September 17, 2007

September 17, 2007

I watched the history channel on TV last night. They were showing a program called, “How the earth was made”. When they started talking about trilobites and how animal life started to flourish 500 million years ago, Aimee and I were delighted to see paleontologist Paul McNeil being interviewed about the Burgess Shale. He was the one who took us on the guided hike to see the Trilobite beds in Canada’s Yoho National Park last month.

We got an early start today. We know the national park routine now. With no reservation, we need to get to the campground early. Aimee quickly made us some coffee and we drove to Arches National Park visitor center, where we were allotted a campsite. From the park gate we drove the eighteen miles to the campground, stopping only a couple times to take pictures of the early morning sun on the gorgeous scenery. We got a great campsite but it turned out we didn’t need to be so early. But better safe than sorry. We much prefer staying in the park close to the action. The alternative is commuting into the park everyday from a private campground that is basically a glorified parking lot with electrical outlets. With a campsite in hand, we relax and have breakfast.

The trailhead to the Devils Garden area of the park is opposite the campground entrance. We decide to start our day there. There are seven arches along this 4.5-mile trail. We have seen lots of arches already but these were way more accessible. You don’t have to hike nine miles uphill to see one. I took pictures of the first couple arches we passed. I told Aimee I wasn’t going to photograph every arch. But I did anyway. Each one ended up being unique in some way. One was a window to the valley below, another was a double, another was close up, but the best was one called Landscape arch. It was a thin delicate strand bridging a span over 300 yards.

Arches has the same red colored rocks we have seen all over Utah. But each park has had a different twist. The red rocks here are like great slabs (called fins) stacked on end like rows of half-buried giant stone saw blades or LPs . The trail we did today went along the top edge of one of these slabs giving us great views of the area.

We are back at the campsite early so we have time to relax and enjoy the ambience. We love staying in national park campgrounds (when we can get in). The sites are almost always large, private, and abounding in nature. We relax with a good book surrounded by “red fins”. We are disturbed occasionally by a flock of Scrub Jays who swoop in and strip the local pinon pine trees of their nuts. Never having seen or tasted a pinon nut, I scare away the birds and go for a few myself. Inside each small pinecone are several nuts the size and shape of a shelled peanut. Aimee and I both bit into one, and subsequently spit them out. It is just a shell. Cracking another open we find nothing but a thin piece of paper-like nothing inside. I will leave these nuts to the birds.

As darkness approaches, Aimee and I climb atop “our” fin and watch the sunset. A nice way to end a nice day.