
Monument Valley from the roadside
From NM I headed to a familiar campground, Goosenecks SP, about 25 miles north of Monument Valley. It is sort of barren, you pick a spot which may or may not have a table, but a one-of-a-kind view is guaranteed if you walk a few steps to the rim of the canyon. I tend to use this place as a base and visit Monument Valley to the south or Valley of the Gods to the north. This trip the weather was pretty overcast and each late afternoon I could watch the storm clouds pass by, sometimes with a rumble of thunder or flash of lightning, but no rain. A drive to view some of Monument Valley from the road was a must but mostly I just relaxed and caught up on stuff.
From there I headed north to another familiar place, Horse Thief CG. This is a BLM site, dry camping without

Twisted tree on a cloudy day, Canyonlands NP
even water available located just outside Moab, UT. It is convenient for Canyonlands NP, Arches NP and Moab. Sites are large with plenty of room and often some screening between them. One of the delights of this stop was that I was able to meet up with some friends from various parts of the country and to meet some new folks. The weather started out sunny each day, but with enough breeze so it stayed pleasant, not too hot.

Turret Arch lit by the moon, Arches NP
Arches NP is undergoing some extensive road work, prohibiting access 5 nights of the week and some sections of the park are closed completely. The closures will change as the work locations change. Fortunately I was able to get in on Friday night and the places I wanted to visit were accessible.
There was a full moon during my stay so instead capturing the Milky Way I decided to see how some familiar places looked in the moonlight.

Double Arch in the moonlight, Arches NP
Turned out the moon does a much better job of lighting things up than any artificial light.
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