Away She Goes: Moab

We are about to spend our third night in Moab, Utah, a town in the middle of the desert, tri-sected by the Green and Colorado Rivers, and home to two of the country's most dramatic national parks. We are staying at a great campground near the junction of rts 191 and 313, putting us about half way between Arches Nat'l Park to the east and Canyonlands Nat'l Park to the west.


View from the parking spot at our campsite

Friday morning we went into town for coffee and breakfast and discovered that Moab is, as we expected, a very fun town that I pretty much love.

3 Fits, all the same! Moab, you feel like home.

A good example of my favorite kind of art/jewelery, and one for sale at our fav coffee shop- I like this town :)

After breakfast we drove out of town and stopped at the trailhead for Corona Arch, a scenic hour-long hike that is located between the two parks, near our campground. It was a beautiful start to the day, and definitely got us excited to go see more of the area. So we went home, packed a picnic lunch, and set back out for Canyonlands, about a 40 minute drive (though, the drives here hardly ever feel long- the speed limit is usually around 55, and you're cruising through one of the most visually interesting landscapes even Dr. Seuss could dream up).

On the way out to Corona Arch, about a mile from where we started

Corona Arch- our first Arch viewing! Unreal.

Corona Arch from a higher viewpoint

We love it!

Next, we did 3 moderately-long hikes in Canyonlands: Mesa Arch (awesome), Upheaval Dome (weird- check out the mysterious story if you're so inclined) and Whale Rock, an easy and beautiful climb from the road (which is already up in the sky) to the top of one of the most massive rocks in the park, giving you a panoramic view of the place. We also went out to the Grand Viewpoint, which is also amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

View from the Grand Viewpoint- the white rock layer is more sturdy than some other layers, and thats why it remains in so many places

View from Whale Rock

Whale Rock, off the other direction

We left the park around 6 and went back to Moab in search of a local swimming hole, which was promised to us by the writer of some blog about such things. We walked for about 30 minutes out along a trail following creek in the outskirts of town, but never actually found the swimming hole. It was a beautiful hour nonetheless, and at the end I of course jumped into the stream and laid down in the 8-inch deep water, because it is effing HOT here and I was desperate for that swim. It was nice!

Creek walk, swimming hole FAIL

Then we stopped by the Moab Brewery for a drink (delish) and went home to cook (on our NEW campstove, thanks Wendie!) and sleep.

Today (Saturday) we went to Arches. Unbelievable stuff to see here. We did a longer hike out to Delicate Arch, which was spectacular, and then did some shorter hikes (and climbs) around the Frames, Double Arch, Balanced Rock and a few other cool sights. Definitely our most scenic day on the road so far.

Delicate Arch- me doing Standing Bow Pulling pose underneath

Turret Arch

Me climbing up Turret Arch- props to Kelsey Shannahan, photographer

Frame Arch. Gorgeous day behind.

Balanced Rock

We finished off our day some shopping in Moab, some more local beer, and now we're back at our little tent. Hiking all day in the desert, it turns out, is pretty exhausting. So, we're enjoying some early bedtimes...but I have to say, so far we've managed to cook all our meals at our campground, enjoy plenty of beverages, make friends with our neighbors, and even make progress in our books. Life is pretty good at the campground.

We leave in the morning for 3 days at the Grand Canyon to conclude our adventure :( I will make sure to update at least once more!

Also... I'm going to the Gorge.
Lots of love
xo
Cory

Hi friends,

Hope all is well with you! I'm a little worried about my friends on the East Coast, as Irene approaches. Everyone please stay as safe, we're thinking about you. We are in Utah now, after spending Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday in beautiful Colorado. I think pictures are the best way to share our experience, but briefly, here's what we've been up to:

Jess welcomed us to Dillon CO on Monday night, and took the day off from work on Tuesday to show us around her amazing backyard. We drove north and checked out Rocky Mountain National Park, did some beautiful short hikes around the mountains and mountain lakes. We stopped on the way home in the town of Hot Sulphur Springs to have a long soak in the hot mineral water before heading back to Jess' house to cook, and shower, and do laundry, and get ready for a week on the road.

We left Dillon early Wednesday morning to drive south on Rt 24 toward Great Sand Dunes National Park. We were only briefly held up, on account of running literally STRAIGHT into the USA Pro Bicycle Race, taking place in Colorado this week. We went as far as we could go on 24, but the field was coming toward us and eventually we were told to pull over and wait until the race went by. So we did, and what a happy accident it was- the star bikers blew through pretty quickly but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

The Great Sand Dunes are located in the San Luis Valley, a high and huge desert-like valley in the southern Rockies. It is one of the most stark and beautiful places I've ever seen- absolutely worth a visit. Unfortunately, when we finally got close, so did the weather- in the form of violent thunderstorms moving through the area. So we checked into a sweet little campground nearby, set up our *new* tent (in very high winds, no problem, we handled it), made dinner, and waited it out. Thankfully, near sunset it looked like there was a clearing which meant an opportunity to go into the park and walk around, so we jumped. It was dry but still cloudy as we headed in, but we maintained hope that we could climb all the way to the summit. We got pretty high, and saw a beautiful sunset, but it started looking ominous again after the sun went down. So, sadly, we didn't make it but halfway to the top of the 800-foot dunes (The highest in the US). Apparently, the top is prime ground for getting struck by lightening, and it was getting really dark, so yeah we chickened out. Still, the scenery was breathtaking, and we stayed as long as we safely could, playing around in the sand. I'll never forget it. The most amazing thing to me was that it was literally DEAD silent there. We sat down at the edge of a mountain of sand, and couldn't hear anything but our hearts pounding in our ears from the climb. No wind, no water, no sound at all. I can't remember ever hearing so much nothing before.

Today, we woke up and and once again headed west, toward Utah. We stopped at some more very beautiful hot springs in the morning, located on a land trust nestled into the Sangre de Christo mountains at the edge of the San Luis Valley. From there, it was about 6 hours of driving to Moab, UT. For anyone interested, we took the scenic, winding Rt 114 through Gunnison National Forest (gorgeous) to Rt 50, which connects to Rt 70 in Grand Junction, CO, which is a short distance from the Utah boarder. Then we cut south to Moab along Rt 191.

And here we are, in the most scenic campground you could possibly imagine. We are staying for the next 3 nights at a BEAUTIFUL campground tucked off the access road between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We'll spend a few days exploring the desert before heading to the Grand Canyon.

Loving and missing my friends and family
Xoxo
C