For the last few days we have been staying in Moab, Utah. This is at the heart of red rock country and the base for visits to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. The best thing about Utah at this time of the year is that, while the skies are blue and daytime temperatures warm (ish), you are surrounded by views of snowy mountains. We loved the ride here as the mountains got closer and closer.

Despite what you hear, Utah has bars and they are open on Sundays. We tested this and met a very nice barmaid who has moved here for the outdoor sports (like most people here).

Everyone here looks very fit and the place is full of rock climbing and mountain biking shops, as well as places that rent all terrain vehicles (like a cross between a quad bike and a jeep). The Americans love their outdoors like no other nation I have experienced. Yesterday, we went for an amazing visit to Canyonlands National Park.

 

This is the least visited national park in Utah but has views better than the Grand Canyon. It was really, very beautiful. It was also pretty quiet.

We had some views to ourselves.

Dave enjoyed scrambling up rocks.

And sitting on the edge (he then went home and played with his train set).

There are steep, dirt roads here that were trails used by native Americans and then used by drovers. It would be great to have a 4X4 to get to the valley bottom and look up at the canyons from below. You can drive from one side to the other.

It is still pretty chilly on the bike, even though it is really sunny so thermal underwear and down jackets under the leathers are still necessary (Michelin Man style), which makes hiking quite tricky.

We managed to walk a mile. It would be nice to camp closer and walk from the tent but the campgrounds in the park are booked until the end of June. On a clear day, you can see for 100 miles apparently.

Nearby is Dead Horse Point. This is where the final scene of Thelma and Louise was filmed. There is a narrow road about one car wide, where they used to corral the horses into the “point” which is now a car park. They would then choose which horses they wanted and leave the rest to die (!). Hence the name. If you have already been to Canyonlands, then I would not recommend paying the extra to go to Dead Horse. It is just a different and less impressive view of the same canyon system. We were not tempted to drive off the edge.

 

We will be here till Saturday. Tomorrow we will visit Arches National Park and do a short hike and we then head to Sedona in Arizona, where we hope to spend a few days before heading to New Mexico. We booked our flights to Hong Kong this week, for July 24^th. I have also been working slowly on the thesis. I hope to be up to 40,000 words by the end of the week. We have 6 weeks left of the trip but time seems to have slowed down for us and each day is a gift.