Being kids again in Moab, Utah!

Thursday, May 16^th, 2017

We had to wait a little while for the snow and ice to melt off equipment before we packed up, but the sun was warm, and soon we were heading off to the exciting destination of Moab, Utah – one of the world’s top mountain bike destinations!

Since off road biking is my biggest passion, I am dying to give my new bike a real test.  Norm was more interested in the nearby Canyonlands National Park, and to re-visit Arches National Park just outside our campground.

Norm drove his car in some snow last winter while working in Boston, but I have not in about 10 years!  It was pretty nerve wracking driving a 32,000 lb motorhome in this unexpected storm!

As we left Durango we headed up the mountain without a care in the world.  When we hit the very same spot where it was weird to be snowing the day before, it sure enough was snowing again!  Norm and I assumed it was unique to that mile stretch of road.

A few more miles under our belt, and the snow got heavier and heavier!  Now I am not really a “worrier” – I prefer to call myself a “planner”.  My mind works out emergency plans before it happens. That’s a good thing, I think.  Even though the snow was not sticking to the road (thank goodness) I was concerned that as we went into the mountains, and then down into valleys, that might change.  Signs stating “Bridge freezes before road” warned us frequently of the danger.

Snow was sticking to the glass and was clogging the windshield wiper motor.  I wished for a place we could pull over to clear it off, but was not safe to do so for miles.

Barely seeing 50 feet in front of us, the windshield wipers brushed aside this terrifying white stuff. I wanted to pull off at any of the RV resorts we were passing by, but Norm was afraid we would get snowed in for days if we did.  So? Better than getting sliding off a mountain in my book. Norm was behind the wheel, so guess who won. 
 

After an hour or so the snow stopped and the beauty of it began!

After about an hour ( or was it a week? ) the snow subsided, leaving a winter wonderland. I have really missed New England’s snow, so I was enjoying its beauty, now that I felt safe.  I was very thankful that the route Norm chose was avoiding the big mountains, because we later learned that Interstate 70 was closed, and somewhere got about 40 inches of snow! 

Moab ( pronounced Mo-ab)!  A place for the young -at- heart and somewhat crazy!

As we drove through the tiny town of Moab, people were dressed in hiking/biking clothes highly accessorized with splashes of mud. My excitement mounted as we saw most cars with mountain bikes adorning their back.  ATV’s ( all-terrain vehicles) and trucks souped-up with monstrous tires and shocks were even more abundant!  Wow, this is going to be awesome! (Not the mud-part.)

Our campground Archview RV Resort and Campground was about 20 minutes out of town, but more convenient to the National Parks. Our campsite was once again one of the best there, with a fabulous view of the snow-capped LaSal mountain range in the distance, and a desert mesa in between.  The majority of the people staying here had at least one off-road vehicle and some had several! It appears Moab has also become the place to off road the hundreds of miles of red dirt trails and slick rock.  

 

Most all RV campsites had ATV's

Norm and I headed back into town to wash our positively filthy car, check out the Visitor’s Center and get a few groceries.  Needing to learn which trails we could bike on without the danger of those souped-up, motorized vehicles, we stopped at Poison Spider Bike shop and met the most helpful older (our age) employee who knew all there was to know about the local bike trails!

Right in front of us I watched kids of all ages and sizes enjoy the countryside.

 

We purchased a couple of maps on which he outlined which trails were best for our ability, and off we went with visions of red dirt and slick rock dancing in my head.

Friday, May 19^th 2017

The next morning we were finally going to ride!  Norm for some reason wasn’t moving too fast this morning, so I bustled about getting the gear, lunches and bikes ready. It was close to noon when we finally drove the few miles to the trailhead.  I was bouncing and pacing like an obnoxious puppy dying to get out there and ride, convincing Norm we could eat on the trail and to take the lunches with us. 

