In the morning, the wind had died down, and there were no significant signs or results from the wind storm the night before. I had heard the crowds at Arches was significant, so I intended to get there very early. I didn’t leave my site until 8:00 and then had to drive around the “peninsula” to get to Arches. Along the drive the rocks continued to amaze me. I pulled off and took pictures of the “Merrimac” and “Monitor” two rocks named after the ironclad ships from the Civil War. Similar to Canyonlands, everything around the next bend was amazing. Next to the rest area, there was a kern of sorts. It was similar to what Jack made at Young Lakes a year ago, but obviously many people had added a rock or five. I placed one on the pile as well and continued to Arches National Park.
Arches wasn’t too crowded when I arrived. I stopped at the visitors’ center and got my stickers, and then headed off to scope things out. The road heads up into the hills right away, and about three turns later there were impressive displays. 
I pulled off and snapped pics and then moved along, only to stop again less than 5 minutes later for yet more impressive rocks. I pulled off at “Courthouse Towers”, “Tower of Babel”, “Balanced Rock” and “Double Arch.” There were lots of tourists there, so I only went to one. From there I drove to see “Delicate Arch” but only from the distant view point, which was still pretty cool. This arch sticks up without other rocks around. The crowd I could see at the arch was sizable. I hiked back to the car and continued to drive to the end of the road, which was at Devils Garden. Again, there were a lot of people on the trail. I went out as far as “Landscape Arch” which looked more “delicate” than delicate arch. I walked back and spontaneously decided to see one more arch in the vicinity called “Pine Tree Arch.” There were fewer people there, and I felt it was an impressive and special place. I stopped off at one more before leaving called “Tunnel Arch.” It was cool as well.
I knew I had a long drive to Boulder and it was getting late. I started driving out of Arches around 1:00 pm. I drove into Moab, at town with a reputation of adventurous folks. I had a nice lunch and filled up on ice water and a chocolate shake. I stopped, too, at a coffee place to check emails and reconnect with the rest of the world. Then I stared the 370 miles to Boulder. I wrapped up listening to the Gene Kranz story, with the end of the Apollo missions. Then I shifted to the Apollo 8 story and began that tale. The ride up I-70 past Vail, CO and over the Continental Divide was impressive. There was a rainstorm occurring as well. The rain started and stopped several times. Sometimes there would be a deluge, sometimes a sprinkle. I finally arrived at my hotel. There was some miscommunication, and it looked like they didn’t have a room available. After some sleuthing on their end, they did, and I got into my room. I pulled much of my gear, including my bike, into my room. After a stop at Safeway for dinner and supplies, I took a shower to get four days of camp dust off me, and completed my bio slide for tomorrow’s introductions. It was nice to slide into some clean sheets instead of a tent and sleeping bag.
Pushing hard today ... 