September 10, 2016

Jean arrived at eight last night as we both expected. Dinner was a hit, and we crashed around eleven-thirty. She got a text at six, and I got a phone call shortly thereafter, so we dragged ourselves out of bed at six-thirty. She went to get ice at the RV park's office this morning, and came back with an offer by a septuagenarian to take either of us Jeeping this afternoon at four for free. He said he couldn't charge for liability reasons. Jean thought I should go.

​We left the Arches National Park visitors' center a little after ten this morning. We walked Park Avenue – a two mile round-trip. It was shady and cool, so we didn't take water but I think that was a mistake for me. Park Avenue is pretty spectacular and it's the first walking path one encounters. It's easy to envision it the whole pathway as a river, given the floor of the avenue. We were so blown away by the scenery – The Courthouse, Balance Rock, etc. that by the time we got to Devil's Garden it was too late to start the four hour walk. We ate lunch in the car and drove back to Delicate Arch where we did the three mile out-and-back trail in the mid-afternoon sun and heat. There is nothing either technical or challenging regarding the walk until the end – if you have a fear of heights and you want the "money shot."

I was dead-tired when we returned from Arches at a little after four. Jean said she should check in with Tom (the septuagenarian) regarding the Jeep ride, since she had made a quasi-commitment for me to go with him. I said I didn't want to go, but she should if she wanted to go (he could only take one of us). The RV park office directed her to his RV, and after a brief conversation, Jean returned to BOB, gathered her things, and walked to Tom's site. I caught up with her on my walk with the dogs, and Tom said he thought he could make room for both of us. I declined, desiring only a shower and some quiet time.

When Jean returned 3-and-1/2 hours later, she told me that Tom, the 77 year-old-blind-in-one-eye-nudist, hit on her a la "anything goes." It was Tom's wife who had suggested that he take Jean or me for a "free" ride that morning. What kind of people are they? Jean is big and strong enough to have cleaned Tom's clock, but I might have been in trouble. The lesson learned (once again): NOTHING is free.

At the restroom at Delicate Arch I read a sign which said, "If you feel tired, cranky or have a headache, drink water and you'll feel better.' Apparently, it's about the effects of dehydration and how to cure it. But, what if you're going through menopause? You have those symptoms most of the time, but the cure is to drink massive amounts of alcohol (instead of water), which might make you feel better and certainly won't make you feel worse (immediately).