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The other walk in the Needles area was another 11 mile walk to the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. There were a lot of steep climbs on this walk and it was really hot and sunny. The actual overlook down onto both rivers is not that impressive but it's the walk that matters not the destination and it was another good walk. That evening, we drove down to Newspaper Rock (Petroglyphs) and parked up at a free camp nearby.
The next morning we drove up to Arches National Park and found that the campground was full. We would have to get back to the visitor centre at 7am tomorrow morning and get in the queue for the campground spots, if any, that became available. So we drove into Moab for supplies etc and then spent 3 hours that afternoon going to some of the arches in the park and walking some of the small trails.
We got back to the visitor centre for 7am the next morning and managed to get a spot at the campground for 2 nights. Our first task was to try and repair our black water tank by replacing a valve. But when Kirsten tried to unscrew the old part, the screws broke off leaving most of the screw stuck and we couldn't get them out. We tried to enlist the help of the maintenance guys to ask if they had a drill we could borrow, but they didn't have the part needed to get screws out.
Kirsten was having a bit of a disaster day - first the broken screws, then a blocked toilet and then she cut her finger making quesadillas! Helen thought it might be better for her to stay in Winnie rather than go on the guided tour to Fiery Furnace which we'd paid $8 each for that afternoon! But it was a good job she came along. Another super walk for which you need a permit. We would never have found the places the guide took us to and it was really entertaining. Especially when the guide asked what the best way to preserve the National Park was and an American woman answered "Elect a new president!"
After the 3 hour walk, we drove to Delicate Arch and had to rush along the uphill 1.5 mile walk to get there before sunset. Kirsten took loads of photos and Helen ending up being a model for one of the other photographers who wanted her to pose! On the way back, we climbed up to another Arch and took photos from there. That's where we met Jolynn and Tim who had had the same idea. Unfortunately, Tim was afraid of heights, not good when you have to walk along ledges with a rock face on one side and a very large drop down on the other, and no railings!
By the time we got back to the campground it was already dark and our solar shower had gone cold again. So we had to have a bowl wash instead. (There are no showers at the campground).
Thursday 1st April was a dull and cloudy day. We did a short walk to Landscape Arch, the largest span in the park, but had to turn around when it started raining. Helen used the time to clean out Winnie but then a real thunderstorm came. It must have been directly over us because a huge clap of thunder made the ground and Winnie vibrate violently! We sat in the drivers compartment and took photos of the "End of the World" yellow/orange sky and the pouring rain. Then Kirsten wanted to go outside to take photo of the rainbow and asked Helen to hold the umbrella for her. But Kirsten ran off, with the umbrella, and Helen got wet trying to catch up with her!!
Arches National Park.
The next day we went to Moab for supplies and drove to Dead Horse Point State Park, but the campground was full so we drove to Canyonlands (Island in the Sky) and managed to get the last campsite in the rain. The rain did clear temporarily which gave us a chance to walk to Green River Overlook. When we got back, there was another real thunderstorm with thunder and lightening and we sat in the drivers compartment and watched.
Saturday and Sunday were another 2 days of rain. But it didn't matter as we got a campsite at Dead Horse Point State Park where they have electricity. So we spent the days trying to catch up on our website diary as we were 4 to 5 weeks behind.
