This morning, prior to any breakfast, we headed off to Bryce Canyon’s Sunrise point to capture the morning rays.

There were already lots of other people busy enjoying the morning, some on a horseback trail ride.

We, however, were starving and decided to splurge by having breakfast at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. The Lodge was established in the 1920s. We enjoyed the buffet so much that we forgot to take any pictures!

Our next major destination is Arches National Park so we headed off in that direction. There is so much to see along this route that we decided to take an extra day for this drive.

We stopped at the BLM Office/Visitor Centre to enquire about dispersed camping permits and locations. These are free, unserviced and largely unmarked campsites throughout the southwest. Some are on rough roads and not easily accessible in vehicles such as our van, especially in monsoon season. We were determined nonetheless. After the fourth attempt we found a perfect spot at a trailhead near a creek. We did venture out on the trail, but were stopped by some cows and a horse. All three of us retreated to the van and wrote the last two blog entries. We are in the middle of nowhere, but have great cellular internet.

While eating breakfast at our beautiful dispersed campsite, a cowboy with a truck arrived and delivered a new batch of cattle. Within two minutes, the cows were off to graze and the cowboy drove off with his loyal dog.

It was difficult to depart from this serene site and we had to take a picture of our morning view.

The drive on Hwy 12 and 24 is spectacular and we stopped several times to try and capture the beautiful rock formations.

We stopped at the Fruita visitor centre and watched a 20 minute video on the geological development and history of the people who have lived in this area. Fruita was a Mormon settlement at the junction of two rivers and is an oasis where fruit trees can thrive. The settlement is now a national park and visitors are encouraged to pick fruit in the orchards that are still maintained by the park. On the day we were there, Ginger Gold apples were ready to pick. Any apples you eat while in the orchard are free and any you want to take with you at $1/pound.

We also bought delicious pies, cinnamon bun and ice cream at the Gifford house. The Giffords were the last residents of Fruita.

A scenic drive takes you to a number of interesting geologic formations.

We continued on our way to Moab and drove through a mix of plains and attractive scenery.

We made it to Moab and had a wonderful steak/prime rib dinner at Suzie’s Branding Iron. One of Suzie’s specialities is fried bread with honey. Yum!

Our home for the night is at the Moab KOA.

The day started very early with the alarm ringing at 5:30AM. The goal was to be at Arches National Park for sunrise or shortly thereafter.

Martin did a 5Km hike to the Delicate Arch and Ruth and Pepsi drove and hiked to the viewpoint of this arch as well as a few others.

We had breakfast just before noon at the Jailhouse Cafe in Moab and then strolled around town and saw some woodworking, sandstone and native craft stores as well as two photography galleries.

We went back to the campground to escape the heat and had a snooze in air conditioned comfort.

In the late afternoon we once again ventured out, this time to Canyonlands National Park where we visited the Green River Overlook.

There were thunderstorms all around us so we thought it best to head home.