I'm packing for the next expedition and thinking what I know about Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. I honestly have to say that there is not much of the knowledge. I've been to the US several times, but almost always on the East Coast. I was closest to the land of cowboys and Indians a few years ago when I visited Nevada. It's actually "around the corner", to the places where I’m going. Far beyond the ocean, we leave our Comanches and rush into the territory of the Navajo and their neighbors. Upon arrival in Denver, I pick up the cars with the group of people and disappear into the wilderness. I drive while trying to perceive the Colorado landscape. The surprisingly varied mix of habitats alternates left and right without warning, and the crew begins to shorten the intervals between shouting like "look at the rocks! Whow!" , "look at the beautiful lake!" or “Dude, watch out so we don’t fall down the cliff”. We are just going through a beautiful coniferous forest, which looks like it has been cut out from Cretaceous Period documentary. Only the meteor in the sky and a few dinosaurs among the trees are missing. We got to Aspen, the other side of the Rocky Mountains, and Utah is within reach. Colorado got us and we were very pleasantly surprised. Yeah, I can imagine living here.

After spending the night in the "wilderness" and a short trek in Colorado, we drive our two Chevrolets to Arches National Park. The coniferous forests are gone. We see only dry shrubs growing on red rocks, and the Colorado River flowing between. The river got much bigger since we saw her last time. It's no longer the stream we saw several times up in the Rocky Mountains.

We have arrived. We parked our car and must walk few more kilometers. There is not an inch of shadow, and I feel warmth somewhere between hell and the surface of the Sun. The trail to Delicate Arch is regularly "slightly uphill", so I prefer to pack a few extra water bottles in my backpack. Not far from the parking lot, we pass the cottage where the first settlers lived. Looking inside the cottage at the preserved equipment, I can’t think about how awful it must have been here at the time. Our houses in the open-air museums are five-star all inclusive. A few hundred meters walk is replaced by a smooth sand pathway that leads directly into the sky. In the middle of the hill (I don't know yet that I'm only halfway through) I drink like a camel and thinking about cold weather that was in Canada at the time I visited. On the other hand, I don't even return the camera to the bag. The surrounding landscape also takes the rest of the breath. In the end, I bravely pass a few retirees and families with children (no one else is slower) and find myself at the top. A few meters going straight is easy peasy, and our jar drops when we see the Delicate Arch. All around are rocks smoothed by water and wind and in the middle is one of the tallest and most beautiful symbols of Utah, the xisteen-meter arch. Because its photogenic monument, you can see it on Utah’s plates and in 2002 an Olympic torch was held under it. Our brain is filled up with this beauty that only nature can create, and we don’t feel heat and hurting feet anymore. It would be nice to stay until sunset and enjoy, but we have a few more stops planned. The whole national park has an area of 310 km2. Let’s move.

Another rock arch is one of the longest (88 m). Landscape Arch is in an area called Devils Garden, so we hope that the road to it will not be devilish either. Fortunately, it is not. On the way there with a friend we stated that there are too many beautiful areas to take a picture of and it is simply not possible to get them all with a camera. There is an information sign next to the arch that the pieces of rock are released quite regularly, therefore, the path under the arch is closed. We are waiting for a while to see if the anniversary is today, but probably it is not. It's good, let the beauty last if possible.

Our last stop leads to Double Arch. That happens when you want to see more. We regret on the spot that the photos will not show the mini human feeling compared to the majesty of nature and time. You must experience it for himself. Balanced rock was such a nice end inZ^A7 our trip and I little envy to anybody who will be there in a few thousand years when "balanced rock" becomes "unbalanced rock". They play the Eagles and their Take it (Winslow will be in Arizona too) and we are going in our Chevy car to Bryce Canyon. But I tell you about it next time.