Utah Ho! Day 8

Vacation Log: Day 8

Cedar City – 6:48 AM

Got to sleep in! Woo-hoo!

Anyway, gearing up for Kolob Arch. If I were overdramatic, I’d say something like, “Time to rock ‘n’ roll!”

Ah, what the heck. Time to rock ‘n’ roll!

La Verkin Creek – 10:04 AM

Made it down to La Verkin Creek. (I think.) It’s been a meandering hike through the forest, much different from all of the other hikes in the desert. Now I’m sitting on a rock on the edge of the river, enjoying a drink of water. Still a ways to go until the arch.

The hike up will be great, since we’ve been steadily descending the whole time so far. D’oh!

Break time!

Kolob Arch – 11:31 AM

Yup, it’s a giant arch all right. There’s only one place to take a picture of it from, so I now have the same pic that everybody else who’s ever come here has also taken.

Everybody has this pic

I switched it up by adding the tree in w/ the pic. Maybe only 3/4 of the people who've been here have taken this picture...

There are roughly eight-million flies circling me right now. Either I smell like a landfill and they’re following me, or this is where they come to hang out every day. Maybe it’s both.

I suppose it’s time to go. About 7 miles back, mostly uphill.

Time to rock ‘n’ – never mind.

On the way back.

Interstate 15 – 2:52 PM

On the way to Salt Lake City, with the last hike in the books. (It beat the stuffing out of me.) I threw out my boots, as they had no grips left. I was getting sick of continually slipping and sliding down any incline. This wasn’t due entirely to this trip, but it sure finished them off.

Four hours until Salt Lake City. Flight back to MN early tomorrow morning.

Time to listen to Willie’s Roadhouse on XM while I still have the chance.

Interstate 15 – 4:15 PM

Walking is a challenge due to my faltering limbs. (Too much hiking) Stopped at a gas station a while back and I creaked inside. It must have been comical seeing me shuffling along, at about one-tenth of a mile and hour.

The terrain between Zion and Salt Lake City is incredibly boring. Washed out yellow for as far as the eye can see.

Salt Lake City – 8:47 PM

And so ends another vacation. It’ll be nice to get back into a routine of some sort again, even though it means the world will start turning again for me. It seems like this is ending at just the right time. There are, however, a few things I’ll miss:

1. Only shaving every three or four days
2. Laughing at everybody else as they’re going to work
3. Eating out virtually every meal of the day

My weary legs, though, aren’t going to miss a thing.

Additional Thought: Khaki has also proven himself, matching the performance of Greenie to the point where there is no clear victor. This means that both will be promoted to the rank of Chief Pair Of Hiking Pants.