2.19.16 ::: Rusty Does Arches. (Alternate Title: Christian Impersonates Arches.)

(Side note before you proceed… our week has been incredibly packed with work and hasn't afforded us the time to do much in the way of making progress on anything having to do with Little Foot. So, just to keep up with our promise of weekly blog posts on Monday, I bring you a photo-heavy post from our travels this winter.)

:::

Back in February (man that feels like so long ago), we were still hastily making our way across the country in Stubbs The Bus, towing Rusty. Pounding the pavement in Stubbs is never the most enjoyable thing because we just don't feel like we have time to stop and enjoy the scenery. Since we were both getting a little road weary and ready for a day off of driving, we decided to stop and camp in Moab for two nights and spend a layover day hiking in Arches National Park.

The first arch we visited was on our way up to Moab. It was called Wilson's Arch and lent us a great photo op for Stubbs and Rusty.

Even driving up into Moab from the south felt a little bit like a sigh of relief. We didn't worry about finding a campsite because it was off season and we were just so excited about taking a day off that all of the other problems and anxieties of having been on the road started to melt away.

Don't they look great together?

Driving up to Moab.

We knew of quite a few handfuls of campground along the Colorado River, so we headed down a side road and sought out a quiet spot for the evening as the sky darkened and a storm rolled in.

The night was fairly uneventful, despite gale-force winds blowing in from the west. Never do we appreciate sleeping in a hard-sided vehicle more than during storms.

The next day, we started Rusty up and headed into Arches National Park.

Almost as soon as we saw a feature that was supposed to resemble a woman, Christian suggested we pose like it too. Thus began his new favorite activity of the day…posing like the features in Arches National Park.

Who did the pose better?

Cast your votes now!

I should take this moment to tell you just how much we love Rusty. Prior to finding and purchasing Little Foot the Pinzgauer, we were solidly set on the idea of taking Rusty south for our winter travels. It's about as much fun as you can get in a little tin can of a rollerskate-sized vehicle and we adore how small and plucky it is. However, remember that whole part about enjoying sleeping in hard-sided vehicles? Yeah, Little Foot is the perfect upgrade…

This is my, "How on earth do you expect me to impersonate this hillside?" look.

This is Christian impersonating the hillside.

As we continued deeper into the park, with a hike at the end as our destination for the day, Christian continued to enthusiastically pose as the different features.

Rusty does Arches!

The trail we opted to hike for the day was called Devil's Garden, a relatively easy trail if you stick to the main loop. However, there is a "more strenuous" primitive loop trail that you can follow to add on some mileage and more beautiful views. Luckily, we were in the park on a weekday in February, so we mostly had the place to ourselves.

We found a buddy in the park…his eyes and buttons were made of rabbit poop…just in case you were wondering.

Landscape Arch.

See, I can take photos of you too!

The views were just spectacular as we wound our way up through the rock formations.

This is what happens when you ask a stranger to take a photo of you and an arch. I promise, there's an arch above us…

Partition Arch.

Navajo Arch.

The colors were just fantastic.

Another view of Navajo Arch.

Double O Arch.

We couldn't have been more grateful for a day of hiking instead of driving. Our legs and souls definitely benefitted from our layover day.

We went back to the bus that evening, satisfied with our choice. The clear chilly evening gave us the perfect excuse to fire up the wood stove and cozy up for one more night of camping along the Colorado River before we hit the road again the next morning.