Saturday July 24th...

When Susie and I first left for our trip 18 days ago, we prepared ourselves to experience at least one blunder along the way. Initially we thought that it would be our rental car experience at Fox, but that turned out to work in our benefit! So it was bound to happen sooner than later, and unfortunately it finally struck yesterday. While in Santa Barbara we decided to book a white water rafting trip for when we were here in Moab. When I called a company we found, I asked if they had any room for Saturday the 24th, and the woman/idiot I spoke to told me they did! So we immediately jumped on ship and booked our spot to take a day trip to Westwater Canyon and experience the Class III/IV rapids they have here along the Colorado River. We woke up at an early 6am yesterday and got geared up for our day of adventure, only to arrive at the place and be told that the trip was in fact FRIDAY the 24th and we missed it. :( We were clearly disappointed and quite angry since the woman I booked it with was on board with me that the 24th was a Saturday-- we knew we wouldn't get here before then, therefore wouldn't have booked anything earlier (grr). But we were determined to not let this get the best of us, and therefore found another company that had room for us on a day trip down the Colorado River through Fisher Towers...they were only Class I/II rapids (which is peanuts compared to the Class V we've experienced up in Maine), but nonetheless we spent a very relaxing day floating along the river and swimming in it occasionally. :)

This morning we got up and made our way to our 5th state...Colorado...to visit Mesa Verde. It was another grueling drive up the hairpin turns to get to the top (and of course I was driving), but so worth it. They had these amazing Cliff houses that we got to explore, and we also took an impromptu hike to see some petroglyphs along one of the trails. I was on a mission to see these, despite the fact that I was in a tube top! ha! The trail was amazing...all these small crevices we had to crawl through, some very narrow steps that the CCC made (which was quite difficult for Susie and her feet to navigate down), but it was SO worth it. Of course we were so enamored by the petroglyphs that we missed the sign directing us back, therefore we found ourselves off-roading for a bit, but managed to find our way back on track and made it safely back for our tour of one of the Cliff houses. :)

We rushed back to Moab in time to cook up some hot dogs and set out for a sunset hike to see the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Time was not on our side, so I had to put some pedal to the medal...unfortunately that led to it being MY turn to get pulled over in a national park. But luckily the officer was young and VERY cute, so I flashed him my smile and turned up my charm, and escaped a ticket! :) After that minor glitch, we continued along the road towards the trail, to turn a corner and see a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!! It was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL thing I've ever seen! It was so vibrant-- you could see every distinct color from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple. Absolutely breathtaking.

We reached the start of our trail and hiked up 440 feet across sheer rock, the last 200 yards of it being on a narrow ledge, to our destination...the infamous Delicate Arch. It was amazing. And it just got better and better...on our way back the sun had set and the colors of the desert just jumped out at you from all around. Truly majestic...

So now we're back at our campground getting ready for our last night of camping out (YEAH!!) and anxiously waiting for the Utah night sky to take it's form. Unfortunately all of our nights since Zion have been dampered with clouds, so we have yet to experience the vast starry sky again, but we are DETERMINED to see it again tonight and take in all of its glory. :)

Before I end another one of my novels, I want to touch upon Zion again...I know that Susie wrote about it in her last blog, but I want everyone I know to go there! The things I saw were like nothing I've ever seen before. It was a true siting of the Forces of Nature, and it gave you a sense of how powerful and magnificant they are. I have never felt so small and insignificant in my life...and it was wonderful!

Ok, off to star gaze and then hit the sack...we're going mountain biking tomorrow morning and then heading up to Salt Lake City for the final stop of our trip. It's flown by and I'm so saddened to see it come to an end. :(

~Andrea :)