Trying to Stay Amazed in Utah

I saw this graffiti on a bench above Angel Peak badlands in New Mexico, and I’m trying, random person with a magic marker defacing public property, I’m trying.

Islands in the Sky at Canyonlands

I struggle with sensory burnout when we see so much so often. I’m not complaining, but I am staying back at the trailer on occasion, like when Tracy went back into Canyonlands to drive into the section called Islands in the Sky.

He hiked up on buttes there and looked down at the beautiful Green River.

I made myself some tea back at the trailer and read a book. Cop-out, I know.

Dinosaur Tracks and Bones near Moab

Another morning we drove near Moab to see dinosaur bones petrified in stone wall faces.

As well as a slew of tracks that had been discovered, made in mud then hardened by sand and layers of rock.

Tons of types of dinosaur tracks were found in this one location, along with one type that’s not been found anywhere else. The Utahraptor, I believe it’s called.

Which we could learn more about this at the visitor center for the state park we’re in, except that the park isn’t officially open yet.

WWII Internment Camp Near Moab

I was riding my bike along the park roads one day, spying on the employees building bathrooms and campgrounds, and I rode down a dirt road to a set of signs. Turns out I was at an internment camp for Americans of Japanese ancestry. It’s getting turned into an historic location. I was unimpressed by the signage so far (like, “look at how the inmates were allowed to go visit Arches one day”). Seems like we could learn a lot from our mistakes, if we made the public more aware of places like this. I did not take any photos.

Delicate Arch at Arches

Another morning we went back into Arches to hike to Delicate Arch.

I think it’s called that because it stands apart from the fins and buttes that other arches have been formed from.

I was quite proud of myself hiking along this edge.

And up and down this 500-foot cap of slickrock. My photo does not do the steepness justice, especially since there was no way to show the 25 mph wind gusts across the rock. The hike was as impressive as the Arch. We tried to stop at additional places inside the park before we left, but all the parking spots at the trail heads were full. This was by 10 am.

Petroglyphs at Arches

A friend hiking in the area wrote recently, “They all start to look like just more big rocks,” which is what I was expecting when we went down a short side trail to see these petroglyphs. Not just more rocks, but just more ancient carvings.

These are amazing. There by ancestors to the Ute, about trading with the Spanish.

The Arches visitor center has a bunch of informative displays on local geology, plus, our favorite type of display, a native plant garden with labels.

And now we’re back for our final evening here near Moab, with this view from our campsite.

Trying to stay amazed.