Moab, Utah

On the road again and I am off to Moab, Utah to spend time with my good friend and soul sister Tracy.

The KOA here in Moab is a very nice facility and has a friendly staff.

While here, Tracy and I will be road tripping, sightseeing and hiking. Should be a great week!

**** Downtown Moab

Settled in 1878 this thriving little town welcomes visitors from all over. With Arches National Park to the north, the La Sal Mountains to the south, Canyonlands National Park to the west and the Colorado River next to it, enthusiasts from everywhere flock in.

Whether you like to hike, bike, raft, off-road, climb, zip-line, explore, shop, eat or looking for adventure, it’s all right here in Moab.

There is plenty of history in Moab too!

Moab Cabin, circa 1881

Top: John Henry Shafer House, circa 1884

Bottom: Arthur Taylor House, circa 1894

Top Left: Star Hall, circa 1905. Top Right: Moab Latter Day Saints Church, circa 1889. Bottom: The Uranium Building, circa 1950’s

Top: Cooper-Martin Building, circa 1907. I couldn’t find info on the building bottom left and the buildings on the right give you a glimpse of the rocky terrain that surrounds the town.

Apache Motel, circa 1957 and Milt’s Stop & Eat, circa 1957

Eclectic artwork is everywhere.

**** Bowtie and Corona Arch

Tracy and I drove out to Potash Rd to make the hike to Bowtie and Corona Arches. The 3 mile roundtrip trek was a moderate one with some points of difficulty.

The picture on top is the two arches together. Bottom left is Bowtie and bottom right is Corona.

Bowtie Arch below is a pothole type of arch.

Corona Arch is an amazing 140 foot high arch with a width of 105 feet.

To get to the arches from the trail you have two areas where you use cables and another that has a ladder. Be careful because the slick rock can be very unforgiving.

The bottom picture is the backside of Corona Arch.

Along the way there was a cairn in an alcove, a lonely white Evening Primrose and a bumble bee gathering nectar from a Prince’s Plume.

Other sites along the way to the arches were the train tracks cutting through the mountains and some petroglyphs.

Staying on Potash Rd we saw a very unique Jug Handle Arch.

At the end of Potash Road was the Intrepid Potash plant. Potash is also known as Potassium Chloride. This plant has had a couple of terrible mining accidents.

**** La Sal Mountains

A scenic drive through the La Sal Mountains is where we are off to today.

The 60 mile loop took us into the La Sal Mountains which are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, which is the second highest mountain range in Utah at 13,000 feet.

They say when the snow is gone from the mountain tops so goes the breeze in the valley.

This is Mill Creek Canyon.

Don’t be surprised to see a few cattle on the road!

As you descend back down into the valley you can see the Castleton Tower and Parriott Mesa.

When we reached Castle Valley, both are spectacular to see (top). Bottom left is Castleton Tower and bottom right is Parriott Mesa.

Fisher’s Towers is a maze of pinnacles, spires, minarets and other oddly shaped rock formations. The Towers are named for a miner who lived near them in the 1880’s. The highest tower is 900 feet high.

The top is a smaller group of towers. Bottom left looks like lighthouses to us and bottom right resembles an Indian head.

Continuing on the loop back to town we followed the Colorado River where we stopped at a day use area to watch the rafters and have lunch.

The Colorado over millions of years has created these deep gorges through the states of Colorado, Utah and Arizona, with boundries along Nevada and California .

**** Newspaper Rock

As we day trip it down to the south end of Canyonlands National Park we stop to see Newspaper Rock.

The earliest inscriptions were made by Native Americans around 2000 years ago. There are close to 650 different designs in the rock face.

The dark part of the rock in which inscriptions were etched is called desert varnish, a blackish maganese-iron deposit.

**** Canyonlands National Park (south)

Roadside Ruins was .3 mile trek back to an ancient Puebloan granary.

Wooden Shoe Arch, sure looks like it to me!

The last overlook in the “Needles” part of Canyonlands was at Big Springs Canyon.

The Needles form the southeast corner of Canyonlands and was named for the colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone.

**** Wilson Arch

Wilson Arch was named for local pioneer Joe Wilson who had a cabin nearby in Dry Valley.

**** Canyonlands National Park (north)

Today we commence on yet another early morning daytrip.

Our trip through the “Island In The Sky” section of Canyonlands starts at Mesa Arch.

The hike is a short easy one back to this fifty foot wide arch that is at the top of a 500 foot vertical cliff.

Looking through to the canyon base is breathtaking.

The other side can only be viewed from the hikers below in the canyon or by air travel.

Whale Rock, what do you think?

Upheaval Dome, its a mystery as to how the rock formations in the two mile bowl below were formed.

An instantaneous meteorite impact or a slow moving salt dome?

Green River Overlook is a short walk to one of the best wide open views of Canyonlands.

Prince’s Plume is a common plant in Moab and the surrounding areas.

It was interesting to try and find all the landmarks in the picture.

Candlestick Tower is an impressive pinnacle of Wingate sandstone as it stands in the vastness of the canyon.

Buck Canyon Overlook is a short walk to the east rim of Island In The Sky with views of the Colorado River Basin and the La Sal Mountains.

Grand View Point takes you literally to the edge for a great panoramic view.

**** Dead Horse State Park

Legend is that the point was once used by Cowboys to roundup wild mustangs. They would herd them across a 30 yard wide neck to the mesa, then coral them using branches and brush across the narrow path. They would then pick the horses they wanted and for reasons unknown they would leave the rest to die of thirst on the mesa overlooking the Colorado River.

The point is on the right side of this picture where there is an overlook of the Colorado and mesas below.

Standing at the edge of Dead Horse Point you can see the gooseneck of the Colorado River.

Thelma & Louise Cliff

Remember the movie Thema & Louise? The iconic ending happened right here.

I researched this a lot and this photo shows the spot. Yes there are trails down there but they are only for 4×4’s.

So, another great week of travel in the books. I hope you enjoyed my adventures as much as I enjoyed experiencing them.

I truly am blessed that I can live this lifestyle and share it with family and friends.