The morning was damp, but the rain had stopped and we were able to dry out a bit before packing up. The hike down from Blue Lakes was quick, and the flip flops and wet wipe bath were much appreciated upon reaching the car!
We drove to Telluride, CO for lunch and to regroup. Telluride is tucked into a valley with a waterfall flowing down from the mountaintop almost as if the city council installed a pump to keep it flowing down toward the town. We had lunch at Smugglers. Note: good food, but don’t upgrade a sandwich to a “basket.” A basket means add a shot glass of coleslaw and ~10-12 french fries for $2.
Our first (and, knock on wood, only) car trouble happened: we noticed a back tire wasn’t holding pressure. Finally found the Telluride Tire and Auto center and $25 and a patch later, had 2 screws to our names.
The rain from Blue Lakes had followed us down and we made our way toward drier country in southern Utah. Along the 141 from Telluride, the rain fell farily hard. Brownish-red flash floods covered the road periodically from the Sedona-like red rock cliffs above us. The red rocks gradually became drier and we pulled into Moab, UT on our way to Arches National Park.
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| Mesa along UT 90 just outside of CO |
Arches only has 52 campsites that are reservable, i.e. full during the summer months. Luckily, there are a number of public campgrounds on UT 128 directly along the Colorado River. We were surprised to find the campsites relatively secluded with scrub oak, brush, and small trees separating them. We settled in for the night, feeling lucky to be back on a queen size air mattress instead of backpacking pads!
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