Moab! We're Here!

After a journey of about 1,000 miles, it's nice to have the next six days to relax before turning the wagons around and heading home. We got into town around 5:00 yesterday afternoon. We had to make a stop at the grocery store before checking in at the Slickrock RV park.

Before I go on, I need to make good on my promise to tell you what this is...and I'll just say right off, that you guys are way too smart for me. You knew right away what this is:

It's the shiny dimpled metal of a truck tailgate reflecting the red roof of the gas station. Kinda cool, huh? 

So after stopping for lunch yesterday, we headed on down the dusty trail on US Hwy 6 toward Moab. We drove through this notch in the Wasatch range where the city planners had very smartly installed a wind farm. No doubt the wind picks up speed as it comes through the notch. Note the changing colors of the deciduous trees.

On the other side of the mountains, we started seeing right away the red rock characteristic of this part of Utah.

We also passed through a small stand of aspen trees.

There were plenty of areas where the road had been blasted through hillsides and we saw the resulting falling boulders...some of them pretty darned big!

And plenty of wide open spaces.

Regrettably, we had to get back on the interstate for about 25 miles before getting off again at US Hwy 191. Nevertheless, our spirits were buoyed by the appearance of this sign.

We caught our first glimpse of the La Sal Mountains off in the distance.

Shortly, they came into full view.

The red rock became more pronounced as we went, and we also passed by this little bit of green. The red comes from iron. Green comes from copper.

Moab was born when uranium was discovered in the area. The mining boom has long since passed, and now the town depends on tourism as its main industry. When you start seeing these formations, you know you're almost there.

And there it is! Off in the distance! After driving for so long, it was pretty exciting to see it.

We crossed over the Colorado River, muddy in this area...

and drove on into town.

It's a fun little town. It's the gateway to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, and there is something here for everybody. There are ATV, Jeep, and dirt bike rentals. You can find Colorado River tours and helicopter tours. There are zip lines. Even if you're not into the outdoors, there are wonderful galleries and gift shops to explore, and a quilt shop. I visited the quilt shop on a previous visit, and you can read about it right here.

There are a number of good restaurants. This being our fourth visit to Moab, we have a few favorites. As we drove into town, I was snapping pictures right and left. I love the name of this cafe.

Eventually I'm going to make a "Windows and Walls" quilt, and I've been collecting images for that whenever we travel.

After getting our groceries, we drove back to the leading edge of town and checked into the RV park where we had reservations. When I approached the desk, I saw another kitty.

She didn't look too dangerous to me, and so I petted her on her head. Her name is Confetti.

After I petted her, she spent the rest of the time while I was there cleaning herself off. I imagine it's rather irritating to have strangers coming in petting you with their grimy hands. Lick, lick, lick, clean, clean, clean. Harumph!

So that brings us to this morning. We've had a good night's sleep. It's the last of a string of hot days here in Moab, and so today's ATV adventure will probably be a short one. We're promised some cooler days ahead...by that I mean, in the 80's instead of the 90's. We have a little cleaning up to do here in the camper, and then we'll be off. Mike just announced that we'll be taking Hurrah Pass today, and I'll have to tell you about it later on. For now...let the fun begin!