Cue The Sun and the Portals to Narnia

So this time I'm at a cafe about an hour outside of Denver in Colorado. It's pretty chill, full of kids on laptops. The guy behind the counter is on the internet too. He was pretty friendly, but he seems a bit bored. He's probably been on since 5:30.
Yesterday after leaving the Awesomeness that was the A Cup of Joe cafe, we bolted down to Moab where we got some camping groceries and then found a campground right on the Colorado River. It was BEAUTIFUL. The sky was completely covered in stars to the point where they formed clouds rather than constellations. There was no ambient light to make them shrink. And they were hemmed in on all sides back lighting the incredible Utah rock formations.
When the sun broke over those formations, before it even reached the river valley where we were, the place had red-amber glow from the light bouncing off the rocks and plateaus. We had breakfast down by the river.
After eating we drove to the Arches National Park and hiked around the North and South Window formations and the Turret Arch, then did the hike up to Delicate Arch. It was amazing. The climb up was really steep and the rock we were walking on was pretty slick, but luckily it was dry, so it was fine. There was one part where my vertigo threatened to take over, but I managed to push through it. And it was well worth it. As Sophie pointed out, that arch is a portal to Narnia. There's no doubt about it.
While I was up there enjoying the view and Peter was climbing all over the rocks like a monkey, I got into a conversation with a couple who were leading a small group of 6th and 7th graders from Spokane Washington on a little excursion around the country. They were really cool. I wish I'd gotten their information. But as I was talking to them and watching the kids pretend to be pushing the arch, I became aware of a little old woman staring at me. In a lull in the conversation I looked at her. She was squinting at me (which may have been from the blinding sun light or because she was old, or her confusion) and she said "You look tough, but you're really a very sweet girl!" As if she was surprised that any kid with pink hair could be friendly. I thought it was funny.
Actually, because of the nature of the hike up to the arch (the lack of flat footing in many places, the lack of shade in most of it, the necessity for some climbing up and down rocks, and the sheer height from which one could fall) I was surprised by the number of older people who were hiking it. Some seemed to be getting along fine, and I suspect them of lots of activity at home, but some seemed to struggle a bit. I think it's really cool that they're so determined though. Apparently there's a problem with people not bringing enough water and getting super dehydrated. While we were there there was a park ranger who had to hike some water up to this old couple. She said at least the water was lighter than her med pack and a lot less ominous. I have to agree.
Anyways, gotta go. A lot of driving left to go.