It was a long drive from Bryce Canyon to the town of Moab - the gateway to Arches and Canyonlands N.P's - and we turned up at around 2pm with nowhere planned to stay. Normally we use the motel coupons for cheap accommodation but, because Moab is a busy holiday town, none of the motels have discounts so our first job is to find somewhere affordable for 3 nights. This meant calling in to every single place for a quote!

We got quotes for about 6 places when we pulled up at crossroads with 3 motels in sight. Jason went over the road, I went to the one we parked at and Sam went just around the corner. I was finished and sat in the car with Becks when it happened. Becks heard Sam shout and we both got out the car to see Sam leaning against a fence. She'd jumped up to have a look at the pool over a wall and landed on an uneven surface when it cracked!

I ran over and carried her back to the car where she lay on the back seat. I took off her shoe and sock and new then that it was bad. Very badly swollen and clearly extremely painfull. Jason had got back, I got some ice from the motel and we drove off to the hospital. Each bump in the road travelled through Sam like a separate break, no matter how carefully Jase drove. We found the hospital without too much delay and took Sam in on a wheelchair.

By this point she broke into a bit of a panic and nearly passed out at one point. That's how bad the pain was. Immediately Sam was seen to and made more comfortable by the nurse while I sorted the insurance. Within two hours of the accident Sam had two sets of x-rays, a temporary cast, an initial diagnosis, crutches and discharge papers! The ankle actually dislocated temporarily which probably caused most of the initial pain, a piece of bone was chipped from the tibia (leg-bone!) and tendons were stretched.

Meanwhile, Jase n Becks found us a hotel for 3 nights and we got Sam comfortable on the bed with the leg elevated and iced. To help ease the pain she was treated to half a Mcdonalds and half a Subway sandwich for dinner!

This obviously set our plans off a bit and we didn't manage to get to see Canyonlands N.P. But we did have a full day in Arches N.P in between doctors visits! We took Sam to the doctors on both of the following two days where she had more x-rays and a cat scan. The doctor wanted to be satisfied that surgery wasn't required but the swelling was too great to make a decision. This meant Sam has to live in a temporary cast for the next 10 days until we could get to a second doctor on our travels who would then make the ultimate decision. The not knowing was the worst part as surgery is the last thing Sam wants

So, back to exploring! One day was really all we needed to take in the fairly small Arches N.P and we started it by driving to the far end and leaving Sam behind while the rest of us walked for 2 hours! Sam attempted to walk with us but it was too hard on her arms. She actually quite enjoyed some alone time when she could nap in the car! The walk took us through 3 or 4 of these naturally formed structures, the most impressive being landscape arch which probably won't be around for much longer.

Fortunately for Sam lots of the highlights could be seen either from the roadside or not far from it included the precariously balanced rock and the most photographed "delicate arch". The terrain is very similar to Australia's red centre i.e. Uluru and there are almost as many flies about! We also found time to see some ancient indian art on a nice little drive near Moab.

With our disability badge and disabled passenger we set off towards Yellowstone N.P with no alterations to our schedule!