Radiator Springs: Moab (29 June)


We are now in the USA Southwest where the land formations and rock compositions are due to about 350 million years of the region having a cycle of being open to the sea (contributing a range of minerals before being evaporated), being closed off from the sea but subject to freshwater flooding (causing sedimentation), volcanic activity, earthquakes, and erosion. Distinctive lines showing different layers over time characterise the landscape. Some of these lines are compressed organic matter that has formed coal and oil. Erosion “sculpts” the land. This has produced some dramatic features such as canyons, arches, balancing rocks and weird shapes that are said to resemble other objects from our world.
The journey today took us through a variety of geography and culture. We passed through some villages that seemed to be on Indian Reservations. We saw even more oil production and large machinery. We saw hardly any agriculture.  

 
We have been above 6,000 feet (about 1,800 meters) continuously since we left Washington state about six days ago. Today we dropped to about 4,000 feet (about 1,200 meters), although we up and down quite frequently. One long gorge we entered began at 5,300 feet and ended at 9, 900 feet (about 3,000 meters). The gorges were beautiful. Surprisingly there were often trees at quite high altitudes but not lower down.
Mid journey we stopped at Price and visited a museum there. Its displays covered the geology, archaeology and palaeontology of the area so we saw dinosaurs and ancient mammals, rocks and some stuff about ancient people in the area. It was amazingly good. Two aspects stood out. First, there was a great display about the mass extinction of dinosaurs and about 70% of life forms when an asteroid hit Mexico. Among other things, the display pointed out how the loss of danger and competition from large predators enabled more rapid evolution of both marine-based mammals and those on land. Secondly, there were terrific displays illustrating the geology of the region, especially the 350 million years of seas and fresh water, depositing of organic matter, sediment, and chemical and physical effects over time and how that created rock.



Dinosaurs!:


Eventually we arrived at Arches National Park. We made our first foray into it and we weren’t disappointed. The roads are all sealed and very well formed; driving the motorhome was easy. Much of it seemed like Radiators Springs from the movies and Disneyland. At times it seems so overdone and Disneyesque that we almost think this is the movie set and not the real thing.
We made a 4-hour foray into the park, did a couple of walks, and took photos.  It was quite nice in the early evening as the temperature had dropped from 34°C to a mere 31°C. We were able to drive reasonably closely to various sites and then walk only 500 meters to 1 km to be quite close to them. The paths are well formed and we tried hard to not think about rattlesnakes in the sagebush.

The gossips:



Double Arch:


Left Window:


Right Window:


Spectacles (both windows combined):

 
Park Avenue



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