I go to
Dinosaur National Monument and was disappointed to find that the visitor center had been closed to the structural instability. there was a temporary facility open, however the main draw for the other one was the partially excavated dinosaur fossil embedded into the ground. There were a few displays around the temp buildings, but it wasn't the same. I did do a driving and a little hiking at the park to see some of the many neat
petroglyphs that scatter the area.
Next stop was
Colorado National Monument for a few hours of some grand views. My next destination was Arches National Park. When leaving Colorado I was a little under a quarter tank and figured there would be plenty of places to fill up on the interstate, so I waited. When I called up gas stations on the GPS I was surprised to not really see any, but figured it was an old listing or maybe I just hadn't downloaded the map set into it. I kept going and going and started getting nervous when one exit after another, even when they came up, had no services.
I got to the point where I was keeping the speedometer just at 50 mph with the windows up and AC off to save gas. I made it to the welcome station and learned that there was a station at the next exit two miles away and was able to make it. Being stranded in 100 degree heat in the desert would not have been a good thing, but it all ended well. I wanted to do one of the trails to Landscape Arch, but just didn't have enough time so instead I did a short hike around Balanced Rock and then went to Delicate Arch to get in a few pictures. I ended up meeting and talking to a couple of girls, Amy being one of them, for a while about traveling. They were also car camping and traveling to a bunch of parks along the way. They apparently were doing some sneak camping near Arches instead of going back to the car, so it was already getting dark when I departed. I hadn't carried a flashlight, so I made sure to leave just before the the last folks to walk out in case I couldn't find the trail so I could just follow them. I ended up just following the GPS track back and was remarkably able to stay on trail. I stayed near near the campgrounds but slept in the car so I wouldn't take up a tent space.
When you're really in a hurry.
I go to Dinosaur National Monument and was disappointed to find that the visitor center had been closed to the structural instability. there was a temporary facility open, however the main draw for the other one was the partially excavated dinosaur fossil embedded into the ground. There were a few displays around the temp buildings, but it wasn't the same. I did do a driving and a little hiking at the park to see some of the many neat petroglyphs that scatter the area.
Next stop was Colorado National Monument for a few hours of some grand views. My next destination was Arches National Park. When leaving Colorado I was a little under a quarter tank and figured there would be plenty of places to fill up on the interstate, so I waited. When I called up gas stations on the GPS I was surprised to not really see any, but figured it was an old listing or maybe I just hadn't downloaded the map set into it. I kept going and going and started getting nervous when one exit after another, even when they came up, had no services. 
I got to the point where I was keeping the speedometer just at 50 mph with the windows up and AC off to save gas. I made it to the welcome station and learned that there was a station at the next exit two miles away and was able to make it. Being stranded in 100 degree heat in the desert would not have been a good thing, but it all ended well. I wanted to do one of the trails to Landscape Arch, but just didn't have enough time so instead I did a short hike around Balanced Rock and then went to Delicate Arch to get in a few pictures. I ended up meeting and talking to a couple of girls, Amy being one of them, for a while about traveling. They were also car camping and traveling to a bunch of parks along the way. They apparently were doing some sneak camping near Arches instead of going back to the car, so it was already getting dark when I departed. I hadn't carried a flashlight, so I made sure to leave just before the the last folks to walk out in case I couldn't find the trail so I could just follow them. I ended up just following the GPS track back and was remarkably able to stay on trail. I stayed near near the campgrounds but slept in the car so I wouldn't take up a tent space.
When you're really in a hurry.
No comments:
Post a Comment