July 1988
Arches National Park was my first real "Western National Park" and holds a special place in my heart. I had been in Denver to work on a conference and took a week off afterward for vacation. I drove over the Rockies and was based in Grand Junction, Colorado for a few days of exploration. Arches was one of the highlights of the trip.
Interstate 70 took me quickly out of Colorado into Utah. At Cisco, I caught Route 128 and that dropped me down to the Colorado River Valley. The road entered the river valley at a broad point that was wide, green, and lush compared to the stark reddish cliffs in the area. I slowly followed Route 128 toward Moab. The journey through that unfamous stretch of the Colorado River was beautiful. I was constantly amazed at the changing scenery and the eroded wonderland of the Colorado Plateau. If this was just "normal scenery" in the area, what was something like a national park going to look like?
I reached Arches and there were stark warning signs at the entrance:
Do you have enough water? There is limited water available in the park.
"Oh bother all that, I thought - the car had AC". It was mid-July - famous last words. In a national park that had places called "Fiery Furnace" one should really heed warning signs. I slowly made my way through the park stopping and photographing things at literally every turn. The car AC did very little good in July if I was always jumping out of the car. I quickly got thirsty and immediately regretted not having brought more water. Luckily, the Devils Garden Campground had water and I made it there (feeling lightheaded and a little scared) and topped up my water supply. That lesson actually stuck with me the rest of my life - never underestimate how much water might be needed in a desert environment.
After I was certain I wasn't going to pass out from dehydration, I was back on the road exploring. The area was gorgeous with hiking trails galore. It was definitely a place I would have loved to return to in more temperate weather. Some of the more famous arches were, in fact, quite difficult to get to, but that didn't matter because I came across so many other beautiful spots that I had never heard of. One of the most amazing things was how tiny Arches National Park appeared on the map yet how vast it was in person. How big were some of the other parks that actually looked large on the map, too??
July in Arches was just too hot to enjoy and appreciate, even if I loved the scenery. I exited the park and took Route 191 north (much faster) and hit I-70 again for the quick drive back to Grand Junction. It had been an exhilarating (if not scary) day.
Arches gave me a taste of the national parks in the Desert Southwest - I really "got it" now when people spoke about that region as amazing. Ironically, I had mostly heard about the parks from foreigners on my travels outside of the USA. In my later travels, many other places I visited were similar to the eroded Colorado Plateau, but none ever compared to that vast landscape carved by water and wind in a "small" national park in Utah.