24.04 - Day 100 - Arches to Denver
Wednesday 24th April - Moab - Denver (Day 100)
Keen to stretch my legs, and to see Arches National Park for a final time, before a long drive to Denver, I tiptoe out of the room around 5:50 am grateful for the coffee in the lobby area at Field Station and drive 25 minutes back to the Window section of the park we’d visited yesterday.
If anything it’s actually busier at 6:15 am than it was 8 am yesterday - some people sitting in the North Window to soak up the sunrise, others with chunky cameras seeking a picture perfect shot, and me ambling around occasionally jumping from rock to rock.
Whilst the North Arch is “crowded”, South and Turret arch are deserted so it's here I explore. I also walk up to and into Double Arch, again almost on my own. The closer you get to each arch the more impressive they become as you better appreciate their scale. My step count for the day is set up.
I drive back to find everyone still in bed at 8 am. Two hours later we’re departing after another game of corn toss and the six hour drive is broken into a 3 hour, 2 hour and final 1 hour stint. After late nights there is sleep to be had on the first stint until we reach Rifle when I leave Kate and the kids at a play park whilst I go get the car charged, visiting Walmart whilst I wait.
We’re already at altitude but after Rifle we rise further on one of the most scenic sections of our driving so far; following the Colorado River upstream, along with a railway line for a large portion of it - criss-crossing the river with the mountains rising steeply either side of it.
We may have planned routes and stops, but didn’t know what to expect on the drive so it’s a surprise to find ourselves driving through Vail Ski Resort, alpine buildings, stationary ski chair lifts at the end of the winter season - that said there is plenty of snow on the ground either side of the road under the numerous pine trees and we spot a few skiers coming down some of the many slopes we spotted.
Our destination of Denver might be the Mile High City but it’s a long downhill for us on the approach. Our second charging stop is at Idaho Springs - Sienna is very happy to hear there’s a library across the road from the charging station. It’s actually a picturesque small town and in the sleepy library Sienna finds a few books to buy for a dollar. A long day travelling is almost a day lost so finding these play parks or small towns helps make it more meaningful than it might be otherwise.
Soon we’re driving into rush hour Denver traffic and nature turns into concrete. Our hotel for two nights is one of a number of chains we’re seen on the outskirts of towns and cities; La Quinta Inn and Suites is a little dated if perhaps this was your only two nights away for a holiday, but on nights 100 and 101 it’s plenty good enough for us. The kids are content just to have soup for dinner on the understanding there is a buffet breakfast waiting for them in the morning.