In which we feel so young

The drive west from Denver is very pretty.  This was the first part of the trip where we began to seriously consider places to live.  There were several little towns through western Colorado that were quite tempting and fit the bill--small, picturesque, access to urban amenities.  The highway scenery was beautiful:

The landscape changes quickly out west, too.  Once you are over the mountains, it suddenly changes from the greens to tans, reds, and oranges.

We rolled up on Arches National Park after a day of driving from Denver.  It takes 5.5 hours to make the drive from Denver to Moab and Scott and I wondered why we hadn't taken it while we lived in Colorado.  A moment of wondering turned into the realization that we just hadn't had much time or money to get away when we lived in Crested Butte.  At least we did get to see it eventually.

Some things about Arches:
1. We may have been the only Americans there.
2. You need water because it is hot and dry.
3. Sunsets are amazing.
4. There is an odd green color in the dirt that didn't show up in our pictures.
5. Nature will really just blow your mind here.  It's an alien landscape.

"Arches National Park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, like the world-famous Delicate Arch, as well as many other unusual rock formations. In some areas, the forces of nature have exposed millions of years of geologic history. The extraordinary features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures that is unlike any other in the world."


Here are pics of the park:

Holes in rocks are pretty neat.