Trip 2017 - Day 9 - Onto Capital Reef

Yesterday I got in a few more hikes at Arches and it's time for me to continue on. Checking on the weather yesterday showed me that I ought to have pretty good weather for the rest of the trip. All of my clothes are clean, so in theory I don't even need to be doing laundry any more and just let things fester until I get home. I'll likely keep laundering out of habit though.

I also went on a little hike next to my campground too. A nice and mostly easy 3-mile walk. It reminded me a lot of the Three Sisters trail at Lava Beds, except better maintained (and less lava rock). In the middle of everything that's busy around here, this trail was empty except for one person I encountered. An official-looking chap was walking out when I was walking in. It turns out he was a geologist doing some field work. I pried and asked him about what I was looking at ... the top layer is something like wind-something sandstone. The next layer down was formed at the bottom of a sea. Below that was from a river -- you can tell by how it's not forming cliffs. Undifferentiated something-or-other was on the bottom. All very cool. I'll have to do more research on this when I get back... Or just ask some geologist friends.I did have one screw-up yesterday. I left a ziplock of tortillas outside the tent. Some critter decided to make a chunk of them his dinner. Alas... they are cheap though.

Back on the road... in the direction of home.