Our gorgeous drive from the Grand Tetons to Moab included a three day stopover at Aspen Grove RV Park in Tremonton, UT over Soldier Pass. It was a good halfway point and a new campground with wide, concrete sites situated just a couple hours north of Salt Lake City. We played a little pickleball and just hung out without any specific plans. The scenery and weather were lovely so we just enjoyed some quiet time.
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| Ruth's glamour shot in Tremonton |
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| Nice complex and nice people |
We were looking forward to our next stay in Moab's Portal RV Resort. Mike's sister and brother-in-law and Keith's son Cameron would be joining us for a few days of our stay. As they did in the Black Hills, they would bring their Polaris side-by-side to do some off -road riding. We were also looking forward to further exploring Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park since our visit here two years ago.
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| On the drive to Moab |
Once we settled into our adjoining campsites we took our first side-by-side ride on the
Fins and Things Trail. This sand, slickrock and ridged trail ride was just a pre-cursor for the trails to come. We only did about half the trail as we got a late afternoon start. We stopped by
Milt's Stop N' Eat on the way home.
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Rustic bathroom blended into the
desert landscape |
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| Good burgers and shakes |
The next day we headed out early for Hell's Revenge Trailhead in two side-by-sides. The trail was mostly slickrock and an absolute blast. The trail was busy with a variety of off-road Jeeps, side-by-sides and ATV's. The riding was exhilarating...with fun intermixed with danger and rocks. There was some shenanigans at one of the lookout points instigated by a parking dispute which culminated in loud cursing and a brandished gun. All became calm again in the middle of the desert as Keith and Mike mastered the Hell's Gate obstacle. We continued on our journey to an obstacle called The Escalator. As karma would have it, The Escalator had exacted a vengeful toll on the gun brandisher from earlier in the day. No one was injured in The Escalator, but we stayed for an hour and they still had not freed the Jeep from its grasp. After lunch we went back and finished the back half of the Fins and Things Trail.
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| Someone coming up Hell's Gate |
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| Very fun slickrock riding |
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| The scene of the shenanigans |
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| You see all kinds of things to climb rocks with in Moab |
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| The Escalator won this battle |
Our next ride started out without many challenging obstacles but led us to
Gemini Bridge. It was an awesome landscape and we spent an hour or so exploring and photographing this stunning site. We then made out way to the
Poison Spider Trailhead. Right from the beginning we were grateful for our seatbelts as we crawled up the ascent. The side-by-sides did an amazing job ascending the steep, rocky, sandy trail and its many obstacles. This was an out and back trail that lead to an expansive viewpoint of Moab. We were hot, tire and dusty after the ride, but filled with a sense of accomplishment for conquering the Poison Spider.
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| Someone headed down the rocks |
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| Gemini Bridge |
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| Beneath Gemini Bridge |
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| Some of my clothes will be forever reddish/pink |
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| On a long, lonesome highway.... |
After several days in the red dirt and on wheels, we opted to use our feet for a few hours and hike to the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Again, we utilized our GypsyGuide as we drove the park for historic narration. The parking lot was busy but we found a spot and headed up the slickrock to the arch. It was quite busy and not that private, but I doubt this hike ever is.
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| Delicate Arch |
That evening we headed to watch the sunset at Hurrah Pass. The ride out was a mix of gravel roads and rocky switchbacks up the mesa. We thought we would be the only ones there, when, to our surprise a couple other folks rolled up to enjoy the sunset as well. We headed back as dusk, then dark descended on us. It was a bit eerie riding in the dark, but we had headlights on the side-by-side and made it back home with no issues.
On our last full day in Moab with Lynn and Keith we took a long easy ride on the Onion Creek Trail. It was a perfect end to our off-road adventures in Moab. On our own again, we headed to Canyonlands National Park. We stopped at several viewpoints and short walks throughout the park. Our favorite stops were the Grand Viewpoint Overlook and the short hike to Upheaval Dome. It threatened rain most of the afternoon, but we stayed dry.
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| Onion Creek Trail |
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| View of the Schafer Loop Road |
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| Upheaval Dome |
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Don't know what this was on the rock,
but thought it was a pretty formation |
We attempted to go to Arches again to check out a couple more hikes, but our 10am arrival was too late, the park was full and closed to further entries for at least 3 hours. We called an audible and headed to the La Sal Mountain loop. This is probably not a primary stop on a Moab itinerary, but it should be. The beautiful, winding road up into forested elevation and back down into the desert of Castle Valley is some of the most splendid landscape you could possibly see. I don't think my pictures will do it justice as almost every turn exposed another breathtaking. Wow!
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We stopped for more cows on
this trip |
The next morning we got an earlier start and entered Arches again to hike the Devil's Garden Trail. We also stopped at the Windows arches on our way back through. On our last night in Moab we revisited the Desert Bistro where Mike had Elk Chateaubriand and I had Duck Confit along with a lovely red wine befitting such a meal. The food and service were impeccable, such a lovely experience.
Tomorrow we head to our last stop on this journey, Durango, CO. (Que the melancholy music in the background)😔
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