Arches National Park in Utah

On July 8, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Utah18 Comments

Located just outside of Moab in Utah is the stunningly beautiful Arches National Park. The geology of the park is quite amazing with many different multicolored bluffs, free standing rock formations, and of course natural arches. The name of Arches National Park is certainly well deserved as there are over 2,000 stone arches located within the park, but the other formations are equally impressive. Although it is possible to simply drive through the park and stop at the many pull-offs and parking areas to see some of the amazing sights, but if you get a chance to hike some of the many trails, it will give you an even better sense of the park.

The temperatures in the park can be quite extreme due to the very dry desert air. During our trip, the temperatures started out very moderate in the early mornings, but quickly soared to 100 degrees Fahrenheit as mid-day approached. Because of that, it is important to make sure that you have plenty of water with you when you decide to go hiking and it is also wise to have something with electrolytes to help replenish what your body loses during the day. There are several trails within the park, some of them easy, but many of them are considered moderate to hard, so be sure to wear appropriate clothing and shoes if you plan on hiking. We found even the moderate trails to be strenuous at times with plenty of exposure to the sun and terrain that varied from the faces of boulders to deep sand.

Needless to say, the geology of Arches National Park steals the show. It varies throughout the park and each different location within the park offers unique and fascinating views. Seeing how nature has carved out the stone from the forces of wind and water into something so beautiful is an amazing experience. It is also important to understand that those forces continue today, although the changes occur slowly, over time the park will be different in the future than it is right now.

Broken Arch, Which Isn’t Actually Broken

Many of the more spectacular arches have been given names such as Delicate Arch (the one depicted on the Utah license plate), Broken Arch, Landscape Arch, Skyline Arch, Double Arch, and many more. Each of them are unique and spectacular in their own ways, so just because you’ve seen one arch doesn’t mean that you’ve seen them all. Many people prefer to visit the park at sunrise, but even more at sunset as the scenery can be even more amazing. We chose to get into the park early in the day and try to be done with our hiking by early afternoon when the temperatures started to get unbearable.

It is possible to see the park in a single day, but we took two days as we really wanted to make sure that we saw everything that Arches National Park had to offer. Utah has several wonderful parks that feature amazing scenery, such as Zion, Bryce, and Canyonlands, but Arches National Park is certainly one of the most impressive. The type of beauty that is found in the park is something so special that photographs can never truly capture it completely, so we would highly recommend that you visit Arches National Park.

Driving Through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado

On July 5, 2019July 4, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado2 Comments

We love to go hiking in the mountains of Colorado, but sometimes we just need to drive through them on our way to someplace else. There isn’t a single time that we do that we don’t marvel at the beauty of our state. We have a sort of love-hate relationship with driving through the mountains, though, especially if we have to take I-70 west from Denver as we did in order to get to Moab, Utah. It doesn’t take long before a scenic mountain drive turns into a gridlock of vehicles all trying to head west at the same time. Fortunately, we usually account for the extra hour or so of traffic, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t stressful at times.

Once we get through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which takes you under Loveland Pass, things start to improve. After Frisco and Dillon Lake, things get remarkably better and the rest of our drive west was pretty much easy going. As you drive west through all of our favorite resort towns filled with tourists for the holiday weekend, beautiful golf courses, and people on bicycles everywhere, you get a true appreciation of why people travel to Colorado from around the world. Sometimes we take the magnificence of the state for granted and it is drives like these that remind us not to.

It isn’t just a scenic drive, but it is also a feet of engineering that creates a road that makes its way through the rugged wilderness. Between Denver and the border of Utah, you will pass through about five different tunnels, many bridges, and winding roads that take you through steep canyons. The mountains themselves also change as you make your way through the heart of the Rockies, from steep mountain peaks, green valleys, to intense cliffs with the river flowing below. It is certainly an impressive drive if you ever get the opportunity to take it. All of these photographs were taken from within our car as we drove west through the Rocky Mountains.

Enjoying the Food of the Southwest

On July 3, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Food15 Comments

Living in Colorado, we are surrounded by states that embrace southwestern flavors. Whether visiting New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, or our own state, southwestern flavors can be found everywhere. Tacos, burritos, Huevos rancheros, enchiladas, guacamole, and all kinds of peppers can be found on menus in almost every city. We have tried to recreate several of the dishes that we’ve had during our travels throughout the area as well as we have some of our own that we’ve grown up eating.

Con Carne Burrito in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Huevos Rancheros in Sante Fe, New Mexico

Southwestern food is full of spices and packed with flavor, but usually it is just a mild heat. Some places offer the choice of sauce to put over your food, usually ranging from mild to hot, with the green sauce usually being the hottest. One nice thing about southwestern food is that the same flavors work with different types of proteins like pork, beef, and shrimp, but it can also be made to be vegetarian as well. Since we like to share anyway, the portions are usually large enough for us to still have leftovers to take home with us.

Pork Burritos with Spicy Green Chili Sauce

As we get ready to leave for Moab, Utah tomorrow, we expect that we will likely find many southwestern options available to us when we arrive. Hopefully we’ll find some of the creative dishes that we found in Scottsdale, Arizona and Sante Fe, New Mexico. We don’t have a favorite type of food, but we certainly enjoy good southwestern dishes when we are in the mood for something a little spicy.