Arches

Friday morning before i went to bed i woke Vanessa up so that she could take her online test, much to her dismay it would not be available until 6 in the morning. not willing to wait that long she sat anxiously by my side encouraging me to type faster and "just format it different" to get the required length for my research paper about Cryptobiotic soil crust. we woke up again at 6 a.m. that's about 4 hours after i fell asleep. she took her test, and i loaded up the car. the trunk was filled with our camping stuff; tent air bed with collapsible metal frame, sleeping bags that magically zip together, extra blankets, food, water, flashlights, extra clothes, some fuel and a hiking stove that will fit in my pocket. we had to leave the back seat empty because Dan would be traveling down with us.
the morning was cold and the sky was crisp, it seemed as though some one had wiped the dust off the TV and we had been up graded to "HD" for free. after meeting the large group and verifying that papers were in order we got in the car and started our journey towards Arches. Dan slept for about 15 minutes until i took the wrong exit and had to preform what i like to call the "that was a planed scenic detour" maneuver. the remainder of the ride was much more efficient. "the last lecture" played through the car stereo system, i prided my self in staying awake and listening to "legal" audio for a change. a brief stop in price to drop of a couple of things gave a chance for Vanessa to use the little girls room. a portion of the road on i-70 was annoyingly loud and then suddenly we parked at the visitors center of a national park.
usually, or that should say in the past, I've just driven by these places imagining that they were filled with over zealous gift shop attendants. this time and forever more i took Vanessa by the hand and explore the edifice. walls were covered with all sorts of nerdy facts about how this area was formed, what types of animals lived here, which plants were more rare than others, and even a brief history of the human life in this part of the world. knowing that through out this trip each participant would give a brief lecture pertaining somehow to this location made me appreciate the visitors center even more.
after an hour of wandering and buying the t-shirts our instructors Sam and Rachel finally showed up. we followed them along the winding road to our assigned campground and hastily set up camp. soon the alcove was populated with tents of differing kinds and sizes, Dan brought his fathers first tent, a blue two pole pup tent. the top stood almost 2.57 feet off the ground and was long enough for him and his bag, but only barely. a group of three girls brought a tent which other called a hotel, it had three main domes i could have stood in the center of each and the middle dome of course was taller and larger than its wings.
time passed and we were taken on a hike that lead us through Broken and Sand Dune arches. a desert landscape filled with wild plants each adapted to thrive in such an environment filled the short hike. the arches while impressive did not seem as interesting as it was to learn the names of the juniper and pinion pine trees which we passed.
dinner was exciting. our first chance to use the new camp stove. it is so small, i wasn't sure if it would work but about 20 minutes after setting the pot on top we had boiling water to pour into our cups o' noodles. Hasan and Nick were still cooking long after we had cleaned up our no dishes meal. the sun set and the temperature dropped. a few people, my self included gave their previously prepared speeches and while i stumbled on a few of the larger words i manged to convey the fact the Cryptobiotic soil crusts were formed of millions of individual organisms which made "tubes of happiness" and that stepping on it would be so very much worse than chopping down a tree. not to mention that they fix nitrogen too.
the night was windy and cold, Vanessa's awesome idea to bring "way too many" blankets turned out to be just another testament to her skill at foresight. the morning came and it was still cold and windy, but i really wanted to see how well that stove would hold up in the wind. i wasn't so keen on it then, the flames never went out but i was encouraged to make my self into a human windshield, 20 minutes later we drank lukewarm over powdered "hot" chocolate. it was think and sugary, breakfast included a bagel and then we were off on the trail again. after Hasan got done cooking at least.
the trail we followed in the morning is called Devils garden. we walked past seven arches and one of them was broken. paused for a bit to listen to some poetry and i wrote something in a notebook that I'll find in a while and read again then think that i was crazy. along the path Vanessa's feet developed 5 blisters. it slowed us down a bit but i was thankful for the time to spend mostly alone with her. lunch at the campsite was nice and simple, some chesse strips, and a sandwich. then into the cars to drive to the trail head for the Fiery Furnace.the fiery furnace isn't really a trail so much as a playground. I'm not sure the exact boundaries but you can crawl through rocks, walk right past arches and not notice them till your told. go down the space between two fins, turn around and head in the direction you came and find your self some where you hadn't been. i was lost the whole time but i was too amazed to care. Sam seemed to encourage our dislocation purposefully leading us to dead ends. the area was mostly empty expecting a group of climbers complete with helmets, harnesses, and two huge bags of rope. oddly though i don't remember seeing any pro gear.. (like nuts or wedges to stick in cracks). maybe they were just looking for places to repel?
we stopped to stare at a couple arches made famous in an Indy movie, laid on the cold stand stone beneath a massive arch Sam called "surprise", i crawled through a crevice barely big enough for my head, and even felt rage towards Hasan for negligent cryptocide. from then on he was called the killer of the tubes of happiness. Vanessa enjoyed the short scrambles and reminded me of her love by telling me not to jump over huge gaps between fins. her beautiful red face and wonderfully shaped curves seemed a perfect fit for the Fiery Furnace.... to bad we were hiking with a class.
that night was warmer and brighter than the first. dinner was the same put i found the puddings and apple sauces. while the fire burned everyone, well Vanessa at very least gave her presentation about the Colorado river and the history of rafting. John Wesley Powell a one armed civil war vet explored the south part of the Colorado, he sat on a chair lashed to the storage box of his wooden boat and directed his oars men. she had a picture of the boat and the map of arches national park, with is actually bordered by a portion of the river. it was a very well done speech.
Sunday morning came and once more we woke up. this time instead of just making breakfast we broke camp. loaded or car and i wondered how it all fit so nicely on Friday? Dan told us that he would be riding back with Hasan ( i guess he had a cooler accent that we did) and so it didn't matter that more things were in the back seat. our final hike would be a brisk up hill climb to delicate arch. it's the one on all the magnets and sticker's of Utah, or at least it's got a good race going with the beehive I'll bet, and I'm sure that it's much more popular a symbol of Utah than the SLC Mormon temple. either way the poster at he trail head boasts that the trail is about 2.6 miles there and back again and that it's "all down hill" from the arch to the parking lot. the steep slick rock hike, and painful gusts of wind slowed our progress but we made it to the top. i complained about not having a kite and Vanessa is sure to have added the item to her mental check list.
things to bring while camping:
tent, food, blankets and bed, Steven, oh and he likes toys bring a kite to keep him entertained.
yeah that's what she thinks about because she loves me. back at the parking lot, our instructors gave us a brief vocal exam, and set us away. the trip had officially ended, if we got hurt now the cheap insurance we bought from the university wouldn't cover us now.
the return journey didn't fair so well for my car. the wind animated tumble weeds and each of them was intent on running into me. i hit three of them, and in the excitement the weather sealing around the windshield flew lose on one side. it's taped down now, but the sticker in the window says an oil change is due as well. but that will be a story for some other day.