July 3, 2013 My birthday in Moab

July 3, 2013 (happy birthday to me!)

Moab, Utah
104 degrees F

Yes, I know it's been a while since I blogged, and it's time to change my strategy.  Seems I'm having so much fun taking pictures, that I don't have time to post them.  (Remember that prioritizing problem I have?)  I will have to add blogs about our time in South Dakota and Colorado later, because those places were fun and wonderful.  As for today, here goes...

The drive to here yesterday was thrilling, as we coasted down from the Colorado Rockies, to the low desert.  Soon the vegetation grew sparse and the landscape flattened out to miles of open space.  It reminded me of the fields in the mid-west, except instead of cattle, there are scorpions (probably, I didn't actually see any...yet). 

Bye-Bye Rockies

 

Hello dust devil.

 

Western Colorado.

 

We're boxed in!

 

Hello Utah.

O.K. where is everybody?

Our camp site is very exposed and I'm very glad we have 2 air conditioners.  We will need them.  An unseasonable heat wave is in full force here.  But, our reservations are non-refundable, and being a holiday week, there's no where else to go anyway.  So we will aim to do our outdoor activities in the morning and evening, using the hot mid-day to catch up on administrative duties (like my blog).

View from my window early this morning.

Today we woke up early, for us, so we could go to Arches National Park while it was still in the cool 90's.  The place is other-worldly beautiful.  It's sort of like the South Dakota badlands, but bigger and red. I will let the photos speak for themselves. 

Sheep Rock

Don't touch that!

 

At the trailhead to Devil's Garden.  I wonder how

they trained that crow to perch on the

skull rock...

Afterwards, we had brunch at EklectiCafe in town.  We sat on a lovely covered patio by a fish pond.  We were entertained by a family of sparrows who begged for food, fed their babies, and drank and bathed in the fish pond.  The food was delicious and abundant.  Someone will have a nice leftover meal. 

 

 

Who knew Tow'mater lived in Moab?

 

By then the sun was baking us, so it was back to the RV to do some desk work.  Thus, I'm actually writing now.  This evening, though, Gordon took me out for birthday dinner at the Desert Bistro.  The food was excellent, almost too pretty to eat, but we managed.  The service was wonderful.  We even had special guests: a hummingbird, bats, deer and "Jessie" from Breaking Bad.  And when we got home, the kids had cleaned up and made cards, a jib-jab video, paper sculpture and left a message in the sand outside our door.  They even found a red velvet cake to serve.  I love my family.