This was to be my final full day of sightseeing in Utah. Excitedly, I looked forward to my tour of Canyonlands and Arches National Park. Prior to meeting my guide, I stopped by Love Muffin Cafe (Love Muffin Cafe) in Moab center for some breakfast. I opted for a tasty muffin made with carrots, raisins, apples, and spices. A satisfying chia seed pudding was my chosen side. This casual cafe offers a seating area. Prices are very affordable. They offer at least two varieties of vegan muffins, as well as chia pudding.

After my morning nourishment, I headed down the main road in Moab center to the tour company. With four or five of us tourists in tow, we commenced our journey to southern Utah’s popular “Canyonlands National Park”.

Along the way, we encountered varieties of local flowers.

We made our first stop along a stretch of road in Horseshoe Canyon, where Native American “rock art” was painted into the canyon surface. Each scene depicted an story in the life of the ancient indigenous peoples in this region.

Alas we had arrived at Canyonlands National Park! As our 4×4 vehicle made its way through the winding roads, we were awestruck at the massive and towering rock formations in our midst!

Beautiful flowers crossed our paths as we continued through the canyon. White, pink, and orange hues graced our sight.

The Colorado River came into view during our drive through the canyon. As its path twisted and turned during our day’s excursion, I could not help but to admire the majestic rock structures along the way.

From contiguous rock formations to individual soaring structures, the canyon landscape is sure to please.

Cactus plants topped with their pink flowers, grow plentifully throughout the park.

Towering rock pinnacles are absolutely stunning.

We proceeded onward to a higher elevation in the park. “Island in the Sky” is a large mesa where we enjoyed a spectacular panoramic view of the canyon landscape.

From there, we headed down to the winding road before us and eventually exited the park.

Our tour guide mentioned that he knew of a picturesque spot nearby where would eat our lunch. He brought a light but satisfying lunch for us. Fresh salad and mixed fresh fruit was our mid-day meal.

After we devoured our meals, we set out for the second national park on our agenda: “Arches National Park”. Before arrival in the main area of the park, we paid a visit to an area where dinosaur tracks resided. I was impressed by the sheer number and size of these ancient footprints.

Tumbleweed, plant life, and varieties of pretty colorful flowers greeted us with every turn.

And then we reached the main section of Arches National Park! This is the site of more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches.

Stacked rock formations directly ahead, with snowy mountain tops in the rear, were a surreal sight to behold.

Boulders and stacked rocks in every shape and size you could imagine, met my every glance to the left and to the right of me.

Then we came to face the main attractions for which this park is so renowned: the “arches”. As we proceeded further and further along our path, we encountered many many arches of various sizes and formations. Examples of the arches in the park are duly named double arch, turret arch, window arch, bicep arch, and skyline arch.

One of the arches actually sits at a diagonal.

A few prairie dogs reside in the park and burrow their way underground.

Such lovely flowers grace the desert landscape.

The arches views from afar are quite stunning.

Our spectacular sightseeing tour of the national parks had ended. Dinnertime had arrived. After our guide dropped us off in Moab center, I strolled down to “The Peace Tree Juice Cafe” (Peace Tree Juice Cafe) for a bite to eat. My dinner consisted of a delicious acorn squash stuffed with red quinoa and roasted veggies, with roasted tomato romesco sauce. My beverage was a refreshing Springtime juice of apples, ginger, kale, and lemon. The large restaurant has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and is reasonably priced.

I needed a good night’s sleep after my eventful day. Evening turned into daylight. It was time to “rise and shine” for my final morning in town. For my breakfast meal, I had saved a second muffin that I had purchased at the “Love Muffin Cafe” (Love Muffin Cafe). The apple cinnamon muffin was really good.

I selected a wonderful tofu reuben sandwich with sauerkraut for my lunch at Eddie McStiffs (Eddie McStiffs Restaurant). The staff there is willing to prepare a vegan-suitable meal upon request.

As I soaked up the sun’s rays for the last time outside of my hostel accommodations, I appreciated the glorious canyon views encompassing the town.

The time had arrived for my transportation to Moab Airport. A connecting flight in Denver, allotted me with sufficient time to grab some dinner at the Denver Airport. Root Down (Root Down) is a sit down or take-out restaurant located in Concourse C. I opted for the veggie burger in a pretzel bun, with avocado, jalapeno jam, and sweet potato fries. My accompanying beverage was a super greens juice of kale, cucumber, chard, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and grapefruit. The food is delicious and affordably priced.

I really enjoyed my vacation in southern Utah. Canyonlands and Arches National Parks are well-worth a visit for their spectacular vistas and the vegan meal options in Moab are quite satisfying.