2023 CANYONLANDS ADVENTURE - ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

 

DAY #11 – WEDNESDAY – JULY 12, 2023

BRYCE CANYON CITY, UT – MOAB, UT

292 – MILES / 3,217 – TOTAL MILES

 Day #11 begins at Ruby’s Inn in Bryce Canyon City, Utah.  A large Breakfast Buffett in the restaurant was included in our stay. For Me, Ruby’s Inn was an adequate place to spend the night, but upon arriving at breakfast and talking to some of my other traveling companions I learned that a couple of people in our group took issue with our accommodations.

I was not surprised to discover that the chief complainer was one of the people ladies who is always late. Since we began our trip more than a week ago, there hasn’t been a day go by that she hasn’t complained about something. Day in and Day out she has constantly complained about just about everything.

This morning several of my fellow travelers were again talking about her.  Seems that last night she created somewhat of a scene with our tour guide and some of the staff members here at the Hotel. After switching rooms three different times she finally found one that that she agreed to stay in.

Then evidently this morning she again created quiet a stir by confronting some of the staff. From what I hear she was rude and one person in our group said that “she berated” a couple of the staff members in the office and again one of the buffet attendants in the restaurant.  

Now, I am going to say that Yes Ruby’s Inn is an older property, and the rooms are small and dated. But it was clean, and My King Bed was comfortable and well made. I was quite satisfied with my room. 

In talking with several members of our group who saw part of the breakfast incident, felt it necessary to apologize to the staff and assure them that her conduct does not reflect the attitude of the rest of our group. 

We were scheduled to depart at 8:00 a.m. and once again we were a few minutes late in getting on the road.  I boarded the bus about 8:10 a.m. and the mood was somewhat subdued and quiet. No one was talking. I think the conduct and constant complaints from the same people were getting old and was affecting the mood of the entire bus. The sad part about it, is she doesn't realize that most of the people in our group dread being around her. I have noticed that several people, including myself, have really mad an effort to avoid her. Whenever we see her coming, when find a way to go the other direction. 

When the late parties arrived and we pulled out of the hotel, they wasted no time in telling anyone who would listen just how miserable they were. I think that most folks in our group would be more than happy to chip in enough money to buy her a plane ticket back home. 

Those of us in the back of the bus were determined not to allow the complainer to destroy our mood and enjoyed the beauty of Utah.   Two Hours after leaving the hotel we made our first stop of the day at the Love’s Travel Center adjacent to Interstate 70 in Salina, Utah.

We arrived at Love’s Travel Center right at 10 a.m. for a 30-minute break. Surprisingly, everybody was back on the bus on time, and we pulled out and headed east on Interstate 70 right at 10:30 a.m. The scenery on Interstate 70 was unique and amazing as we made our way toward our next stop for Lunch in Green River, Utah.

It took us exactly 90 minutes to make the 100-mile drive from Salina to Green River. Our stop in Green   River was at another Loves.  This was our Lunch stop and our choices were limited to the grab and go selection at Love’s or the adjoining Arby’s.

We had an hour here and for the second time in a row we were back on the bus and on the road again right at 1 p.m. and made our way toward our afternoon visit to Arches National Park.

It took us an hour to make the 50-Mile Drive to the Entrance Station at Arches National Park. The one thing that I discovered with the National Parks here in Utah is that they are not particularly accommodating to tour buses.

Bryce Canyon National Park restricted where Tour Buses can stop. Here at Arches, I found out that the tour bus restrictions are even more restrictive. We are only permitted to stop at 3 predetermined locations and then only for a short period of time.

The tour bus restrictions that are in place really limit what you can see. Some of the more famous arches require hiking anywhere from about a half mile to 3-4 miles round trip. Because of these restrictions we were not able to do any of the hikes and could only see a few of the Arches.

Regardless of the restrictions we spent more than 3-hours in the National Park and from what we were able to see, it is indeed another amazing place. The scenery was spectacular.

The First place we were allowed to stop was at Balanced Rock. This is one of the most photographed locations in Arches National Park. It stands a total of 128-feet tall and weighs an estimated 3,600 ton. Due to erosion the rock will eventually collapse.

We were only allowed 30 minutes at this stop and then it was time to move on to our next stop at the Windows Arch. This is the ONLY arch that we were permitted to stop at and to visit up close.

In addition to the Large Window Arch there are a few other arches that are available at this stop. The North Window, The South Window and Turret Arch are all nearby but because of time we were unable to do any of the hikes to view them.

Because of the restrictions I spent my time at the Large Window Arch, which required about a half mile walk from the bus parking lot. Several of our group joined me on the short hike up to the base of the arch.

We were allowed to stop at one other location in the National Park but there was no oversize parking available so we just continued our driving tour. Even with all the restrictions, we ended up spending almost three hours and a half hours touring the park.

We ended our tour of Arches National Park at the Visitors Center. I was able to get a few souvenirs and get my passport stamp. 

I wouldn’t exactly say that my visit to Arches National Park was a bust, but there was so much more that I wanted to see and do while here. The scenery was magnificent and while I did enjoy the tour, I would have like to have had more time so that I could hike to some of the other arches.

Once we wrapped up our visit we were off to Moab where we will spend the night. Our hotel is on the north end of town and no restaurants anywhere close. So before heading to the hotel we were let off in downtown Moab where we were on our own for supper.

I chose a place called Pasta Jays in downtown Moab. Dan and Sallie walked up just as I arrived, and we had a really nice supper. I chose the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and it was really very good and almost more than I could eat.

Michelle our tour guide gave us 2-hours to eat and visit Moab. After supper I still have about an hour before I had to be back on the bus so I spent some time walking around, visiting some of the local shops.

Everybody was back on the bus by 7:00 p.m. and we arrived at the Fairfield Inn about 10 minutes later.  While we were having supper John and Michelle picked up our room keys and distributed them to us on the short ride to the hotel.

Today was an interesting day. It started of with our chronic complainer making a scene about “what a dump of a hotel,” Ruby’s Inn was. She further complained about the breakfast buffet.  It is a shame that this one person is so unhappy that nothing on this trip is making her happy. I certainly hope that this will be her last Bus trip and that others will be spared her disgruntled personality.

I was a little disappointed with all the restrictions placed on us as we toured Arches Nati
onal Park. There was so much more that I would have liked to have seen but the Scenery was spectacular. Maybe one day I can return and explore this area or southern Utah at my own leisure.

Tomorrow, we begin in earnest our trip toward home.  We will make the scenic trip across the Rocky’s on Interstate 70. We will end up spending the Night in Denver. There is still more to come on this adventure, but I can see the end approaching.