Masters of RVing Adventures

I will try to limit our time here in Moab to just one entry, but the next six days are jam-packed with so many things to experience in this canyon town! At the end of our arrival day, Mark already loved the feel of this place.

Day 9 – Arrival in Moab

We arrived at Sun Outdoors – Arches Gateway (as they have three Sun Outdoors here) and were greeted warmly. I’m impressed with how many amenities they’ve been able to pack into their small space… a pool and hot tub, a playground, tether ball, separate chess and checker courts, putting green, two enclosed dog “parks” (though one is more the size of a dog pen), two picnic pavilions, rows of cabins, a nicely done area for tent campers, an “airstream only” section, and of course the requisite bath houses, laundry facilities, and more. Each site is set so you pull in opposite way of each other, which allows for a bit more privacy in very tight spaces. Our shared green space included two picnic tables, two small shade trees and a charcoal grill. The tables and trees were at each end. You basically had to be good neighbors and super friendly. After getting Jack settled, we took time to check out our “things to see and do” list and prioritized each day’s activities. Then we headed to the pool with drinks in hand!

Day 10 – Arches National Park

I’m not nearly so eloquent a writer to capture in words the vastness and desolate beauty of this place, nor am I a good enough photographer to capture it in pictures. So, I’ll just recount our day. Fun factoid I learned in the Visitor Center: In 1929, President Herbert Hoover signed a presidential proclamation protecting over 4500 acres of what would become Arches National Park under President Nixon in 1971. With only 18-miles of road, this park is easily doable in a day. Mark only agreed to two hikes, and I knew one had to be to see Delicate Arch, which meant the other would have to be shorter and less climbing or he wouldn’t do Delicate Arch by the time we got to that area of the park. The temps were hovering around high 90’s to lower 100’s. With his core body temperature being so much warmer than mine, I knew I couldn’t push him. We stopped for picture taking at all the famous rock formations, such as Park Avenue, the Three Gossips and Courthouse Towers. We did short little walks to Balanced Rock, North/South Window Arches and the Double Arch, and he seemed to enjoy the strolls. The only discouraging aspect was some lady had her dog on the strictly ‘no dog’ trail. “Privileged Folks” like her give all dog owners a bad name and are the reason for so many ‘no dog’ rules these days.

I was surprised at how crowded the park was with foreign tourists. I was able to time our visit this week where we didn’t have to adhere to the Park’s timed entry reservation system. On several occasions, we had to search for parking spots at some viewpoints and totally bypassed a few other scenic lookouts. The 1.5 mile “hike” to Delicate Arch is truly that, with sections where you must climb rocks, pass along steep narrow paths and follow signs that keep you guessing which way the trail actually winds. But the view is breathtaking (especially if height has your stomach doing flip flops!). Near the trail head of Delicate Arch is an example of petroglyphs, along with the historic Wolfe Ranch.

Day 11 – Hell’s Revenge & Schaefer Trail Switchbacks

This day is the whole reason why we came to Moab! First half of the day was going to be dedicated to off-roading in side-by-sides with a guide on some of Moab’s most famous trails. The afternoon was dedicated to an off-road experience in Cheeto (using FunTreks 4-Wheel-Drive Trails book as our guide). We arrived early at High Point Hummer & ATV to meet our professional guide, JP, and go over safety rules for driving our Can-Am X3 during our three-hour Hell’s Revenge & Fins N’ Things guided adventure. For those who do not live in the off-roading world, Hell’s Revenge is the name of the signature trail for Moab’s 4-wheel community and is one of the most famous trails in the US. It is a 6.5 mile round-trip trail in the Sand Flats Recreation area and consists mostly of slickrock with bits of sand and rock ledges. It is labeled as a double black diamond trail. You warm up on the nearby 9.4 mile, one-way Fins N’ Things trail, being only a single black diamond. Needless to say, I was way out of my comfort zone as soon as we hit the first climb and all I could see was sky, while Mark did nothing but hoop and holler with delight the entire time! On the few times I opened my eyes, we had gorgeous views of the Colorado River and the surrounding canyons. I am attempting to upload two short videos, not sure if they’ll play properly, so I’ve also included a few photos!

