No, didn’t make that up. That’s the Utah state slogan these days, and it can certainly be interpreted many ways. We chose to relate it to the Natural Bridges National Park, which we toured today. Since we all know about the water and wind erosion of sandstone, and we all believe that the earth has been here for quite a while, it will come as no surprise to you that the effects of time and nature can produce some wonderful effects.
If you didn’t learn that lesson from Monument Valley, here is one more attempt to impress you with the consequences of nature at work. (Find the three bridges among all the other rocks. This post is interactive.)
Getting there, we had another one of those hair-raising rides, this time up Cedar Mesa, from Mexican Hat to the Bridges. No snow, so not as awful as the Million Dollar Highway, but there was whimpering…
Then we visited Newspaper Rock, which was an early precursor of today’s tablets – with all the news of the day. No one can interpret it, however, but all seem to feel it was very important, and those are certainly lovely petroglyphs.
Then for a total change of pace, we stopped at one of those crazy road side attractions, this one called the Hole ‘n the Rock. A crazy guy built his 5000 square foot house inside the rock in the 50’s and tastefully accessorized it with a general store, petting zoo, and assorted debris of America for the last 100 years. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed in the house, or you have had a real treat. But we had to stop, because the guy who built it all was named Christensen, and he had a sense of humor – I would not call it wit – that would have appealed to my dear departed father-in-law. Those Scandinavians really cut loose when they got over here.
Now we are in Moab, which is packed. How fortunate we are to have picked the dates of the annual Jeep Safari! There are so many Jeeps in the parking lots that it’s scary. What do you call people who drive them? Jeepers? Well, it seems the town will be crawling with them tomorrow.