Author: Easin' Along

We had heard much about Moab, UT, but nothing prepared us for the real thing. The views are stunning, the town has a Wild West charm to it, and, with two of the country’s most scenic National Parks minutes away, there is plenty to do. We checked into Archview RV Resort, just a short distance from the entrance to Arches National Park, ready to take it all in. We pulled Lucy into our campsite, complete with a great view, and surrounded by off-roaders, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts from all over the country.

After unhitching and getting Lucy settled, we drove into Moab to explore the town. We arrived in the late afternoon. Temperatures were comfortable, so we decided to stroll the sidewalks, then stop for dinner. The streets were busy, but not overly crowded…until we reached the Moab Brewery and it was if everyone had vacated the sidewalks and piled inside this place.

Knowing that crowds like this are a good sign, we decided to stay and sample the offerings. We thought we would have to eat standing up until Helen coaxed a young waitress into giving us the high sign as soon as a customer was ready to leave. She worked with us and, in less than five minutes we had great seats close to the bar. The food was good and the beer was cold—a great start to our four-night stay.

With so much to do, we asked folks in the restaurant for suggestions. As expected, both National Parks came highly recommended but, if we chose to do Arches, we should plan on starting early to avoid the long line of cars that usually formed at the entrance. Not ready for an early start just yet, we decided to visit Canyonlands first.

Helen did some map work and determined that we should take Highway 313 out of Moab and drive about 20 miles to the Island In the Sky Visitor Center.  From there, we would hike along a broad canyon rim to the Grand View Overlook with stops at several overlooks and landmarks along the way. From the moment we stepped on the trail, the views of the canyon floor, some one thousand feet below us, were breathtaking.

Mesa Arch, our first stop, is a fifty-foot span that sits about 1,200 feet above Buck Canyon. Looking through the Arch, we could get a look at the snow-capped LaSal Mountains in the distance.  The arch also provided an eye-opening view of White Rim country as shown in this picture. A second picture gives a better view of the scale, as well as evidence of the popularity of this landmark.

The trail continues along the rim and Helen and I stood spellbound by the incredible formations below us.  We passed arches, mesas, buttes, spires, and canyons. Each formation defied description so I’ll post a few pictures and hopefully readers get an idea of the amazing display.

 

 

In addition to the rock formations, we had wildflowers to admire also. Although Canyonlands usually receives only 10 inches of rain per year, there was enough this year to bring out a nice display of desert primrose to enhance the beauty of our canyon hike.  The pinion-juniper also added some color beneath several interesting formations.

 

Additional stops at Buck Canyon Overlook and Grand View Overlook were just as amazing. The pictures show remnants of old roads and trails carved into the canyon floor during the days when Native Americans, cowboys, and uranium prospectors passed through before Canyonlands became a National Park in 1964. A close look at one picture from Buck Canyon, the Colorado River is visible in the far-off distance.

Grand View Overlook, the farthest point of our hike and pictured at the top of the paged, proved to be the most spectacular. A vast canyon stretched for miles and miles into the distance and the rock formations rose from the desert looking much like red totem poles.

This over-the-top experience was incredibly fascinating and truly unforgettable. I hope you enjoy the pictures because I can’t add much more in words…Goodbye for now—we’ll be Easin’ Along.

I love travel surprises.

Originally, our plan after leaving Lake Powell was to drive to Moab, Utah but there was not a campsite available there on the dates we wanted. We reverted to Plan B and searched for a campsite halfway between Page, AZ and Moab. RV Trip Wizard, the app we use for route planning, led us to Blanding, Utah, a place unfamiliar to me. After reading some favorable reviews, I took a chance and booked Blue Mountain RV Park for two nights, not expecting much more than a place to park Lucy for two nights until we could leave for Moab. Fortunately, my expectations were way off the mark.

Blanding, Utah is a small town (pop. 3,300), about 35 miles west of the border with Colorado as the crow flies.  As depicted in the image below, there is not much there which only adds to the charm. We checked into the RV Park, a very clean and perfectly landscaped campground with a stunning view of the mountains to the north. Our new home was turning out to be a very pleasant surprise.  I love it when that happens. The weather was cold with snow in the area (elevation 6,100 ft), so we made a quick trip to a nearby supermarket for a few dinner items and settled in for the night.

The next day we made use of the laundry facility at the campground where Helen met a nice couple that gave her some great information about what to do in the area.  This couple, residents of Missouri, told her that they had been hiking in the area for many years, but that things had changed a lot since Blanding had been “discovered”. At one time, she said, they could hike for days and never see a soul, but that things were different now.  Things still looked pretty sparse to me, but I had only been here for about 10 hours.

Acting on information from our new friends, Helen did some research and learned that Natural Bridges National Monument, another place I had never heard of, was a short distance to the west.  We finished our laundry and moved out.

The forty-five-minute drive to the National Monument was delightful. Rock formations lined both sides of the highway and the wildflowers were out in abundance. About 10 miles into the drive, a wide curve in the road took us through a long, sweeping canyon bordered by high rock walls.  Before we crossed a ridge, I stopped to take a picture of the canyon.  The road we were on appears as a strip across the middle of the rock wall.

