21 miles
$25: Devils Garden Campground (Arches NP)

I’m taking advantage of the two bars of LTE cell service here at Panorama Point to make an early blog post, since I feel like I’ve already seen so much in Arches NP.

I doubt I’ll have a signal at the campground, and I’m stalling here a bit before the noon check-in.

As I limp through the trails to great vistas along the main road in the park, it occurs to me that the McDougalls may be doomed to limp through this park forever. I don’t think I mentioned it in the blog when I was here 4 years ago with brother Tim, but he sprained his ankle pretty bad on his first hike within the park. He spent the remainder of that trip with his leg on my dash with a bag of 7-Eleven ice.

And now, here I am.

So far today, I’ve walked 3,529 steps – 1,764.5 of them on my broken toe. And no 7-Elevens in sight.

It’s time to be a car tourist.

As I passed the “campground full” sign at the entrance, I appreciate my night in one of the precious few 51 sites even more. The woman who checked me into the Moab KOA has been trying all season to get in, but she gave up.

Tomorrow, I’ll head West. Perhaps to Great Basin en route to California.