schellsontheroad2014.blogspot.com: Scenery Beautiful in Moab

On Monday, once the mail arrived, we had an easy drive of 115 miles from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT. Arrived mid afternoon and set up in RV park with no problem. Since we're a big motorhome there are some parks and areas that we can't fit into, so it's nice to sometimes go back to the ones we've been before and know that we can maneuver around OK and this is one of those parks. It's nothing fancy, good rate per night, good/stable power with wifi, and about 68 TV channels as if one would need that many. We're staying here a week since we're enroute back to AZ and not too excited about that 110 degree weather just yet.

The weather hasn't been the best here this week with lots of rain. We were able to do a bit of sightseeing but again since we've been here a couple of times before we didn't repeat Canyonlands (not one of our favorites). We talked about doing a jeep tour and/or a boat tour on the river but the days we wanted to do that, it was raining and so we passed………save it for next time. Dick's allergies have been in high gear all week for some reason so he hasn't really felt like doing a lot outside.

We did take a long scenic drive (about 2-3 hours depending on how many stops you make) on the La Sal Mountain Loop south of of Moab through the La Sal Mountains (imagine that).. I especially like this drive which climbs to over 12,000 ft. There are many hiking and biking trails along the way, as well as campsites with awesome views. We did see several bicyclists along the way……..can't imagine climbing to those heights, and they didn't even appear winded. The road is very well maintained but there are several switchbacks in certain areas so I wouldn't want to do it in our RV but a car is no problem. We saw deer and some free range cattle but that was it for animals. There are many beautiful views as you descend down into Castle Valley with beautiful rock formations along the CO River where many movies have been made.

Another day we went to The Arches National Park. This is one of our favorites so couldn't resist going again. The last time here (2011) we took a hike from Devils Garden, on an undeveloped trail of about 4.0 miles, to see the Double O Arch. Actually the trail isn't too bad until you get past the Landscape Arch, and then it becomes pretty difficult (in our opinion since we're not that experienced) but the view at the Double O Arch was spectacular and so worth the effort. I'll post a picture but it'll be from 2011.
I say this every time we come here…..'mother nature does some amazing things' and photos just don't do the park justice. Many hiking/biking trails within the park as well if you wanted to spend a day or two in the park.

Moab is a very 'outdoor' town of about 5000 full-time residents and there are many jeeping/ATV companies, hiking companies, river boat companies……anything that involves the outdoors. It's an expensive town to live in as is with most 'touristy' type areas but the scenery is awesome. There are many good restaurants catering to the tourists, and many of those are from abroad. One other thing I noticed about Moab is probably at least 6 laundromats for a town this size. I guess with all the 'red dirt', people need to do laundry after a day of hiking, biking or whatever.

We've had a lot of good food here but one of the most memorable was at Milt's Stop & Eat, the oldest restaurant in Moab. Milt's was built in 1954, and has had various owners over the years, but all continue to do their best to keep Milt's 'the way it was' back then. There are only a couple of tables inside as well as stools at the counter (vinyl topped) The patterned Formica counter is still the original as well. There is a nice patio outside which used to be where Milt and his wife had a trailer. They still live just down the street and Milt still drives (he's in his 80's) and comes to the diner often. They serve the old fashioned malts in the metal cups they were made in, the burgers are made from grass-fed Angus beef, the french fries are hand cut and delicious. It was just a fun dining experience and the guy waiting on us showed us a couple of binders of photos of days gone by. One binder even included a few index cards with the original recipes written on them.

We will leave here in the morning and head towards Williams, AZ where we'll stay until about 9/3 when we go to Sun City for the wedding. Williams is another tourist town along the old Route 66, as well as I40 and at an elevation of about 6700 ft. so much cooler than the Phoenix valley. We've been to Williams many times so I'm not sure what I'll have to report in next week's blog…….

Have a good week ahead…….