US

Park Ave

May 11, 2023

We were picked up at the hotel at 7:15 AM for our morning tour of the Arches National Park.  The night before, there were 24 people on a large bus.  This morning, there were two other people.  Although we were told these were pretty much the same tour, they ended up being very different.  The van could park in areas that the bus couldn’t, we didn’t spend as much time getting on and off the bus.  We ended up doing a lot more hiking!

Obviously the area doesn’t get much rain but I curious as to how hot it got, the guide said that it could easily reach 90 and 100 degrees start in June through August.   I was glad that we were seeing it in May.

There are over 2,000 arches in the Arches National Park. As I expected, seeing the park in different lighting conditions made it all look different and although I had seen some of the same arches the evening before, I was just as fascinated with seeing it all again.  This is one spot that I could have spent a few more days at.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel and decided to have lunch at the BBQ place next door to the hotel and then it was time to start the best part of the trip – to board the Rocky Mountaineer!

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The double arches

May 9-May 10, 20223

We arrived in Moab mid afternoon and checked into the Hoodoo Moab Hotel by Hilton.   I had booked a sunset tour the following night and a morning tour the following morning. After checking in, we walked around the town to see where things were. We stopped into the Moab Adventure center who told me that the tour of the Arches park that I had booked were pretty much the same, I told them that I was OK with that, I wanted to see the park at different times of the day.

At dinner, we ran into Ellen and Carroll who was sitting in front of on the van from Las Vegas.  I remember Ellen saying something and I thought, her accent sounds like she is from Texas.   It turned out that they were from San Antonio, TX where I have spent a lot of time.  Everyone on the tour seems very nice and you begin to feel like you know them when you spend several days in the same van. .

The following morning we had breakfast at the Jailhouse Café for breakfast and then walked around the town. The previous days were up early with the luggage out by the door.  It was nice to have some free time.  We didn’t buy any t-shirts or refrigerator magnets, but it was fun looking.

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Bryce Canyon

May 9th, 2023

The day before, we arrived in Bryce Canyon late afternoon.  Dinner was at Ebenezer’s Barn and Grill which provided a BBQ dinner along with a live country music show.  I don’t dislike country music but I am not a big fan of it either.   The BBQ was great and entertainment provided by the Bryce Canyon Wranglers was outstanding.  During the show they explained that Ebenezer Bryce had  discovered the canyon when he lost a cow and went looking or it.  “Helluva Place to lose a cow!”

We headed out early to beat the crowds. Like the previous days, I know pictures weren’t going to to it justice.  Although I took a lot of photos, I also wanted to experience the park and take it all in.   When we were done, we headed to Moab!

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May 08, 2023

It was a rough start in the morning. One of my pet peeves is when you are on a group tour and someone is late.   I was that person this morning but in my defense, the documentation said the location was “To Be Determined”, I called the Rocky Mountaineer customer service number and asked and asked them and they said the hotel lobby.  The Nomad hotel is a hotel within a hotel, the meeting point was in the park MGM lobby, I was waiting in the Nomad Hotel Lobby.   We got it all straightened out but I felt like we were the ones who held up the group and as the last people on, we sat in the very back of the four row van.

There was  a total of 8 people on the tour bus besides the tour guide.   Las Vegas Blvd was under construction, as it always seems to be when I visit Las Vegas and it seemed like forever to go just a few blocks.  At one point the guy sitting in the front made a political joke.  I found myself wondering, why in a brand new group of people would he do that, it doesn’t matter if you are right or left, in a group of 8 people you are bound to offend someone. Yet I see the same types of political slamming on Social Media.

The tour guide didn’t miss a beat and said, “I once heard someone say, if you want to talk about religion, then go to a church, it is a place to  talk about religion, if you want to talk politics, the you can go to hell.” Everyone laughed and I thought it was a great way of shutting him down but I wondered, why in a group setting would you start out making political comments.

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