Musings from an Anchored Traveler: Ken's Lake, More Arches

Today Meera and I got up at 6 a.m. and left at 6:30 for the train station in Green River, about an hour away. It was a beautiful drive with the sunrise lighting up the rocks all around us. I was also one of the only cars on the road. When we got to the train station, Meera expected to be able to go and get her seat assignment from the counter, go to the bathroom, etc. But no could do - the "station" was actually just a platform along the train line in a sleepy little town that had not yet woken up by 7:20. We went to a gas station to use the restroom and fill up Meera's water, then I left her at the station (which by this time was finally getting a few more arrivals).

It was 8:30 when I got back to our camp site and Jarod and I washed our clothes and hung them out before leaving for the day. We decided to go to Ken's Lake as recommended by the Moab Visitor's Center. It was about 10 miles outside of town and is a reservoir and recreational lake 95 feet deep in the middle. First we drove up to the top of a waterfall that looked to flow into the lake. From there we hiked down beside the waterfall which was really beautiful. After hiking a bit more around the mountain, we drove back down to the lake and swam. It felt so good to not just wade or fight a current, but really swim. We also watched some girls paddle boarding which looked like fun. (That is when you use a board that looks a lot like a surfboard and you stand on it and paddle it along so you can see down into the water around you).

We left around 1 p.m. and drove back to Moab where we had lunch at Wake and Bake. My stomach has definitely shrunk since I've been on this trip - I got a panini which came with a delicious looking side salad, and after eating the panini, I couldn't even touch the salad. Luckily, Jarod ate it for me. After lunch we drove back to Arches where we saw the last of the major arches - North and South Window arches and Turret Arch. As we walked around/through them and took photos, a wave of dark sky started rushing quickly toward us. We hightailed it out of the park trying to get to our campsite before the rain. Luckily, we made it since all our clothes were out on the line and the tent was open.

Now we're back at Wake and Bake where I had gelato and we're using the WiFi. This is our last night in Moab. Tomorrow and the next night we will CouchSurf with a family in Cedar City, UT (a little less than 3 hours from Vegas). On Saturday morning we will drive back to Vegas where I'll drop Jarod at the bus station so he can go to LA, return the car, then fly home arriving about midnight.