After having a recovery lunch at Dewey’s Restaurant & Bar, where Mark ordered a cheese burger and I chose the Cuban Panini, we came back to the rig to get Timber and Cheeto for our next adventure. Only after talking to the Canyonlands Park Ranger the following day did we learn that where we began off Potash Road is labeled a blue trail, but when you reach the Shafer Trail Switchbacks it turns to a black diamond trail. The Potash side was rough, but we used the guidebook (which oddly, didn’t show us the rating or perhaps we mistakenly overlooked it) to note our turns and check points. We found the spot for the ending scene where Thelma & Louise drive off the cliff.

We stopped for a few pics with Timber and Cheeto and then we entered the backcountry of Canyonlands. We spotted Desert Big Horn Sheep, which the Park Ranger informed us are much smaller than the Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and are quite rare to find in the park. I had asked him to look at my photo because I thought they might be sick due to their small size. They looked like deer with oddly formed horns instead of antlers.

Things were going well enough until we sighted the cliff wall. We ascended four miles of tight narrow switchbacks climbing a 1,500ft massive sandstone cliff to exit the canyon. I would not let Timber hang his head out the window for fear it may tip us over the ledge! Most of the harrowing section of the trail is in the Island of the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park and you exit (or enter) the trail near the Visitor Center. The original trail was made by Native Americans to get from the river to the top of the mesa. Sheep herders then used it to move their flocks for winter. Before becoming part of Canyonlands, the trail was slightly widened to accommodate trucks hauling uranium to market.

Day 12 – Canyonlands National Park

This park is huge! Even though all three districts adjoin each other, each area must be reached from different entry points with travel time between the districts of over 3 hours. So, we didn’t realize that and decided to only further explore the closest district to Moab, Island in the Sky. We prefer to not leave Timber more than five hours in the rig by himself, so this was the closest doable district. We’ll have to return to explore The Needles and The Maze districts another time. The Park Ranger suggested you need four to five days to adequately explore the three districts of this park. In 1964, to protect the Green and Colorado Rivers from becoming part of a big dam project, Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall influenced legislation that President Lyndon B. Johnson passed designating the area as a National Park. From the 2025 Moab Guest Guide, I learned Canyonlands is open year-round, 24 hours a day and that The Needles district is about a 90-minute drive south of Moab, while The Maze is a three-hour drive west from Moab! Most visitors only see Island in the Sky since it is closest and has 20 miles of paved roads to easily traverse to see the deep, red-walled canyons, arches, buttes, spires and other innumerable spectacular rock formations. The other two districts, with the most land mass, only have eight miles of paved roads between them and requires 4WD vehicles to explore!

Day 13 – Bike Riding

Mark agreed to go on a bike ride along the Colorado River and then loop back into town if the end of the ride could include a stop at one of the local breweries. We worked the morning to allow for cooler late afternoon temperatures and then took off on our mini adventure. We could ride right from the campground to connect to the aptly named Colorado Riverway Trail, which begins at the junction of US Hwy 191 and Utah Scenic Byway 128. We took an out and back route, then continued past Lions Park onto Moab Canyon Pathway into town. On the return, Mark was rewarded with a cold brew from Proper Brewing Co. After a refreshing pint and talking to several locals, Mark rode back to the campground and I continued my ride on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail another few miles to the entrance to Arches before turning back.

Day 14 – House Hunting

Didn’t I mention in the first paragraph that Mark fell in love with this place the first day?!! By the second afternoon he was looking online at homes and by the third afternoon he had contacted a realtor and arranged to view a few properties in and around Grand County and Moab proper. Will we forgo a ski place for a Moab dwelling? Keep up, buttercup, through the whole trip to find out!

Next Few Stops on the Road

We head on to Salt Lake City next.