WHERE IN THE WORLD... Okay, it really is in the middle of nowhere, about 4-6 hours' drive from places you might otherwise be (Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque...) And near other great national parks including Bryce and Zion.
The town of Moab is absolutely adorable. A main street which is, by default, also a major truck route with huge rigs steaming through. Studded with small businesses and anchored (for us) by a food truck park and a stellar bakery and coffee cafes and rock (the hard kind) stores. A massive business is one part pharmacy, one part hardware store, and one part anything else you might conceivable need to buy on your travels. With parking.
Here's the one OFF note, a chain restaurant in downtown. A Wendy's. But it seemed to be closed and look at the sign it's got out front... Sour grapes??
And then there are the parks, spectacular red rock landscapes. Here's the lineup of cars to get into Arches... you have to have signed up for "timed entry" if you want to drive through during daytime hours.
Here's one of the arches that the park is named after. Massive. And at night (we went for a "night sky walk) resembles a hulking gorilla silhoueetted against the night sky (with the BIG DIPPER framed in the center opening).
We also took a Jeep tour of Canyonlands which is just up the road about 20 minutes. Easy peasy.
One of my favorite spots is this flat stretch where they filmed Thelma and Louise driving off that cliff at the end of the movie. I think they had to airlift the wrecked car out of there after. Nearby one of the scenes of Tom Cruise rapelling in a Mission Impossible movie was filmed. He apparently did his own stunts.
There was also plenty to see close up. Ravens. Magpies. The occasional waterfall. And lovely little weedy things that look for all the world like baby birds stretching to be fed.
And that just scratches the surface. IF YOU GO! My advice, stay IN the town of Moab. The hotels are very basic (as opposed to the fancier ones just outside town) but you'd step out onto the street and be able to walk in any direction... and you're reminded of how it once was before Burger King and Wendys took over a streetscape.
Please, share your memories of a great national park...
What amazing sights! Thanks for sharing them with us . . . .
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous trip, Hallie! Great photos, and excellent travel tips. Before we left on this trip I noticed that same, inscrutably weird sign on our local Wendy's. It's a headscratcher.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite national park is the Everglades, especially down at the southern tip, near and in Flamingo. Mrazek Pond is teeming with birdlife, and my favorite ever birdwatching moment happened there. It was a clear, beautiful day with deep blue skies, and a flock of outrageously pink roseate spoonbills flew overhead. I still haven't caught my breath.
Anhinga Trail alone is worth the long drive. There are other boardwalk trails in Florida--Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is one of the best--but Anhinga Trail, despite being only half a mile long, has an astonishing variety of wildlife, all so used to people that you have no trouble at all spotting them up close. And the visitor's center has our local wildlife artist Charley Harper's colorful abstract murals.
Thank you all for the lovely notes yesterday. I am feeling much better, and many tests, including a scary angiogram, have shown no heart disease or blood clots that might have caused the MI. Having the angiogram, though, means I can't fly for several days, so our bestlaid plans have gang awry. Luckily, we have travel insurance, but my daughter and her husband took off work to travel with us.
Man plans and God laughs, right?
Thank you for sharing the good news, Karen. Strange, but happy you don’t need additional procedures while traveling. And I bet your daughter is happy to have the time off to be with you.
DeleteIt was only a National Lakeshore when I lived there, but I loved growing up with the Indiana Dunes in my backyard. Beachcombing and finding the most interesting “rocks,” which were slag from the nearby steel mills.
ReplyDeleteA college friend is working her way through the national parks so I occasionally get a text like, “What do you think about Pinnacles in September?” After looking up its Central Valley location, I said, “It’s going to be hotter than he!!” But it was actually just warm, and beautiful and we had fun looking for condors (but only saw vultures).