May 13, 2012 - Happy Mother's Day

We have been staying in Blanding, Utah for the past couple of days.  Like Bluff, Blanding is ideally located to access many of the historic and recreational attractions of the region. 

We woke early and had “breakfast” at the Super 8 around 6:30 with a bowl of cold cereal and a cup of tea.  We left for the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park about 8 am.  This was our first trip to this side of Canyonlands.  A drive around the park allows views of interesting geologic formations, ancient ruins and desert plant life.  There were people there from all over the world.  We heard groups from France, Switzerland, Italy, Australia and Eastern Europe.  One couple we talked to said that we were the only other English speaking people that had seen all day!

We left Canyonlands around noon and had a lunch of crackers, dried vegetables and mixed nuts as we drove to Arches National Park.  Arches was always one of our favorite places to visit when the kids were young.  While photographing Delicate Arch, I struck up a conversation with a young man visiting from Switzerland who was very pleasant.  He was in the US for the first time and visiting many locations in the Southwest.

Wilson Arch	LaSal Mountains from Arches Park
Three Gossips	North and South Windows
Delicate Arch	Balanced Rock

Dinner was in Moab, Utah.  We were pleasantly surprised at how Moab has changed since we were there 25 or so years ago.  Back in the 1980s, Moab was a dying tourist town that limped along with a few shops that barely managed to keep the doors open.  In fact, the small towns along Rt. 191 in Utah reminded me of the dying towns of Davis, Thomas and others in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia.  Now, Moab is a bustling tourist town with many yuppie-ish places like coffee shops, bistros, bakeries and pubs.  Many places specialize in organic meals with tofu and things with sprouts of all kinds.  Their market is the granola-eaters who come to the slick rock country for recreation.  In any case, it has been a boon for the town's economy.  We ate at a local place called Buck’s Grill House in Moab.  Mary had duck tamales and I had rabbit mole enchiladas with chipotle sauce.  Both of us had black beans, spiced corn chowder and seasoned rice on the side.  We each ate some of the other’s meals and enjoyed the meal a great deal.

As mentioned earlier, there are many international tourists here.  Most are quite pleasant and they bring a good deal of tourist money to the region.  We even noticed at breakfast that signs in the breakfast nook are in English and French.  One thing we noticed, however, on the Navajo reservation was a conversation between the French tourists at the neighboring table and the Navajo waitress.  When the Navajo waitress asked the French diners what they wanted for drinks, they asked about the wine list.  The pleasant waitress tried to explain that it is illegal to serve alcohol on the reservation.  The French could (or would) not understand that tribal law prohibits alcohol sales.  They then asked what kind of water was available.  The patient waitress said they had tap water and bottled water.  The French asked what kind of bottled water.  The waitress told them that they had Pelligreno.  The French wanted to know what kind of Pelligrino!  I just wanted to slap the tourists and tell them that they are in America now, we drink water from a tap not a bottle.  What kind of water?  THE WET KIND!  To beat all, the waitress probably came from a village without ANY running water (or electricity for that matter) and the clothes she was wearing was all her worldly possessions.

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