We made it to the Visitor Center of the National Monument and presented our National Park Senior Pass to the two Park Rangers behind the desk.  There were only two other visitors in the Center so one of the Rangers had plenty of time to give us information on the Park and the three Natural Bridges that are the main attraction. Loaded with an abundance of information, we began our self-guided driving tour of the Park.

A natural bridge is a rock formation that takes the shape of a bridge when water erodes the center portions of the rock over millions of years.  Ultimately, the entire rock formation will collapse because the erosion continues, but, for now, the Natural Bridges are awesome and fascinating structures. The three structures in the National Monument are named Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo.

Below, I have posted a picture and a few words about each bridge in the Monument. We could have hiked to each one, but we only had one afternoon to visit so, I took the pictures from overlooks along the road. The distance to the bridges may make them a bit hard to see.  I tried to place the bridge in the center of each photo and you can click on each picture to enlarge them.  

Sipapu

The first of the natural bridges on the driving tour is the largest in the Monument and the second largest in the United States.  This natural bridge spans 268 feet and is believed to be the second oldest of the three.  The name Sipapu means “Place of Emergence” as members of the Hopi Tribe believed that this bridge was an entryway for their ancestors to come into the world.

Kachina

This bridge spans 204 feet. The name comes from the rock art on the bridge that resembles Kachina dolls, wooden dolls carved by the Hopi that represent ancient spirits.

Owachomo

The last bridge on tour takes its name from the rock mound on the east end of the abutment. It is the oldest, smallest, and thinnest of the three bridges.  Owachomo spans 106 feet and is only nine feet thick.  This bridge is also the most photographed bridge in the Park.

Although we only had one day in Blanding, we felt we made the most of it.  A casual conversation in the laundry room turned into one more great day on our Lucy Does the Desert road trip.  We were lucky, but sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. It’s time to be Easin’ Along. We say goodbye Blanding. Thanks for all the surprises.

If the first two months of our Lucy Does the Desert road trip served as the buffet line, the last month surely is the dessert table, and Zion National Park had us hungry for more. Now, we were ready for a big heaping slice of both the Grand Canyon and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Wahweap Campground and Marina on Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, will be our dining room.

Wahweap Campground is on the southwestern edge of the National Recreation Area and just a few miles from Glen Canyon Dam, one of seven dams that tame the Colorado River. Lake Powell began filling in 1972 after the completion of the dam and is a beautiful body of water. Rising above the water are incredible rock walls, mesas, and buttes that stretch as far as the eye can see. We had little knowledge of this part of our country before we arrived and were completely astounded by the views that greeted us on the first day.  Another Arizona sunset greeted us as well.

Helen’s sister visited Wahweap last year and strongly recommended that we sign up for a boat tour of Lake Powell which we did on our first morning—good recommendation. Tourist season had not reached its peak, and we had no trouble getting seats on the tour boat out of the Marina.  The sky above us contained only a faint moon and no clouds. The blue sky was matched only by beautiful the blue-green water of Lake Powell.

The two-hour tour took us into Antelope and Navajo Canyons. The skilled boat captain squeezed our vessel through a few tight spots with high rock walls on both sides until we reached the turnaround points. The tour guide told us that Ancestral Puebloans once lived in the caves found in these walls. Motoring along, we passed boaters out for a day on the water including a wedding party celebrating the wedding of a member of their group.  The beaming bride is pictured here in the dark bathing suit.

We also spotted fishermen with large strings of bass and walleye. I can’t remember when I’ve had a more relaxing day.  Helen returned to Lucy and finished off this day by placing a few more pieces in her puzzle.

On day two, we decided to drive 125 miles southward to peer over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

 

As mentioned earlier, the tourist season was still a few weeks away, but nobody told the busloads of Japanese visitors that filled the parking lots. After a lengthy search we finally found a parking spot at the far end of the lot and hiked to the Visitor Center then on to the overlook. The walk proved worthy.  I understand why the Grand Canyon is Arizona’s number one tourist attraction. The pictures don’t capture the grandeur. A considerable distance away from our viewpoint, a group of tourists stood on rocks above the canyon without a guardrail. I couldn’t help but think of the three people who fell from these rocks earlier in the year.  I watched this group until they returned to safety. We drove back to the campground filled with awe from the scenery.

During our boat tour, several people told us that we had to hike to Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River while we were in the area. We decided to do that on day three and drove the short distance to the trailhead, located on a hill over the river. The hike to the overlook is a short one, maybe ¾ of a mile down the hill and the same distance back up. The trail is on sandy, rocky, ground and going down was not a problem.  The walk back up took a bit longer…ask the Happy Hiker.

Nevertheless, we felt good to get some hiking in and Horseshoe Bend offered a very picturesque setting along the Colorado River. Way down in the bottom of the canyon, I could pick out four boats resting on the shore. The resting spot looked like a great place for a picnic or one of those beer commercials featuring young adults in bathing suits around a bonfire. I couldn’t spot any young folks.  Oh well, youth is wasted on the young anyway.

In retrospect, I have to admit that this camping experience was a surprise of the best kind. We came here not knowing what to expect and left feeling that everything we saw and did was awesome. Hopefully, we can return someday. I would love to rent a houseboat and spend more than a few days on Lake Powell to admire the views and maybe catch some fresh fish for dinner. I’m sure we could work it in…after all, we’re retired and just Easin’ Along.