Last week in UT

March the Arch

We have been in this lovely state for sometime now, 5 weeks at 3 different places with a very busy schedule of hiking and visiting. This state is blessed with unparalleled natural beauty and we enjoyed each and every bit we could absorb. We know we just so the tip of the iceberg, and we also know we will be back, someday sometime. As the summer gets closer we need to move on North. So let me share with you our last week here in this lovely part of the country

Monday, June 7th, 2010 – My oldest daughter is 19 today! Happy Birthday Reut! It is today that we are finally visiting the so much talked about park – the Arches. As usual – we start with the Into – Getting the stamps and the info, driving the main roads and stopping and the main attraction just to see what this park is all about. We know we will be back here later for some hiking, so we are doing the ‘Tourists basic tour’.
The park is relatively small compare to the other parks in Utah, and the longest trail is less than 8 miles – the Devil’s Garden trail. So today we are doing everything but the gardens including some short hikes on the way.From Park Avenue to the Delicate Arch overlook and the Fiery Furnace we saw it all.

Thursday, June 10th, 2010 – After two days and the campground it was time to go out again. Equipped with everything we need for this hike we went to the Devil’s Garden at the Arches. We wanted to have an early start, so we woke up at 6:00 and by 7:30 we were on the trail. What an achievement for us! The hike was pretty smooth and easy up until around 1:00pm, where the sun was strong and the temperature rose to the 3 digit area. The primitive trail was a little tough at times, and the rocks were slippery, but we say 8 different arches today and that was an amazing trip. If you happen to be there – you have to go at least to the Landscape Arch, but the Double O is nice! Photos from this trail are in the Arches Slide show above.
I figured out how to get the Trail out of the GPS to the computer, so here is what we did:

And this is how it shows on the park map:

Last sight in UT

Dead Horse Point State Park

Sunday, June 13th, 2010 – Tomorrow we are moving! The last couple days were rainy and we could not go anywhere, even today was forecasted to have scattered thunderstorms, but we wanted to have at least one more trip. Since hiking in the rain was not something we were into, we decided to see what is the Dead Horse Point State Park – the same road that goes to Canyonlands – Island in the Sky splits and the East side is this park. This park overlooks the Colorado river from the East and the views are spectacular.  Wish we had a little more sun, but we still got some pretty pictures out there. This panoramic view are an excellent opportunity to make stitched photos, so some of the pictures are 6 to 10 photos.

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Romancing the Yellowstone

On the was to ID

Monday, June 14th, 2010 – That’s it. After 5 weeks, 5 National Parks, 3 State Parks 2 Monuments and 1 Recreation Area we are moving out of Utah. We loved it here, and I am sure we will be back. It will take some time for the views we absorbed to sink in, and we will play in our head all the places, the hikes, the photos and experiences we had in this state. But for now – time to move on…
Looking for a place to stay between here and yellowstone, we found a nice park in Evanston WY, and that’s where we are headed. This is just an overnight stay, so we are not going to even unhook the truck, just park, sleep and go.

About Home State

Patti and I are debating for some time if we should change our home state and what should it be. There are many aspects to that, and based on your personal stage in life, your financial and tax situation and maybe some other factors you should choose your state.
Income Tax was a big factor for us, as we are still on the work force and earn income, so that will save us some money. Insurance and Registration cost are a factor too, as well as ease of getting and renewing license and registration, and last – the availability of reliable mail service.
So we finally decided this week that we are ‘doing it’. We gathered all the information we collected in the last few months, read some blogs and reviews and chose South Dakota as our Home State. So now we are South Dakotans…. We have a new home address, but we have never been there.. That’s funny :) Yet another stage in a Full-Time RV life!
So, next time – we will be in a whole different state, with whole new stories
and until next time…