Moab Day 2

Today was a low-volume photo day. I mainly spent it exploring the town while waiting for my luggage to arrive. It was also a sleep-in day. I should have been getting my body used to the early morning wake-up times I will have the rest of the week. But with nothing pressing on my agenda, and no transportation except by foot, I decided to roll over and see if I could go back to sleep. I could!

Breakfast was lunch, at a nice Chinese smorg. Then I hit a drugstore to scope out what I would need if my luggage didn’t come. It was a huge store and carried everything but the kitchen sink. Check out this Redneck toilet plunger. Who thinks of these things?  

I also found the biggest grocery store in town that I was in search of last night. I love looking at all the products we don’t have in Canada, and I purchased some yummy, healthy snacks. But while walking down the last aisle, I was quite amazed to find this item in the beer cooler.  Apparently the brewing company wanted to draw attention to its beer here in Utah, which is Mormon country. It must be working because there was only this one 6-pack of Polygamy Porter left on the shelves.

While in the grocery store, I received a phone call from the airline to tell me my luggage had arrived and would be delivered to my hotel. I was so relieved!! I spent a pleasant afternoon browsing and looking at the interesting pottery, Navajo art and wind sculptures on main street. I couldn’t help but notice this vehicle parked outside one of the stores. I wondered how it could get so muddy in such a dry climate. Moab gets about 10 inches of rain per year.

At 5 PM, I returned to the hotel and met with the photography tour group I am joining. After an orientation session we walked to a nearby restaurant for supper. Bedtime must be early tonight as we leave at 5:55 AM tomorrow. Yiiiiikes!

Moab Day 1

‘On the road again’, this time to Moab.

Huh? Where’s that? you may well ask.

It’s in Utah and is the home of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, the object of my photography tour. There have been a few glitches, 3 to be exact, but I made it. The day started with no airport parking available – anywhere. Thank goodness relatives were able to come and get my vehicle for me.

Then the airline selected me, lucky me, for special security screening! Here’s a tip if you don’t want to go through the xray body scan machine: wear a tshirt with sparkly, fake ‘jewels’ on it. Then they pull you over for a pat-down. How exciting is that!

The flight to Denver was great – a small plane with both window and aisle seats to myself. As we descended through the clouds, the sky looked ominous but beautiful. Downtown Denver is a long way from the airport and I got this fantastic shot as we were coming in for a landing.  

I was concerned about changing terminals to catch my connecting flight as I only had 50 minutes between flights. It was quite easy as the Denver airport is well laid out and I arrived with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, (drum roll here), my luggage didn’t. Note to self: always pack an emergency overnight kit. Fortunately, I had my prescriptions with me as well as my ‘toys’, chargers and a credit card. Really, what else do you need? Well….toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, slippers and PJs would be nice.

The next flight was on a small plane, quite a small one. It was a Beech 1900D if you really want to know. I sat one seat from the very back of the plane – row 8! I bought some water in Denver but dared not drink on the second flight as there were no bathrooms in sight. That amazed me!

As we headed west we were flying into the sun. The clouds were quite beautiful with the setting sunlight on them.

Then the clouds began to clear and the white-topped Rocky Mountains began to appear. I couldn’t help but hum John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” to myself.

As the sun hit the very peaks of the mountains, dark shadows filled the valleys and it was utterly gorgeous!

After landing, I had to fill out a lost luggage claim form. The cab ride into town was a long one and shared with 3 others so it only cost $15 instead of the $45 that I was quoted. My hotel room for the next week is not fancy, but nice. It is quite roomy and has a microwave, fridge, living room, etc. etc. Seeing as how I had no unpacking to do, I went for a walk to see what I could see.

I happened to be just in time for the Moab Plein Air Art Show and saw over 100 paintings from artists done this past week, on location. It was dark when I arrived so it was interesting to see the scenery around here as interpreted by the artists. The town is about 5,000 people and is quite touristy…lots of souvenir, art, and tshirt stores. Many come to the area to bike, hike and go off-roading. I was looking for a grocery store to buy something to drink that wasn’t caffeinated or too sugary. All I found was a 7-11. I made a purchase of some iced tea for tomorrow plus a single mint tea bag. The sympathetic clerk gave it to me for free after she heard my shortened travel tale (plus she didn’t know what to charge for just one tea bag, haha!)

I am now on my 4^th cup of tea from that same bag. Note to self: put some tea bags in your carry-on luggage!