Finally - Arches National Park! I've wanted to visit here for ages, and now I can combine one of my favorite activities - biking, of course - with wandering through red rock formations. I had a good breakfast, then opted to drive to the park. Lazy, lazy... but as I drove past Arches on my way in to Moab yesterday I saw that there was a big hill leading from the visitor center at the entrance of the park to the main part of the park. The elevation here is higher than I'm used to - no surprise since I live at sea level - and I decided that I didn't want to start out today with a big climb. At the end of the day I realized that this was a really good decision...
Looking back at the road from a viewpoint in the park... back down that big hill
I stopped at the visitor center as I entered the park to take a look at the exhibits. Then I drove up into the park and stopped at the first parking area to switch to my preferred mode of transportation - my bike. I happily headed down the main park road on my nice blue bike. It was a day of many stops. I stopped at every viewpoint and formation, and took all of the short walks back to see the wonderful sculpted rocks. I was carrying a lock with me, so I had no problem with leaving my bike. OK, OK, my bike had a problem with me leaving it behind, but there's no biking allowed off-road in this park, so it had to be happy with waiting for me!
While I was thinking ahead far enough to bring a lock, I didn't think about carrying a change of shoes with me. It's not really the smartest move to wander in sand and on rocks wearing cleated and very stiff cycling shoes. I use Speedplay frog pedals, which do use a recessed cleat, but I still hear a little bit of clicking as I walk, and my preferred shoes are very very stiff - excellent for riding, but not so good for walking. This wasn't a huge problem since I was only walking short distances, but I think if I ride down this road again I'll carry my Chaco sandals and switch shoes before I start walking.
I talked to a lot of people along the road today. Many of the sculpted features of Arches are easily seen from the park road, and in many cases only a short walk is required for a closer view. I guess you could say that this is a very accessible park.
The flowers were absolutely amazing. I guess I caught the spring flowers just right, and one of the rangers told me that this is one of the best springs in years in terms of the flowers. It seems that Arches had just the right kind and amount of moisture over the winter to cause an explosion of spring blooms. Wonderful!
It was a slow riding day, both because I kept stopping to look around, and because I was moving pretty slowly. I occasionally wondered why, but I chalked it up to leftover tiredness from my travel day yesterday. Turns out it wasn't that at all; I didn't realize until I reached my turnaround point at the end of the road that the road was tilted at a slight uphill grade. That in combination with the higher than normal altitude (for me, that is - the bike didn't care) is what caused my "why am I riding so slowly?" thoughts. In spite of those thoughts I really enjoyed all parts of my day, and the ride back out (yes, it was an out-and-back ride today) was easier.
It was a very hot day, so I was happy to find water at the picnic area at the end of the road. While I had enough drinking water with me, I didn't want to risk using it up by splashing myself with water. With the picnic area and campground all of the way in the park, I had access to cool water to splash on my face and to replenish my Camelbak. I took a short rest here - a good spot for a snack, and a chance to talk to others who were enjoying the park as much as I was.
As I was heading back along the road at the end of the day, I started to bypass a parking area and scenic spot. I'd stopped there earlier in the day, and I wasn't going to stop a second time until I hear some people commenting on my little-wheeled bike. So of course I stopped to talk to them! It turns out that they were a group of mountain bikers who were about to set off (in a couple of days time) to do the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. They were touring Arches by car and foot (no off-road riding allowed here), and they were as fascinated by the park as I was.
Park Avenue... well the other side might remind one of Park Avenue, but these formations feel Egyptian to me
It's amazing to me to see these monolithic pieces of rock emerging from the landscape.
Another view of Balanced Rock - it's amazing how different it appears from the other side
