Our friend Russell came into town on Saturday from Georgia and as soon as he landed we jumped in the car and drove to Moab, Utah. I had never heard of Moab before we drove to Arizona in April, but it is the home of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks! It is a beautiful desert town located in Southeast Utah that is surrounded by red-rock mountains. It is an amazing town for adventurous people like JC and myself! We went to both parks, hiked, and rented a Jeep in the two full days that we spent there and still didn't make a dent in the activities that Moab offers! Now that we've been there once we plan to go another time for longer =)
As usual, I took about 400 pictures in the two days that we were there, so here are the highlights...
Here's the crew: JC driving using an old-fashioned map, Russell riding shotgun, and Izzy trying to stand in her usual spot on the center console (Not pictured: Karlee and Gizmo).
These two have been friends for a long time… glad they got to see each other!
These are Native American writings on the side of this rock wall, which is on the side of the Highway 279 in Moab...
I have a weird obsession with trains…..
We tried to hike to Corona Arch, but Izzy and Gizmo could not take the desert sun….We kept trying to find shady spots for them to rest in, but ended up turning around and going back to the car. Maybe we can go back in a different season and it will be cooler?
The Colorado River and the La Sal Mountains outside of Moab.
In addition to trains, I also have a healthy obsession with "sunburst" pictures….
But that's ok because my husband is obsessed with climbing rocks!
Found another American castle… rock formation in Arches National Park
No big deal… just holding up these rocks…
We had to take this iconic picture while visiting The Windows…
Beautiful view of The Windows in Arches National Park
Me and some random kid at Sand Dune Arch...
So we hiked and visited the arches the first day and rented a Jeep the second day! We rented this red Rubicon for about 7 hours on Monday and drove on some 4-wheel drive trails that afternoon!
As we reached the top of a hill we came upon this beautiful scene. It looked like a caribbean ocean in the middle of the desert! This pond is owned by Texas Gulf, which is a mining company. They mine Potash, which is essentially a salt that contains potassium in water-solulable form. They use the strength of the sun in the desert to crystalize the potash. The ponds are blue because of a dye they put in them to increase the absorption of sunlight.
The Colorado River running through Canyonlands National Park...
I thoroughly enjoyed driving the Jeep =)
Apparently we like taking pictures with our arms up…it seems appropriate in a place like this….
JC and I climbed out onto these pillars to take in the scenery… it was scary, but we are back in Denver now, safe and sound =)
This is JC and I on the top of Musselman Arch. The picture on the left shows how thick the arch is… only about 5-6 feet! And we were pretty high up in the air!
This was the most extreme part of the road we went on. The above picture is from the passenger seat while we were going down the incline. The picture below is after we drove back up! And I drove that whole thing ;)
A couple of the best pictures of the day! Photo Credit: Russell Grobman
And this was interesting… we're driving down the road and all of a sudden we see a HUGE boulder that has fallen over and is leaning against the rock wall. We actually got out of the car to make sure the jeep would fit… which, now that I see the pictures, seems a little stupid…. I promise it seemed tighter in person!
Visiting Moab is probably my favorite trip we've been on since we've lived in Colorado. I would love to go back and do some more hiking and maybe even camping when it is cooler!
My Dad and sister, Shana, were here a few weeks ago. We went white water rafting in Glennwood Springs, to Rocky Mountain National Park, Rocky Mountain National Arsenal, and did other various things in Denver. Once I get everyone's pictures back, I will write a blog post about that trip.
Thanks for reading!!
