I’ve grown quite attached to my NPS ‘family’ here at Arches National Park, and am especially fond of doing the Fiery Furnace tours a few times weekly, but the time has come to move up to the Canyonlands National Park mesa-top. I’m closing the Arches chapter tantalized by sweet memories of my summer at Island in the Sky District (Canyonlands) last year. There will be some notable changes in my routine as I gain the extra couple thousand feet of elevation tomorrow.
I foresee quietness. Sleeping under the stars. Freedom from train/semi sounds. Isolation — 45 minutes from anywhere. Fewer visitors. Fewer staff. Bigger sunsets. Autumn arriving sooner than down in the valley. Solitude. Lots of books getting read. And…
…lack of cell phone service. For better or worse, AT&T towers don’t operate up there. This may delightfully deepen my contemplative tendencies.
... for this one. How can I lose?!?
Trading this national park...
Ranger Kathryn's Arches 