We must have only gone ¼ mile on our bikes when we realized we had missed the trailhead.  While merely turning his bike around Norm heard a “snap” in his shoulder, and felt incredible pain!  Hearing him cry out, I stopped and looked over at Norm holding his arm and grimacing.  Oh No!  He had been undergoing physical therapy for his rotator cuff before we left, but it had not been bothering him. 

Mountain biking takes a lot of upper body strength.  Maneuvering through and over rocks and obstacles certainly takes both arms, to say the least, so I strongly suggested we go back so he doesn’t break his neck as well.  I am sure he refused for my sake knowing this was the highlight of my trip. 

As we continued for about a half mile, I realized that this trail was a little more than Norm might be comfortable riding under the best of his conditions, and that there was no way he should be even trying this hurt. Norm readily agreed to turn around. Norm has a tremendous tolerance for pain, so I knew he was really hurting.

I was not only worried, but I have to admit horribly disappointed.  Norm insisted I go with a tour group, but finding a group that was not too aggressive, or worse – full of beginners, would not be too much fun. If I were to get hurt as well we would be in real trouble!  I would have to think about it.

When I couldn't go biking because of Norm's injury, I decided to get my frustrations out by washing the motorhome.

We went back to the RV and Norm started icing his shoulder.  Coupled with ibuprofen and a long nap his shoulder felt a little better.  When I get depressed, I work, so I decided to tackle washing our huge 41 foot rig that was also covered in mud and crud from the snow we drove in the day before.  It was so gross I couldn’t stand it!

After a couple of hours, one side looked fabulous, but MY shoulder was complaining so I decided to be smart and finish it the next day. 

 

Saturday, May 20^th, 2017

This unnatural blue "lake" is actually part of the potash mining operation here near Moab. They add blue coloring to these ponds to decrease the time it takes to crystalize the potassium.  I thought it was quite beautiful, but Norm really thought it scared the landscape.

Norm woke up with his shoulder feeling quite a bit better.  He had maybe 50% range of motion, but the quick, stabbing pain seemed to be pretty much gone. How could it be so acute one day, and so much better the next?  Thank goodness we are here for 5 more days so he can heal before trying to drive.  God knows, I’m not driving that behemoth rolling condo 1000’s of miles home!

It was a gorgeous day, so we decided to take the 40 minute (or so) drive to Dead Horse Point State Park, which is reported to be beautiful. The drive was lovely as we passed grazing cattle on the edge of the road, and wound up and down the mountainside and across mesas, finally arriving where millions of years of geologic activity created the spectacular views of canyons, mesas and buttes. Those that are brave enough could walk to the edge of the precipice to peek over the edge and see the Colorado River wind through the canyon thousands of feet below. 

This is a mind-blowing view with dirt roads down below calling to us.

 

You really have to peek over the edge to comprehend just how magnificent this canyon is. (and deadly should you slip and fall)

We spent a couple of hours walking along the edge gaining many vantage points taking a zillion pictures.  Here is another one of those places that call to me.  The quiet, rugged beauty, birds soaring below and the gentle breezes were like a soothing balm for my soul. I hated to leave!



Alison feeling a little "zen"



We ate our picnic lunch and headed back.  We had our naps, then Norm researched the possibility of renting a 4x4 jeep so we could explore some of the great looking canyon roads we saw, while I finished cleaning the rig.  Norm found a company that allowed us to pick it up that evening and keep until 6pm the next day, so we hurried off to town to pick it up.

We stopped at Moab Brewery so Norm could sample the local brew.

 

Sunday, May 21^st 2017

I hardly slept at all last night, and woke up feeling exhausted. The thought of riding 100 miles in that jeep which I discovered had really no visibility in the passenger seat, nearly impossible for a small person to get in and out of, and relatively uncomfortable, made me want to cry.  Plus, Norm and I have very different ideas on how to drive a car on narrow, twisting mountain roads so I dreaded that as well.  Quite frankly, six weeks into this trip I needed a little “me” time as well. 

