What, no available campsites? Where am I going to park? This place is just too close to an interstate; US 70 is only 25 miles away, but it’s too uniquely scenic to pass up. I had suspected it would be full. It was Friday and during a week when all National Parks in Utah had free admission. The lady at the gate said, the sites were all booked up til mid June and this was April 16. When I left O.C., I knew that I’d be traveling for the better part of five months. I only had three specific things that I wanted to do. This was one of them. I also knew making a lot of detailed plans with reservations, time restraints and schedules creates stress, unrealistic expectations and not the way I do it. My way is basically “no plan,” have fun, and enjoy in a lei’d back place, where I can be warm, wear sandals and shorts every day, see lots of natural stuff and scenery and park my camper, where I will not have to move it for days.
    I’m reluctant to call living in an RV camping.  Camping is in a tent, which is what I’ve done for months the last eleven years when it’s winter here and not in Florida, southern Texas, Arizona, southern Utah and places in between. Camp (the park service calls it a campground, but there were mostly RVs with few tents!) on the bluff (maybe it’s a mesa or a butte) in the Devils Garden with the magnificent view of the desert, distinctive and inimitable rock formations, and the snow covered Rocky Mountains in the background was one of the three things I wanted to do. You can see forever from there. The formations are as impressive as the pyramids, but natural winds through the ages made these.
    A visit to Arches National Park (www.nps.gov/arch or 435-719-2299) just a few miles north of Moab, Utah, was all I got this year, though. The rock formations were what impressed me. The numerous arches were lesser, but fascinating, too. The panoramic vista increases as you climb the steep incline road after you enter the park. It sets the stage for what nature has to show you. You’re confronted with a goliath red rock colossal row of formations the park service calls Park Avenue.  The row pretty much defies still photography.  You just can’t fit it all in one photo. From there on, the scenic vistas are continuously astounding since you are now at least a 1,000 feet higher in elevation. There are phenomenal rock formations in every direction with the desert below them and snow capped mountains all around in the distance. Wow!  This can not be done justice by a tourist drive-by, so I selected a couple short walks to arches to spend the day at and ponder, discover and enjoy. There were school loads of people at each! Not what I had in mind, but the people in my photos gives them perspective that allows you to see how large the rocks and arches are.
    After photographing Delicate Arch, Arches at the north and south window and Double Arch, I drove to Moab for dinner and to find a place I could park my camper for the night. This was the first time I had over nighted in Moab. I knew where the supermarket was, so I parked in their lot and took a walking tour of the town looking for a place where I could park, and probably wouldn’t be bothered during the night by the local fuzznics. I found Moab to be a typical tourist town and the starting place for many off-road biker and vehicle trails and rafting trips. There were few restaurants that looked good and happy hour draft ACBs were between $3 & 4.
    I asked at the tourist office downtown where the closest MegaMart was as I knew I could park there overnight; but none was within 50 miles and I was told I couldn’t park an RV on the street, so the far rear corner of the supermarket lot would work for the night. The worse that could happen is I’d be asked to move and I would probably already have a nice nap by then. I wasn’t bothered all night and the next morning I walked around the back streets and found several good overnight parking spots. Several of them had RVs that had been there all night, so I would have my choice that evening. I filled the day by visiting the Arches N.P. camp ground, cooking lunch there, taking more short walks and being dazzled by the picturesque landscapes and even was treated to seeing a blue bird! Although I wasn’t able to enjoy the view as I arose in the morning or get those sweet light photos, I was happy with what I saw. Next time I’ll have a prime site reserved!
    Here in O.C. when you’re hungry for BBQ the 28th St. Pit & Pub has it - delicious, huge portions, and at the right price!