Today is moving day again. We left Monument Valley about 10am for Moab. The skies were clear blue and the temperature was in the low 50s. It was a nice trip. The roads were all smooth and no traffic, so a very leisurely drive. Cassey even crawled out from under the sofa and joined us for part of the trip. We pulled into Portal RV Resort at about 3pm. Full sun and in the low 60s. This is a new RV Resort and we have a very nice site. Portal RV Resort, in addition to renting spaces, also sells RV lots, Casitas and RV homes (I looked it up online and they are very expensive).
http://www.bearlakerealty.com/cgi-bin/real?pge=newsearch&cityname=Moab&subdivision=PORTAL%20RV%20RESORT
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| For Sale |
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| For Sale |
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| Swimming Pond |
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| Moab Brewery |
Day 71, Thursday March 17
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| Delicate Arch |
Today's agenda was Arches National Park. Arches is home to more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, as well as many other unusual rock formations (we didn't begin to see them all). It's only about 5 miles north of Moab, so we put on light layers of clothes, packed a lunch and headed out at about 10am. It got down to about 30 the night before, so we waited for the sun to warm things up a bit. It turned out to be a beautiful day in the mid-60s, with some pretty good wind in the afternoon. We stopped at the Park Visitors Center, picked up maps, wandered through the exhibits describing the geologic wonders that made this park so unique and watched a film showing some of the park highlights. Dave really wanted to hike back to Delicate Arch, so that's where we went first. The park advised that often the parkinglot at the trail head fills up, so to get there early. They must have been talking about the rush in late spring and summer, because the parkinglot was crowded, but definitely not full. We ate our lunch in the parking lot and packed up water, cameras and sweaters. The sun felt good enough to hike without the sweaters, but we were glad we had them when we reached our destination. The Delicate Arch trail is 1.5 miles long each way with a gain of about 500 feet in elevation (from 4,300 to 4,800 feet). It starts out fairly flat and dirt. The next section of trail was a long steep climb up slickrock. This was a very physically demanding stretch of trail (especially for me who is sooo out of shape) and where most of the 500 foot elevation gain occurs. There is no shade and this stretch of climb gets one quite hot and thirsty (took lots of water). There was a lot of uneven rock stretches and slippery sand on the rocks. Just before reaching Delicate Arch, the trail narrows and runs along a steep cliff edge that has a view of the canyon (if you dare look down). Once at Delicate Arch, be prepared for what looks like a subway stop. There are people everywhere. I can't even imagine what this small park looks like during "season". It's quite difficult to get a picture of the arch without people in it. Everyone wants to stand under the arch for a photo op (but us). The wind was whipping really good when we got to the arch, so we were glad we'd brought another layer.
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| Slickrock going up |
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| Slickrock going up |
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| Resting |
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| Slickrock going down |
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| LaSalle Mountains |
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| Garden of Eden |
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| Balance Rock |
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| Garden of Eden |
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| North Window |
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| Double Arch |
Day 72, Friday March 18
Across the highway and north a few miles is Canyonlands National Park. I never realized these two parks were so close together. Unlike Arches, most of the viewpoints are below you: canyons, mesas, buttes, the Colorado and Green Rivers. The park is divided into 3 districts: Islands in the Sky, The Needles, and the Maze. The Needles district is located in the southeastern section of the park, about 50 miles south of Moab. The Maze is in the westernmost section of the park and is the most rugged and difficult to access. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is necessary to explore this region. We spent our day at Islands in the Sky, the highest and northernmost section of the park. This part of the park is formed on a broad, level mesa, bordered by the Green River on the west and the Colorado River on the east. Again, we put on light layers for temperatures in the low 60s with wind, but the sun was shining (hurray for sun!).
We stopped at the visitors center for our usual orientation and video. Our hiking today was a lot more tolerable, but still exhausting for those of us that need to get in shape. The first stop was Mesa Arch. It was categorized as a 30 minute easy hike (yeah..my kind of hike). I found this arch to be just as beautiful as Delicate Arch at Arches, but easier to get to and a lot less people.
