Exploring Moab

On our way to Moab we stopped by to see the place that John Ford filmed almost all of his westerns and that John Wayne made famous in Stagecoach; Monument Valley and Gloudings Lodge. We tried local Navajo cuisine by having a Navajo Taco which is made with Navajo Fry Bread, loved the bread!

There is so much to see and do in Moab and the surrounding areas, we only scratched the surface exploring in the 4 days we were there.

Our first night in Moab we stayed right in the town at the Canyonlands Campground. We were able to wonder around town from there, do a little shopping (not that we bought anything) and we checked out the local scene at the Moab Brewery, beer was pretty good and of course we bought a glass for our collection at home.

Early the next morning we headed to Dead Horse State Park to try to get a camp site but they were already full. It is amazing how many campgrounds don't take reservations and are first come, first serve. The ranger recommended a campground right down the road with gorgegous views of the moutains, Horsethief Campground - our first "Dry" camp experience. This means we did not have electric, water or sewer hookup, so we were "roughing it" in the RV!

We set up camp, doesn't take long when you are "dry" camping, and headed the few miles to Canyonlands National Park to do a bit of four-wheelin', so much fun - gorgegous, Lisa's favorite spot so far. Right off the start we encounter Pucker Pass - wow! If we would not have been told by the lady at the Visitor Center that we would fit we might not have believe it! (Course we would have tried it unlike the 2 vehicles that were following us who turned around, chickens!)

Along the almost 50 miles we did four-wheelin' this was Lisa's favorite spot, went on as far as the eye could see, so many different colors and types of scenery, the picture does not do it justice, truly amazing, Lisa could have sat here for hours soaking up the sun and the views.

Next we came across Musselmans Arch, after a 4 mile, not so easy drive, we were greeted with the only Arch in the park that you can walk across. Look closely at the picture, there is only the thin layer of the Arch underneath us and a very long way down to the valley floor.
The picture below is of a "Rock Cairn". They are along each trail to show us the way, very helpful, so we thought we would share them with you as they keep us from getting lost and keep us on the trails that the parks mandate you keep to.
We moved campgrounds again and landed at Portal RV Park, in the middle of being remodeled but once it is done, wow, some of these RV parks are amazing (and expensive). We then spent the day at Arches National Park. We rented the audio tour of the park from the visitors center and we drove the scenic loop through the park stopping at all the arches and rock formations along the way. There are over 200 Arches in the park, we saw just a few along the route and numerous rock formations - penguins, queens, wall street, all the larger formations are given a name and resemble one thing or another. Two of our favorite Arches are below:

Broken ArchDelicate Arch, the most famous of all the arches.

Next we are off to Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks - we will write more soon!