July 18 - Moab

We arrive in Moab as a hot air balloon is rising into the sky.

Sunrise in Moab, UT

We get to Arches National park ready to hike to the Delicate arch around 8am. There are about 10 cars in the parking lot - by the time we get back it's a zoo with busloads of tourists.

Unhappy kids at Delicate arch, Utah

The kids start whining and crying when I tell them we're going to do another hike to Landscape arch - but we still do it since our family is not a democracy.

Christian supporting Landscape arch

Evangeline balancing Balancing Rock

Afterwards, we treat ourselves to Root beer floats and nachos at the Moab Brewery. and then we're off to Yosemite around 4pm!

Passed through some sun showers in Utah and almost got a speeding ticket near Salina...

Near the Utah/Nevada border

While in Moab, we met a couple from Oregon who suggested going driving on the salt flats @ exit 4 on US-80 - west of Salt lake city. However, we are going to Yosemite via US-50 which he called "the lonliest highway". It's a 2-lane hwy with NOTHING on it. I drive completely through Nevada only passing a few dirt roads and a handful of cars. I can see the headlights of a car in the opposite lane about 15 mins before we actually pass. There's a USDA roadblock in Benton, CA where they confiscate our cherries that we just bought in Moab! (to protect from the cherry fruit fly) argh - I forgot how tight California was about their farms...