreed and we took off.
From Logan to Moab is quite the drive. Also, as a side note, I am the worst car travel partner. Something about cars makes me fall right asleep. We got to Moab just as the sun was setting. It was a dream. Since Mckay and I both grew up in beautiful Southern Utah we were swooning over the red cliffs. Pure sunshine, blue sky, and red rocks. A combination to burst your heart!
That evening we ate dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant, Pasta Jay's, and enjoyed our hotel's hot tub. November is off-season for Moab so it is really only the locals there. We were able to enjoy the hot tub all to ourselves.
The next morning I attended the business conference and presented on our program. Following the conference we hopped in our car and headed for Arches National Park.
Wow. What a park.
Of course, we knew we had to make it to the Delicate Arch. What a magnificent showcase of nature. It's kind of fun, right before you make it to the delicate arch you see a cute little hole in the rock (above). Little did I know that the delicate arch was right there, on the other side of this wall of rock. We got up to the hole and heard music. I was so confused for a minute. There was a group of people who had brought their guitar and was playing and singing. The sound carried against this rock wall giving it a beautiful sound. It gave our visit such a cool, earthy vibe. Ha!
It was amazing to go up close and marvel at such a beautiful piece of earth. It was hard to get closer to the arch because there were so many people who were trying to take pictures without strangers in their pictures, but we found a few spots where we could snap some photos.
We had a little bit of daylight left after coming back from the delicate arch so we decided to visit one more arch. This is the Landscape Arch. It is humongous! On the plaque it said that it loses parts of the arch every year and eventually it would break. It breaks my heart to think that it would fall and we would lose such beautiful earth-made architecture.
On our way back to our car the sun started setting and the combination of colors and light was just gorgeous. Another showcase of earth's beauty. None of my iPhone snapshots do this national park justice.
After studying Parks and Recreation my passion and love for national and state parks has grown. I am filled with gratitude for the people in history who fought to preserve parts of our country that we can go to, connect with nature, feel peace, and contemplate on the majesty of the world we live on.
I am certainly grateful we were able to visit this jewel in the desert. It made for such a romantic getaway. I highly recommend it.
xoxo,
Joanie
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