Today was a really good day. But it wasn't all great. We hit a bit of a wall in Utah. I had been to Moab before, but hadn't been to Arches National Park. The park is just a few miles out of town, and I was pretty pumped to see it, especially the Utah trademark Delicate Arch. We hit the park mid-morning and to be honest, the general family gas tank was feeling at least half empty. A fairly easy day yesterday hadn't made up for maybe 50 miles of hiking over the last week, all the heat and several early mornings.

It was sunny and hot early, and Arches doesn't provide shade. We weren't all seeing eye to eye on what to do and the mood was pretty quiet. You know those times - no tragedies or melt downs, but certainly not riding the fun wave we have been on for many Big Trip days. A little tense. If we have a good family characteristic, however, is communication (six weeks in the car together will do that for you) so we figured it out. A couple short hikes. Saw some arches. Drove a bit. Hit the visitors center. Went to get milk shakes. This 'not great' morning will never register on anyone's list of major problems of course. Yeah, I'm bummed we didn't get up close and personal with Delicate Arch, but yeah, if there was ever a lucky guy's problem, that is it. Good reason to make a return trip as soon as we can.

We hit the road mid-day to Grand Junction, taking the back roads suggested by three different folks, winding our way along the Colorado River. If you ever get the chance to drive Utah 128 north out of Moab, take it. The Colorado River has made some substantially beautiful damage over the years. Once in Grand Junction, we cleaned up and headed out to see some good friends that we had not seen in years. A warmly open home, a home cooked meal, kids enjoying a nice pool, a good Gin and Tonic and a few hours of catching up does wonders to make everything right with the world. Thank you, Dave and Karin, for a fantastic evening!

We are smiling and off to bed, ready to hit I-70 and greet the Rockies tomorrow. A big night on the agenda - city stuff! Thanks for reading, hope you are well. Smile.

- Jim