Moab, Utah
Thursday morning Bill drives the couple miles to ACT Campground to stalk the people currently in what will be our spot the minute they pull out. We have another trip planned with Gay and Joe just as soon as we get moved!
I get the "come on down" call just before 10:30 and get backed into our very tiny space, hooked up to electric, paid for two nights, and meet our pals at the gas station before 11:00.
After yesterday's precipitation we start out with mostly blue skies. A few hours later we'll turn around under dark clouds.
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| The other side of the river from where our Tuesday drive began. |
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| The Birthing Rock sits below the dirt road with rock art on all sides. |
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| One of the more dramatic petroglyphs we've seen. |
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| Styles date from the Archaic to the historic Ute period. |
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| The desert is still green along the river. |
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| From the end of a fin, our view is wonderful! |
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| In all directions. |
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| She's doing it again! |
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| Piper's color is called Mango Tango everywhere else. In Moab it's called Camo. |
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| But Mom, Gay does it! |
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| The potash pools shine in the distance. |
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| Mother Nature having fun. |
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| Up and over Hurrah Pass |
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| The trail winds through rougher terrain so I don't get more photos of the last section. |
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| We can't thank these two enough for showing us another part of their beautiful Moab - we had a great time!! |
Friday morning we once again wait for our new site to vacate. This much larger pull-through has sweet views of the red rock all around. This is a small park, but it's very clean, and although they look very sloped, we're able to get level on both sites. Nice outdoor kitchen and fire pit for group gatherings, and very helpful staff. FHUs with 50 amp and the park WiFi works well.
Bill and I are voracious readers and the more we travel the more fun it is to read about places we're now familiar with. One series we read before we got there was the Manny Rivera mysteries by Rich Curtin, set in Moab. One of the stories is about a cult that lives in houses built into caves just outside of the town.
When I read John and Pam's blog about a Mormon settlement that sounded very similar, I knew we had to check it out.
Friday we're off to Rocklan Ranch. Their post also includes Looking Glass Arch on the same road. We stop on our way in, then again on the way out. It's a pretty and quiet spot away from all the crowds.
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| A short walk along the slickrock gives us a beautiful view through the arch. |
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| Between the arch and the ranch are these two "rustic" cave houses. |
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| No change in furnishings since John and Pam were here :-) |
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| A Mormon "camp" with several large houses. |
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| I'm amazed by the number of solar panels above and in front of the community. |
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| These are not small shanty homes! |
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| Additional caves have been opened, likely for storage, garages, etc. |
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| After turning before we got to the homes (the pics are all with zoom), we followed these foot prints back to the main road where they disappeared. They are small prints of bare feet. It was strange. |
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| The homes all have expansive views. |
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| Looking Glass Rock with what we now see is more than a single arch. |
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| A small ranch road takes us to the other side. Over more slick rock and through small brush we find the "back" of the arch. |
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| And this outstanding amphitheater. It's so quiet, we spend time just appreciating how blessed we are. |
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| Although the temps are nice where we are, the La Sal Mountains are getting more snow. |
Saturday morning we get on the road with a thunderstorm over the red rock surrounding Arches National Park. Rain starts as we cross the Colorado River and head up the hill. Soon it's like driving up a water fall. Water is streaming down the slickrock, rivulets form along the road. It's easy to see how flash floods form so quickly in the desert.
Twenty minutes and we're out of the storm. Clouds crisscross our 150 mile drive, but we don't get more than sprinkles. South of Hanksville we enter a dramatic canyon, and soon we're in Capital Reef National Park.
Out the other side, we find Wonderland RV Park in the small town of Torrey, Utah, and get set up. What a beautiful little park! We love having real grass that is lush and well maintained. A few trees provide some shade, but our satellite connects easily. The owners are wonderful - he's cutting branches at the site next to us to accommodate the slides on a 5er :-). Level gravel sites with FHUs, 50 amp, and the park WiFi is strong.
We like it here!!
Glad you so enjoyed Moab Jodee and Bill--it's an awesome spot! Was it crowded as always?
ReplyDeleteThe town wasn't too bad. We could always find a place to park, never had to wait for gas or a table. There were still a lot of people walking around and several hotels had no vacancies - and of course all the RV parks were full.
DeleteThere are so many adventures around Moab. It's a great stop and beautiful too. Sounds like you had a marvelous time!
ReplyDeleteIt was even better with good friends to show us around.
DeleteCamo Jeep, what a crack up!
ReplyDeleteI remember a few years ago we spent several days in St George, UT (pre-RV, so we had to go out for most meals) and I couldn't find a restaurant that served salads with anything other than iceberg anywhere!
And with produce being very "sad" at the little local markets, I'd pay a lot for a fresh brussel sprout! You'll be happy to know there's a vegetarian cafe in St George now (I checked for next week!). I'll post how good it is :-)))
DeleteHurrah Pass is always a treat...next time you come, we will do a sunset run! Spring is really nice here also with lots of wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful - we already can't wait to come back!!
DeleteThat may be the fastest move on record. In and back out by 11am. Really well done. I think we spent 2 weeks in Moab and still didn’t see it all. Your pictures are just so beautiful. It is an amazingly fantastic area. Love seeing the green with the red rock. Thus so crowded of course. Mother Nature definitely has a great sense of humor and you are terrific at pointing it out. I too love to read about the places I am going or am in. Or local authors whatever they are writing. Wish we’d read those books before seeing the “cave houses”. We couldn’t figure out what in the world they were. Didn’t know Mormons were so into solar. I thought they were a big part of the “no global warming” contingent. Capital Reef may be my #1 spot in the west. We stayed in the park and I might have stayed forever if they’d let me especially since we were there when the fruit was ripe. DO get pie if the little shop near the campground is selling it.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at the amount of solar up on the rock and down in the desert. There must be a gazillion dollars worth there. There's no electricity anywhere nearby so it's their only option to power those big houses. It's hard to pick a favorite place just in Utah, but have to agree that Capital Reef could be it. I'm so mad we forgot to pick up a pie on our way out of the park!!!
DeleteSo glad you are sharing lots of Moab photos so I can get my fix:) That was nice of Joe and Gay to wait til so late in the day to head out. You certainly had a super day! Glad you enjoyed Looking Glass Rock and Rocklan Ranch...such an interesting place. Tessa enjoyed looking over the edge. Glad you had a LONG leash:)
ReplyDeleteThey were sweet to wait past their usual time so we could get moved - we really appreciated it! Tessa was almost as bad as Gay :-)))
DeleteOh, I'm loving seeing your red rock photos! Big arches and tiny arches, you're finding them all. We're still enjoying our time in the Pacific Northwest, but the Southwest is starting to beckon. Piper definitely is in camo mode there. :-))
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about the severe contrast just in colors between the two places it really reminds me of how much there is to see in this country and how blessed we are!
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