A Tale of Two Chemists: Moab, Utah

Moab, Utah

Sunday May 7th and Monday May 8th , 2023

It was raining as we packed up the car and set off from the tiny house at Crawford. We had

a recommendation for a route through the Paradox valley on our way to Moab. It was

described “as a beautiful drive unlike the highway.” The rain finally tapered off before we

stopped in Montrose for groceries. Adding ice and food to the coolers is quite a production

not to mention trying to tuck the bags of non-perishables around all the other gear. Soon

enough we were back on the road. The first portion of the drive certainly lived up to the

billing—snow capped mountains were everywhere. Some of the other sections were less

alpine but still impressive. Eventually we descended into Moab.

We knew the private campsite was going to be a bit different, more like an RV park. It is

pretty flat and graveled over but there is a picnic table, a mat on which to place the tent,

running water, showers, laundry and an ice machine. It’s a bit lacking in shade and

greenery but we hope to be having busy days and spending a limited amount of time at the

campsite. We did manage to set up a sun shade by suspending the tent groundsheet (footprint) from four posts surrounding the site

Monday was another cold morning. It certainly didn’t seem attractive to jump out of the sleeping bag! After a quick breakfast we were on our way to Arches National Park. This is one of the parks where you need a timed reservation (booked on line) to enter the park. We had arranged this the previous evening and arrived just before our 8 am entry slot—but it didn’t seem to be a big problem. Almost immediately after entering, you start to drive up hill in a series of switchbacks. The walls of red rock tower above the road. Once up on the plateau, the massive rock features appear one after another. It’s a photographer’s dreamscape. As you might imagine we did a lot of stopping! We did manage to get o the first area of arches before we needed to eat lunch!

We had a strong recommendation for a hike called the Devil’s Garden. This starts at the

end of the main road about 18 miles from the Visitor’s Center. As it turned out it was

already about 2 pm when we got to that area. We reckoned that it was too late to start that

almost 8 mile hike, especially as we were feeling quite tired. So, our plan is to go back

tomorrow and drive directly to the end of the road and start the hike while it’s cooler. Stay

tuned.

Gloria

Our campsite outside of Moab. It's a little lacking in landscaping but the facilities are good. Note the sun shade we were able to set up

I love this outdoor bathroom! There is a dog-leg entryway that you hang up an occupied chain so you aren't disturbed. There is a everything you need including sink and shower with hot water, and it's quite lovely to be outside in the sunshine!