Enjoying Our Dash

Moab, Utah is an outdoor lover’s dream. There is so much to do and to see you will definately be on sensory overload. There are two National Parks in the area and hundreds if not thousands of trails for walking, hiking and offroading in a 4 wheel drive Jeep or a side by side UTV (utility vehicle). These things are as prevalent in Moab as golf carts are in the Villages! We have been on numerous Jeep tours through the Las Vegas area and UTV tours in Kauai, Hawaii and in Phoenix, so we didn’t partake in any of those tours this time. We did however go to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. All I can say is WOW!! The views at these parks are just incredible. It is truly difficult to describe the beauty, and my guess is that the pictures, although gorgeous, will not express the total beauty and definitely will not convey the the internal feelings when you stand in these locations. With that said, let me share the pictures that I took and the names of what you are seeing. ARCHES...

From New Mexico, we headed north to Colorado to see Mesa Verde National Park. This park encompasses over 52,000 acres. From most of the park, you can see gorgeous views that extend for miles from the top of the mesas. In case you were wondering, a mesa is a flat-topped mountain or hill with steep sides that is isolated and stands out above the surrounding plain. The word “mesa” is Spanish for “table” and refers to the flat top of a mesa that resembles a table.  Between the mesas, are beautiful canyons and open grass areas After you drive the park road for 20 plus miles, the uniqueness of this park starts to unfolds. This is where you begin to see the living structures dating back to approximately 1200 AD. Here, the Ancestral Pueblo people built their villages beneath the overhanging cliffs. The crown jewel of these communities is the Cliff Palace. Another beautiful cliff village is Square Tower House. A portion of the park is still owned by the Indian Nation...

Before we left New Mexico, we took a ride over to Arizona to check out the Petrified Forest NP. The park has a 26 mile scenic road that opens up to many beautiful areas. Just a mile from the south entrance and visitor center, the area known as the Painted Desert begins to unfold to park visitors. As you move further down the road, the colors become even more vibrant. We stopped to check out Newspaper Rock. When you first look at the rocks in this area, they just look like boulders that have a black surface on some of their faces. But when you zoom in on the rocks, you can see the numerous petroglyphs, or rock carvings. The next area we checked out is called Blue Mesa. This area, contains some very different colored rocks than those in the Painted Desert area. These formations contain vibrant blue, purple, and gray colors. If you look closely in the pictures below, you can see a paved trail that goes deep into the middle of these beautiful formations. In Jasper Forrest, you can see a ...