Today’s travel itinerary changed somewhat as we are dealing with some significant heat here in Southern Utah. The high temperature today was a whopping 106 degrees! Instead of visiting the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument after touring Mesa Verde, we decided to head straight to Moab. Once there, we checked into a hotel to get some air conditioning instead of sleeping out in the heat in an RV.

However, that doesn’t mean we just sat around when we got to Moab. Once we had our hotel squared away, we made the short drive outside of Moab to the Corona Arch Trailhead. The Corona Arch is something I have wanted to see for years, but haven’t had time. This was a great opportunity to cross this beautiful landmark off my list.

The Day’s Itinerary

If you would like a detailed look at my travel itinerary for the day, and how I have changed the itinerary, I have included a link to my itinerary for you to review below.

Mesa Verde National Park

Our first stop of the day was to Mesa Verde National Park near Durango, Colorado. If you aren’t familiar with Mesa Verde, it is the site of some of the most spectacular ancient Pueblan (Anasazi) ruins. While they weren’t offering tours to see the ruins up close because of COVID, we were still able to get some fantastic pictures from the viewpoints. I even hiked a little bit to get to a viewpoint in Soda Valley to see the Balcony House.

Corona Arch

My favorite activity of the day, by far, was the hike to see Corona and Bow Tie Arches. Next to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Corona Arch is one of the most fantastic and charismatic arches you will find in Southern Utah. I would rate the hike at easy to moderate because it does have some exposed sections that require using wire cables and a ladder. However, the distance and elevation gain are not large enough to be a difficult hike. Because of the heat, I had the Corona Arch virtually to myself, which was amazing!

Photo Highlights

If you are interested in seeing some more photos I took during the day, I have included some others for you to review below. These photos I took with my phone, but will be posting photos I took with my camera when I publish guides in the coming months.

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