Western USA

Utah 1

August 31, 2012

William just called us on our American cell phone, forgetting all about the time difference. It's 5:30 in the morning, but I'm already at work on the computer.
What a joy to work like this. It's almost a dream!
We leave the town of Green River at 6:30 a.m. It's still dark.
Here in the US, the first Monday of September is "Labor Day," the last holiday of the summer season.
Needless to say, Americans make the most of it with a long three-day weekend.
We tried to book a spot at the one and only campground in Arches National Park, but unfortunately it's TOTALLY FULL!

So we decide to head over there as early as possible, and Mag and I keep our fingers crossed up front while the little chicks snooze in the back of KIFONS.

View larger map

The road of death. Canyonlands Park. Gorgeous!

Alice, Henri and Maggy - Canyonlands Park

Canyonlands Park, Alexandre right next to the Double Arches!

At the bottom of the road of death, the Colorado River. Legendary!

Arches National Park

A one-hour drive to get there. A jaw-dropping sunrise. A hot-air balloon rising above the canyons. Earthy red rock spires as far as the eye can see.
We made it. We're in the American West of the Far West, cowboys and Indians.
It's hot. Very hot.
At 7:30 a.m., we reach the very end of the park, at the campground entrance. No ranger in sight.
7:40, still nobody. Makes sense if the campground is full.
We decide to try the Guyot family method. We go wake up the ranger on duty (who should have been at work since 7:30) and make friends with him.
When he wakes up, there isn't a single site available.
10 minutes later, we've talked about his trip to Paris in 1967, his late nights in the bars of the French capital, the pretty French women and... We have a site available.
An American canceled last night at 9 p.m. Thanks, buddy!
FYI, if you need to book here, try to get a site between number 18 and 24. The views are amazing!
We'll spend two nights in this campground at the end of the world ($20 a night). At night, there isn't a sound (except for us, maybe - see the next paragraph -).
It's a truly gorgeous place.

Arches National Park is spectacular.
Small (118 square miles), it's one of the most famous parks in the country. Over thousands of years, the forces of nature (rain, snow, wind and frost) have carved out some truly stunning landscapes, including more than 2,000 natural arches.

Once again, it's our chance to go on some crazy hikes! Landscape Arch, Double O Arch: the trail is superb and we end up on rock ledges 6 feet wide, with a drop on the left and a drop on the right. Wow!
Driving along the park's only road (in broad daylight), I better understand why the ranger at the gate told me about those boozy nights with the Parisian ladies: around here you wander through a maze of rocks, each one more phallic-looking than the last.

Any normally constituted human being can't help but make a joke about it.

We hike, we swim and we work!

After the hikes, the kids get a choice: the awesome Moab Aquatic Center (don't hesitate to stop there, it's really nice. Indoor and outdoor pools. $20 for the whole family) or their CNED tests.
They choose the aquatic center.
So they won't get a choice after all.
It'll be the aquatic center AND the CNED tests.

Still, it's a pretty nice setting for doing schoolwork.

At the aquatic center, Alex and Alice jump off a 13-foot diving board. Juju practically lives in the water. A must when it's over 95°F outside!
There we meet Vannina and Erwan, with their 3 kids Alix, Maud and Loïc.
In less than half an hour, it's a plan. See you tonight at our campground for an impromptu dinner. And as always, the spur-of-the-moment encounters are the best.
We have a great evening, the ten of us (our campground neighbors, maybe a little less so!).
Expats in Chicago, they crossed the Atlantic two and a half years ago for a job opportunity.
They're happy to be here in the US. And we're happy to see young French people (they're exactly our age) dare to go abroad, work hard and succeed!
Thank you, all five of you. We sincerely hope to see you again someday in France... or Elsewhere!

Canyonlands National Park

Here, in less than 327 square miles (which is still quite a lot: roughly 6 x 50 miles or 25 x 12 miles), you'll find the greatest landscapes of the West. Fascinating desert landscapes.
We leave Arches National Park a bit late on Sunday morning, hoping to find a spot in the park's "official" campground: 12 sites available to travelers.
Remember that tomorrow is a holiday in the US. Let's go America. Luck has been smiling on us for 3 months... And once again, we pull into a campground that's full, of course... Except that a couple looks like they're about to leave.
Enter Maggy. It's ours. The only spot opening up today is ours! A night here costs $10 and honestly, if you're making this trip, don't hesitate. You have to spend a night here.
Site number 1 seems perfect to us. Direct view of the canyon. We spent our second night there. Pure bliss!

Island in the Sky is the section closest to Moab. It's the one we'll explore over 2 days. A wide, flat mesa wedged between the Green River and the Colorado, Island in the Sky serves as the park's observation tower.
From the plateau, the views are breathtaking! Canyonlands is wild America.

Canyonlands: Upheaval Dome