Day 1 - May 29, 2008 Last updated: 6/9/08 9:00pm PT
5 nights, 4 states, 1 country, 1333 miles, 1 million dollars.
OK, forget about the million dollars. The ultimate goal of this trip was Mesa Verde in Colorado. Since it isn’t near anything resembling a major airport, we had to choose where to land and start the trip. Salt Lake City seemed like a good choice because there are quite a few national parks/monuments/recreation-whatevers along the way. Our vacations are not for resting. We visited Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, and drove thru Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I thought about extending the vacation to hit a few others, but really, how many rocks and canyons can a person take in one trip?
The trip started an hour late, thanks to “mechanical problems” on the plane. Once we were pulling away from the gate, the pilot came on the intercom and said the delay was because they had to get a new plane. He said this plane should be fine, there’s one gauge not working, but it has a backup. There’s a time for sharing information and there’s a time for keeping quiet. This was the quiet time. We flew Southwest. They’ve changed their boarding procedure mess. Before, you were in group A, B or C. Then when your group was called, the pushing and shoving began. Now they number you, A 45, A 46, … and you line up in order. Much better. Make sure to print out your boarding pass online the night before. The earlier you check in online, the better number you get, which means the better seat you get. We booked this trip before oil hit $100 a barrel. I’m not looking forward to the price of the next plane ride.
We landed in SLC around 1pm (I’m going to abbreviate Salt Lake City, because it’s just too long and you’re smart enough to know what SLC means), so first things first, lunch. Siegfried’s Deli in downtown SLC for some awesome wiener schnitzel. Their German potato salad wasn’t anything special, but the schnitzel was great, and cheap too. $6.99 for schnitzel and two side dishes. There’s a parking garage to the west of the deli, and parking is free since the deli validates.
About 4 hours later, we’re in Moab, UT. Dinner was at Miguel’s Baja Grill, home to the Mother Of All Burritos. Ha! They’ve never been to Gordito’s in Seattle. This “MOAB” burrito was half the size or less, had yellow rice and refried beans, and was way over priced. And the salsa tasted like pizza sauce. Of course, you are in the middle of nowhere, so pay up, shut up and eat.
For the first stop with pictures, we went for a drive into Canyonlands. There are 3 parts to Canyonlands; Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze. The Maze is only accessible by 4 wheel drive or foot (we had neither, ok maybe we have feet, but we chose not to use them here). First up, Island in the Sky.
Risking life and limb for the perfect photo!
Getting older, but still a good looking couple.
That is a human out there on that ledge.
