Natural Bridges, UT
Ahhh a sweet morning! We departed Durango with breakfast quesadillas, espresso de McRae, and a 4ish hr drive to our next destination...natural bridges national park in Utah. Happy to see some flat easy driving after yesterdays elevation. Plus with zero clouds in the sky it's sure to be a very hot day. We drive 3 hours through flat landscapes and small towns, tons of old beater cars and trucks sitting out in pastures and in yards of the few houses...we actually started looking for a vw bus sighting.
About an hour from our destination, things got interesting. First we passed a few flashing signs noting deer in the next few miles. A sign like that not too out of the ordinary on a road trip, except it was a bit bigger and flashier. And then we passed a deer laying on the edge of the road that had obviously been hit not too long ago. Sad. And then another. And then 2 more. And then another. Sad, a bit eerie, and it had bry and I watching the brush on both sides for any movement. All ok, we turn off that road, onto another and the landscape began to change to shades of orange, rust and pink. ahh Utah, quite gorgeous at times. We learn later that a valley can be almost more difficult (with our climbing ability) than a mountain pass...but again slow and steady wins the race.
We arrive at our campground destination in the heat of the day ready to rest E and ourselves in the shade. A beautiful campground, we expected crowds and read that it would be full by noon but instead very quiet, very peaceful, very hot. We set up the awning, enjoyed a little coconut couscous and beans for lunch and stayed cool with the help of frequent sprays from the solar shower. Nice relaxing couple of hours.
When we felt a little cooling in the air, we push started the bus to drive the natural bridges tourist loop, take in the scenery, and photo it up. The 9 mile loop showed us some pretty cool geological wonders. Did you know the difference between natural bridges and arches is whether the formation was created by water or by wind or by snow/ ice? Interesting. A storm rolled in giving us a bit of an exciting lightning/ thunder show while out on the drive...and the rain was pouring as we pulled back into our campsite. Happy hour time!!
