GWE - Start of Day 16 (Arches National Park)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 (Day 16)
Reading from John 5. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:25-26 (NKJV)

True life, real life only comes from the SON. So many people walk around, fulfilling the biological definition of life but in fact are really dead. JESUS came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). Why not start living today? Ask JESUS CHRIST to be your personal SAVIOR and LORD today.

I woke up a little earlier than normal this morning. It was quite chilly in the high desert. In fact, I switched the A/C unit to low heat to make it more comfortable in the pop-up. Our plan is to spend some time in Arches National Park today before starting our journey to Yellowstone. We will not make it all the way to Yellowstone today. I expect to stay somewhere near Salt Lake City tonight. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.

I will post pictures and evening reflections when we get to our place of refuge for the night.

(Evening Reflections)

Wow and Oooh are words often repeated while traveling through Arches National Park. This is like a treasured gem hidden from sight – but it is well worth the visit. As we drove through the park we were constantly greeted by some special, almost mystical scene around each turn or over the next rise. Great red monoliths and castle towers rose from the desert floor. Arches were everywhere – from very small to the colossal Landscape Arch. There was Delicate Arch, Double-O Arch, Turret Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Pothole Arch, Tunnel Arch, the Balance Rock, Park Avenue, Wolf Ranch, the Courthouse Rock, and so many others. It is almost impossible to believe that some of these features are really made from sandstone. They look too delicate. It was easy to pick out the shapes of animals or faces in many of the features of Arches.

Arches lends itself to driving and we did drive all of the roads in the park. Kathy waited in the truck or at the trailhead several times to allow me to strike out on a short hike to get a closer look at some of these treasures. It was fantastic! I wonder what the first Indians or first settlers who viewed these obelisks thought.

This place is a wonderful testimony to the creativity of GOD. The same line of sediment tracked throughout the park. In fact there were several distinct layers visible almost everywhere. Massive forces were at work in this area. Delicate arches and spires are now the residual of this work. The beauty that GOD put in HIS creation is astounding.