Moab

So I can guess what you are thinking. You are waiting by your computers, refreshing the page every thirty seconds, hoping against hope that I post hundreds of pictures of the arches of Moab from multiple angles for you to look through today. Folks, I hate to disappoint you. While I do have hundreds of pictures of the arches and the shrubbery and Sam and I standing on red dirt, I know that it just isn't going to have the effect that a few dozen well chosen pictures would. It's like too much candy, you think you want it, but it isn't good for you. So try to savor this and make it last.

Some people think that a national park is the first thing to go see in Moab. Not us. We chose the much subtler attraction: Wells Fargo. We were packing enough wedding loot to be bank robbers thanks to our generous friends. Luckily, I had a clever disguise:

There is nothing like chilling out for a couple of hours at the bank waiting for a teller to let you add someone to your account.

I recommend the Wells Fargo mango sucker, 2010. It has an orange finish with just the barest hint of a paradise aftertaste. "Sam" likes the strawberry cheesecake, bless his heart. I love how we still have that newly wed glow in these pictures.

Good as that was, the arches were even better! The beauty of Arches National Park is just not a laughing matter. It is seriously stunning and we loved exploring it.

Despite what you might think, this is totally a staged shot. I was so taken with this ladies white shorts I just had to have a picture with them in action.

You probably know this arch from the Utah license plate. Since Sam and I are kind of a big deal we hiked to it to get our picture taken, a feat we were practically the first to accomplish. The only problem is that, as you can see from this picture, it is sitting on the edge of this frightening bowl of nothingness that drops down far deeper than this picture conveys. Expert climber and mountaineer that I am, even I had to sit and have a think and a bag of chex mix to bolster my courage for the walk under the arch to get my picture taken. I'm sparing you the shots of me sliding over there on my backside. Suffice it to say, I made it, as did Sam.

When you are out in the desert you have got to hydrate. Sam says this picture would have had a greater and more realistic impact if I had exerted the energy to take the cap off the bottle. I'm not so sure.

This picture is the view from our hotel. Sam said to buck up and make the best of it.

And even after all these many days of marriage, they were still happy.