Moab, Utah Day 8

Yesterday was a windy, cloudy day so we spent the day browsing in town and generally taking it easy.

Today on the other hand, was beautiful with the perfect clouds and light that photographers dream about.  We went out Potash Road to see petroglyphs and indeed found some really nice ones.  We also shot Jughandle Arch which resembles an upside down jug.

We then went into the park and hiked up to the iconic Delicate Arch.  This is the arch that is featured on the Utah state vehicle license plates. It is an uphill hike of about 2.5 kilometers to get there but well worth the effort. 
We even managed a rain shower in the distance!

After walking down that trail we stopped at the petroglyphs at the Wolfe Ranch, an old homestead and shot those as well as the old log cabin and root cellar.  Both are remarkably well preserved- probably the dry climate helps there.

On our way out of the park there was another rain shower over the Lasal Mountains and Panorama Viewpoint gave us the perfect vantage point to watch it.

Just past this viewpoint is another classic Arches National Park icon known as Balanced Rock.  It's not really the most spectacular balancing rock we've seen but is probably the most photographed.

It was difficult to get out of the park because of the play of light and weather but we had to get back a bit early today as Laura is cooking a belated Christmas dinner turkey for Gaye and Lee.  Our RV never smelled so good and I'm sure we're the envy of the park right now as the smell wafts across.

After dinner we decided to 'Head for the Hills' and drove the Lasal Mountain loop road.  We went from the desert floor all the way up into the snow belt.  Some amazing views from up there and will definitely re-do this on our next visit although Laura may decide to stay at the RV...

The road comes out in the Castle Rock valley and we stopped for this silhouette shot as we went past.