Jack's dream to find a KFC on the road had come true so we had to stop in Cortez on our way to the main highway to get the $5 Fill-up he'd been talking about non-stop since we left Virginia. We pulled into the parking lot and I waited while John took the kids in. I've been taking a lot of liberties during this vacation as far as what I've been eating, but I wasn't about to waste good eating time on KFC. Surely there were better meals to be had in my near future. When the kids came back to RV we had an interesting conversation about obesity in America after they described the massive amount of greasy food the woman in front of them had ordered.
Our next destination was Moab, Utah which was only a mere three and a half hours away, a pleasant break from the usual long hauls we've had on our driving days. We watched the terrain change yet again as we moved away from the mountains of southern Colorado and moved toward to drier, flatter desert terrain of Utah. As we approached the border I noted a sign in front of a convenience store that stated "Last chance to buy 6% beer!" I wasn't sure what that meant, but I'd sure find out later.
We stopped at the Moab Brewery and tried some local beers, bought some shirts, found out later that you can't drink a beer unless you've been served food first which would explain why our food and drinks came out at the same time (bizarre Utah law). Apparently there is also something called the Zion Curtain which is a barrier put up in restaurant bar areas so that underage kids can't see what's happening behind the bar and get any weird ideas.
We pulled into the Moab Valley Campground and RV park, set up camp and hit the pool along with about fifty other camp residents. I'm exaggerating, but it was crowded and again we noticed the inordinate number of Europeans hanging out in the American Southwest. Ella wanted to know why a girl her age got into the pool without a shirt on and I told her, well, that's how they do things where they come from. Two kids were splashing around in the water calling out to each other in British accents. Jack noticed that the European men would get into the pool in their boxer shorts and then get out and put their regular shorts back on top. All I cared about was that I found a lounge chair and had my book and rum and coke close at hand. No cares in the world, no rush to go sightseeing, no lingering thoughts about the break-in at home. I pushed anything negative out of my head and focused on the red rock formations that surrounded us under the beating sun.
As we got ready for bed I warned my family that I would be getting them all up at the crack of dawn to head over to Arches National Park. I'd been warned by my friend Stacey to get there EARLY due to the fact that temps in the park hit 100 degrees by noon. I was determined that we get our hiking in early so that we wouldn't all be dying of heat exhaustion. Plus it's much easier to drag the kids up big hills when they're not burning up.
Next: Arches, unexpected guests and what the heck is wrong with this beer??
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