Hi,

After a good 3 - 4 hours absorbing the beauty of the Grand Canyon, we hopped back into our car and made our way to Moab where we were eager to see what the city had to offer. On the way, we were rearded with many other wonderful scenaries such as the Mexican Hat. We had to stop by the roadside and snap the many majestic structures that we passed. And thus, reaching the hotel around midnight :P






I'm back with a new travel journal entry. It was my first roadtrip with my favourite travel mate. The best so far!
Before I start, a few words of my travel mate, Jean Tan. Both of us are basically easy going folks (basically folks who just book a flight and accomodation and decide what to do when we reach the destination) and not natural planners but given that we are going on a roadtrip, she moved out of her comfort zone and spent many nights charting out the path, booking the Chevy, hotels and briefing me on the do's and donts on the road as I have never driven on the right side. She was an excellent travel partner and I must put on record this roadtrip would not have been possible without her. I am definitely looking forward to many more trips with her :)
Here's the map showing the journey planned and completed as planned! We covered approximately 1500 miles in a week (planned - but our mileage showed about 2000 miles as we made a few detours for various reasons including changing to a different rental car as our tyres were more worn out than us :))
Our first stop was the Grand Canyon! Travelling to the Grand Canyon was my dream ever since I first saw the movie on Grand Canyon in Omnimax Theatre 2 decades ago. I can hardly describe the feeling when I had my first view of the Grand Canyon. The vastness and the structures of the Canyon was mind blowing.
My Jean Tan insisted that I should move my butt and make our way to the watchtower. I reluntantly dragged myself back to the car and made our way to the tower. The tower was under construction but fortunately it was still accessible. The colorado river was visible from the Watch Tower and it was such a beauty.
After a good night's rest at Motel 6, we set off to the Arches National Park. There were many "Arches" that we wanted to see but as hours of trekking was involved for each of the arches, we had to choose what we wanted to see. We decided on the Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and the Double O Arch. The easiest trail was the balanced rock. It was a short 15 mins walk from the parking area. The balance rock was an amazing sight where a huge rock stood balanced on a narrower structure. We wondered what would happen to these structures in years to come due to the harsh weather.
We had to trek up for about 2 hours to see the delicate arch. Frequently, we had to face our fear for heights as we walked along narrow paths on top of cliffs. Tip: Wear a good pair of trekking shoes with a good grip !! Along the way we were encouraged by fellow trekkers and the excellent scenaries. We reached the top of the cliff and we were welcomed by the magnificant delicate arch. The challenge was not over. We had to walk around a downsloping funnel ike structure to reach the foot of the arch. With our legs wobbling in fear, we forced a smile when a trekker helped to snap a shot for us! The arch was a architectural miracle. We sat there watching the arch and daring young trekkers walking down the funnel.
The sun was setting. We had time for just one more arch - The landscape arch. That was a short hike but we were not short changed with what we saw. The landscape arch was one arch no trekker should miss. Positioned hgh above the grounds, you will be able to see the landscape arch welcoming its guests with a wide smile.
We just could not stop tho the sun was setting..we continued the path to see the Double O Arch. The signboard read "Primitive path". We didn think much of it (i.e. under estimated the challenge). What was waiting for us was a complicated structure of boulders steeply sloped. Getting up there was relatively easier. Once we got up there, looking down was like looking at the gates of death. The view of the Double O arch pacifed us just for a while til we came back to reality. We had to get back down. Holding on to the boulders i.e. our life, we carefully and slowly inched our way down. One wrong step and we can kiss goodbye to life..It was a trembling experience tho.
To Be Continued .....