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| Mesa Arch |
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| Mesa Arch |
Our next hike was also termed as an easy/moderate hike: 2 miles, 1.5 hrs at Grand View Point. This trail is popular and very well-maintained. It begins on a sidewalk with moderate but rugged rock stairs. From the first viewpoint, you can see almost directly into the Monument Basin. The basin features towering spires with one freestanding formation called the Totem Pole (305 feet tall). The basin is crisscrossed with 4-wheel drive and old mining trails for as far as you can see. We saw many 4-wheel drive vehicles and bicyclists down below. Driving those trails looked like it would be a lot of fun (different car, different trip). The continuation of the trail is a slow dirt single track that eventually becomes cairn-marked slickrock as it approaches the edge of the canyon. It is really a thrilling hike just because you can hike right out to the edge of the canyon and get the most spectacular million dollar views. This trail has the best views on the southernmost part of the Islands in the Sky. Though thoroughly exhausted, this really was the best stop in the park. The day was moving into late afternoon, so we make a couple other quick stops and then headed just outside the National Park to Dead Horse Point State Park.
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| Grand View 1st Overlook |
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| Cars & Bikes |
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| Roads Below |
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| Road leading in/out of the basin |
Creative Cairns:
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| I'm sure the Anasazi left these |
Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock opposite Canyonlands National Park. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. According to the legend, around the turn of the century the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by steep cliffs straight down on all sides, trapping the horses. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the balance go free. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the point with no water, where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below. We stopped at the visitors center for our obligatory orientation and then headed out to the furthermost point for photos. This mesa provides a stunning view into Canyonlands National Park as well as views of the Colorado River winding through the basin on it's way to Lake Powell. We agreed that the views of this canyon were better than those of Grand Canyon. Totally glad we didn't skip this stop.
Day 73, Saturday March 19
Moab has three State Scenic Byways. I've never been sure what is required to be named a Scenic Byway, but in researching, here's what I found:
State Scenic Byways help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States based on their archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and
scenic qualities.
Today we drove the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway (US Hwy 128). This scenic route along the Colorado River gorge began just a mile from our RV Park and paralleled the Colorado River within a narrow section of the gorge. Much of the land along the river is BLM, so anywhere there was a wide spot along the road, there were people camped. The sandstone cliffs rise immediately from the river, so there were many beautiful viewpoints. About 13 miles into the gorge, the landscape widens to range land and a couple beautiful lodges.
Our plan was to stop at Red Cliffs Lodge, a working horse and cattle ranch, for lunch. The lodge was beautiful, with 30 individual riverfront cabins, The Cowboy Grill (indoor restaurant), Pioneer River Deck (outdoor restaurant), Castle Creek Winery and the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage. It was a nice sunny, breezy day, so when they told us the only restaurant open for lunch was the Pioneer River Deck, we said that would be fine. You could smell the restaurant before you got close. A chef was BBQing burgers, chicken and ribs on a huge grill outside. Lunch was $10.00-all you can eat. We had our choice of salads from the salad bar, chips, soft drinks and cookies. For us, once through was plenty. The burgers were huge. We found a sunny table and enjoyed the meal.
After finishing lunch, we went to the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage in the basement of the hotel - admission free. Red Cliffs Lodge, formerly the George White Ranch, was a key location for nine of the big Westerns including Rio Grande, Cheyenne Autumn, Ten Who Dared, The Commancheros, and Rio Conchos. In the museum we learned more about film locations, how the sets were built, and how the filming process was managed on this site. On display were production photographs, movie posters, autographed scripts, props from the many pictures filmed in the area, and displays about the western ranching heritage. Over 120 movies, and hundreds more TV series, specials, and commercials were filmed in the Moab-Monument Valley area. This was a very interesting museum and we were surprised how many films were made in this area. After touring the museum, we stopped at the Castle Creek Winery tasting room. The winery was established at Red Cliffs Ranch in 2002. The winery produces over 5000 cases of wine per year and grapes from the Moab area have produced over 80 medal-winning wines. We tasted a few and purchased a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. We drove up the river a short distance further and decided we didn't want to continue the loop all the way out to Hwy 70, so turned around and headed back to town.
Moab has a wonderful network of bike trails throughout the area, including paved and dirt trails. Dave took a couple hours and caught the paved trail across the street from our park and rode out along the Colorado River. The bike trail is along Hwy 128, that we drove earlier. Because of the narrowness of the canyon, the trail is often supported by pylons above the river bank. The bike trail does not continue all the way up the canyon, so at some point it is necessary to join the cars on the road. Dave didn't go that far.
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