Moab, Utah and Beyond

Wednesday morning we had to pack our things and say goodbye to the fantastic campsite we had at Arches National Park. We were still going to be in the area (Moab), just not at the national park. Earlier in the week we checked out a Passport America campground in Moab since we knew we needed a few more days in the area so our mail could catch up with us. Bob found the OK RV Park just south of Moab and it had a spot for us! The excitement is because there was a Gem and Mineral Show starting on the weekend and we weren't sure any parks would have openings.

After moving to the new site (sorry, no pic, but check the coordinates at the right), we took it easy as we were having dinner with some Escapee Boomers I contacted on-line. At 4:30, we met Dona and Joe at Moab Brewery. When we arrived and were seated, the place was empty, but much later when we decided it was time to leave, there were many people waiting for seats---OOPS! But we had a great time talking with Dona and Joe. We hope to see them down the road someday.

Thursday we wanted to drive the LaSal Mountain Loop. It is a scenic drive through, you guessed it, the LaSal Mountains. Well, as we were getting in the car a man from the rv park asked where we were going, told him, and he said that the top of the drive is closed for road construction. He recommended that we go north on the scenic drive by the Colorado River, turn onto the LaSal Loop at Castle Rock and we might see more than if we start at the south end of the loop. So, we did. Now, of course, most of you know that we don't drive anywhere without geocaching. Yes, that was also on the agenda.

One of the caches was at an old cattle corral on the LaSal Loop. The hint indicated that it was near an old truck. Well, here is the truck and yes, it is definitely old!

We saw some leaves changing, but not many. Mostly cottonwoods turning yellow near the river.

We went as far as we could on the loop before the road was closed (not as far as we had hoped) and then we turned around and headed back to the winery on the Colorado River! Bob and I each tasted three wines, then we purchased a bottle of Kid Red.

Our next stop was lunch at the best rated place to eat in Moab--Quesadilla Mobilla. It was definitely a good spot to get our lunch. We agree with the people who rated it the best. I had a quesadilla with spinach, chicken, and artichokes. Bob had the Fiery Fungus with beef, mushrooms, and jalapenos. Yum!

Then it was time to shop for some long-sleeved shirts for Bob. When you're packing in Florida and the temperatures are close to 100 and the humidity matches, it's hard to think of packing clothes for cool weather. And that is what happened! Bob didn't pack any of his cold-weather shirts. Thank goodness I packed the windbreakers, hoodies, and jackets!

Bob and I both found shirts and it was time to head back to the rv. We needed to do some laundry as we have no idea when we will be close to laundromats again. Before doing laundry, we checked the post office for our mail and it wasn't in yet. We would try again Friday morning.


Then it was back to the rv to watch the debates--we had cable!

When we awoke Friday morning it sounded like growling outside the rv. No, it couldn't be--it was thunder and then we heard the raindrops hitting the roof. It is not supposed to rain in the desert! It looked like it would hang over Moab the entire day.

Before checking out of the park, we went downtown to do some last minute grocery shopping and to check the mail. We got everything on our list, found out there are two, not one, grocery stores in Moab, got our mail (yea) and went back to the rv to head to Goblin Valley State Park (Galaxy Quest was filmed in this park). We were wondering how the rain would affect the desert.

It started to clear up as we left Moab. The drive to Goblin Valley was uneventful. When we arrived, we were disappointed that all the sites were filled. Many of the trails were closed due to the wet conditions so we continued on our way to Capitol Reef National Park--one of our many favorites. Our biggest hope was that there would be a camp site available when we arrived.


The rain had turned the Fremont River which was just a trickle our last visit in this area into a raging, red river! In addition to seeing a raging river in the desert, there were waterfalls coming down the rocks near Capitol Reef! It was an amazing sight. You expect to see waterfalls when you drive through the Smokey Mountains, not when you drive through the desert! The waterfalls were not clean, clear water, but red from all the red sandstone that the water was washing away!

 Finally, we arrived at Capitol Reef! It was soaking wet, but we got one of the last two campsites! Since our last visit, the sites have been paved!

The area was much too wet to even consider hiking, so we only stayed one night.Saturday morning we enjoyed a quick walk around the campground, watched the horses near our site, then packed the rv to leave.

  We wanted to move to someplace drier where we could hopefully get back to hiking--Bryce Canyon National Park, here we come!