Moab must be a Mecca for mountain bikers. Beginning a couple of miles out we started seeing signs for bike trails, bike rentals, bike tours – not to mention all the bike racks on pickups, RVs and just plain cars. Even our motel (the Red Rock Inn, where we stopped for showers and laundry) had a bike washing station – no car washing allowed. We had dinner at the Blu Pig (BBQ and country music) and spent a restful night. Ron made it to the 14th inning of what turned out to be an 18 inning World Series game.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the Jailhouse Café before setting out for Canyonlands NP. All the way up to the Horsethief CG (BLM land) we saw bikers by the truckload at each trailhead. In the campground itself there were families of bikers, with young kids practicing their sport wherever there was dirt. We spent the afternoon driving through Canyonlands scenic canyons, stopping for a picnic just before the end of the road. We decided to stay another two nights, changing our site to a more level, prettier site we had seen.
On Sunday we drove into Dead Horse Point SP. The legend goes that some cowboys drove a herd of wild horses into the end of the butte, blocked the only way out, selected the ones they wanted and left the rest without food or water, 2000 feet up from the river below. The horses are said to have died looking at water they could not reach, thus the name.
Monday was our day for seeing Arches, another one of Utah’s Mighty Five. We picnicked just past Wolfe’s ranch. Wolfe and his son left Ohio for the warmer, drier air of the Utah desert and lived for nearly a decade in a one-room log house, raising a couple of cattle and growing corn by the side of a small creek. Nearby was a wall of rock art, the first we’d seen close up. Eventually his daughter and her family joined them but didn’t like the remote area and all returned to Ohio eventually.
Continuing along the scenic drive for the better part of two hours, we checked off most of the highlights of the park: Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, the Windows, etc.
On Tuesday morning we went back into Moab to camp near the Colorado River at Goose Island and set off to follow the rock art trail. It was like a treasure hunt, following directions and scouting for the petroglyphs left behind by long ago inhabitants of this area, some now surrounded by a golf course community with million-dollar houses right nearby. After a nice lunch at the Moab Brewery we continued our quest. Driving down SR279, we couldn’t help noticing dozens of cars parked along the roadside. Turns out, it is also a rock-climbing hotspot. We watched in awe as pairs of climbers, one ascending one holding the safety line, climbed what looked like a sheer vertical rock-face. Had to send a picture to Emmett and Cal.
We left the Colorado river behind and drove to Green River, visited the river museum and turned west again for Capitol Reef NP, the next one on our agenda. On the way to Capital Reef we camped at Goblin Valley SP, perfect timing. It was Halloween and the goblins in the valley were only a short walk away.
The only wildlife we saw was a red tailed hawk, sitting about 100 feet from our camper on a small sandy mound, holding his dinner with his talons. Looked like he was having snake or lizard for his meal.
We left Goblin Valley at 10:30 and arrived at Fruita CG in the park about two hours later. It’s fall here in the Fremont River Valley; all the trees are shades of gold and yellow, a bright spot in the unrelenting high desert landscape. We booked the site for three nights and will explore the park until Sunday.
The Ultimate Road Trip 