Moab Trip 5-25-07

Here we are, posing in front of the Visitors Center. We went here to ask the Rangers about the Devil's Garden trail difficulty. They were very helpful in getting Vince and I ready.






Here we are, ready for the hike. It was a pretty hot day, but we were ready with plenty of food, water, sunblock and bug spray. Yeah, we weren't taking any chances.


All that damn walking, you think I'd lose some weight! ;-)



Vince and I saw some of the most beautiful scenery during our Devil's Garden hike. Here, we took a break in a small alcove just off the trail. Squirt loved drawing numbers in the sand.






Here's my buddy, mugging for the camera in front of the Landscape Arch. For the most part, Vince didn't pay too much attention to the distant scenery. Instead, he got a bigger kick out of scenery that was close and in his way...stuff he could crawl over and get shade from.




The trail got a bit tougher from the Landscape Arch. On the larger slickrock parts, the trail was marked by these stacks of rocks, called "cairns." Here's my little champ making his way up towards the Wall Arch.





Vince enjoyed the shade provided by the Wall Arch. As we sat, he would point with his finger and track the path of the arch over his head. From here, the trail ascended to an open area where it climbed on to a long fin...





This fin. We had to walk across this "Fin Bridge" to get to the Double-O. I was a little worried at first, but Vince did great. He followed instructions, paid attention and stepped cautiously the whole way. I was so proud.





Once across, Vince and I took a break in some great shade for lunch. There was a family from Florida there who followed our example and took a break too. They had a couple of daughters who fawned over Vince and helped us out by taking this photo. He's such a Casanova.




The trip back was a lot quicker. Part of it was because we were going downhill, but our pace had quickened a lot due to Vince's familiarity with the terrain.






Victorious at the trailhead, we had our picture taken thanks to a lady who thought Vince was a big cutie. I don't know how to explain it, but folks had a urge to cheer us on when they found out about Vince's autism. They praised his effort and asked me about how Lis' and I helped him live with his condition.

I gave them the usual answer: He's the one who teaches us how to live with Autism. It's a lesson he's always ready to teach.