The roads Norm was going to drive would have plenty of other drivers, so I wasn’t concerned to send him off with plenty of water and food.

My day flew by reading, napping, working on this blog and doing about 5 loads of laundry.  Norm’s accounting of his day will follow.

 

Monday, May 22^nd 2017

I had managed to find a hair salon that had very good reviews and most importantly, availability.  My hair was needing a trim and a bit of thinning.  I left about 7:45 to head back into Moab to get, what I must say, was the WORST haircut of my life!  Good Lord, it is WAY too short, and she thinned it so much it just lays flat on my head.  Well, maybe by the time I get home 5 months from now, I will no longer be horrified when I look in the mirror!  Haircuts are so difficult when you travel, but this bad a cut totally kills my self-esteem!  Nothing I can do about it, so I will have to say “It is what it is”. At least I won’t see anyone I know.

The good news of the day was that Norm felt his shoulder miraculously felt well enough to go biking.  He tried it out while I was getting “butchered” and was very confident he could handle the trails.

I was sooo happy!  We headed back up to Deadhorse Point State Park where the trails were very scenic.  We packed our lunches, and vowed to take it slow and try not to get hurt. Let’s just say off road biking can be a dangerous sport and that anything can happen in a flash.

Norm, with his shoulder feeling better, enjoyed the trails at Deadhorse Point State Park.

Alison loved the rocky challenges of the "slick rock".

 

A little video of Alison having some fun.  It's a lot steeper than it looks on this video.

 

 The trails were incredible!  We took a few videos and lots of pictures as we got a great workout over the next 3 hours.

There were beautiful trail signs along the way to keep us from getting lost!

We rewarded ourselves with ice cream before we headed further down the road to Canyonlands National Park about 3:30pm.  We were too tired to hike at that point, but we wanted to drive the scenic road to check it out while we were ¾ of the way there.

Canyonlands is a huge park (337,598 acres) in the center of Utah’s high desert that is divided into three districts; each with it’s own character.  Unfortunately, there are no roads in the park that link these areas together.  You would have to hike, bike or use high clearance off road vehicles to visit them. (Norm drove some of these the day before).We, like most people, visited “Island in the Sky” region, which is the closest to Moab. 



Norm and I once again tempting fate on ledge in Canyonlands. Norm drove the road below in the rented 4x4 jeep ( his story is separate )

We both agreed that Deadhorse Point was actually more beautiful, and wished we had visited Canyonlands first, before we were spoiled by the State Park’s more beautiful vistas.  We also preferred how we could venture dangerously close to the edge at Deadhorse, where at Canyonlands the public was not allowed to get very close at all to look down into the canyons. 

Norm showed me the crazy roads he drove the day before, and since it was a pretty long drive back we called it a day. 

A long, but fabulous day!  One of my favorite, for sure!

Tuesday, May 23^rd 2017

Arches National Park is much smaller than Canyonlands ( a mere 76,519 acres ) but it welcomes over a million visitors each year, astounding them with balancing rocks, towering fins, spires and the world’s highest concentration of sandstone arches.

 Arches National Park was actually the closest park to where we were staying. But since we had been there several years before and thoroughly explored it, coupled with major road construction and trail closures we thought we might not bother seeing it again.

Well, it’s so close, how can we not?

 Norm and I left the RV a little after 8am hoping to beat the huge line of cars and campers we have witnessed each day when we drive by the entrance.  The temperature was in the 40’s and very windy, but the day was beautifully sunny.  We drove through the park not really in the mood to fight for parking spaces at each lookout point.  I guess we have seen enough of red dirt and rock for the time being. Tired of looking at it, feeling it on your skin, on the floor, and when the wind kicks up you get the dirt in your eyes and teeth! Feeling pretty lazy we drove through the park and headed back to spend a quiet rest of the day before we head out in the morning. 

 

One evening we got to witness my very first double, complete rainbow! I couldn't get back far enough to capture the entire rainbow.