2015 - Charleston's Trailer Tripping: Day 48

Moab is our first stop in Utah. We will spend four nights in this area visiting Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park.

April 20 – 23: We stayed at the Portal RV Resort in Moab, Utah. This was a small RV park with only about 46 sites. We were surrounded by nice views of tall red cliffs and rocks. There was a section of this park where you purchase the sites for either your trailer or a condo. The guests in the RV section were not allowed in this area. It was fenced off with many signs. Very unfriendly. But we had a nice spacious site and it was quiet.

Time to eat! Like clockwork, they patiently wait at @ 5pm, even when we cross time zones.

MOAB is the place to stay for adventures. It’s the starting point for four-wheel drives, white-water rafting, cross-country skiing, hiking, horseback and mountain biking trips. It is tucked in a valley at the foot of red cliffs and the La Sal Mountains. There are many shops in town that offer tours and equipment for these adventures. There are a few nice restaurants in town. And of course shops with red rock souvenirs and sports clothing, etc. We did not have time to shop, but we had time for food. We found two nice restaurants to have dinner and lunch.

Twisted Sista’s Café. We had a nice southwestern dinner on the roof patio.

Peace Tree Café. This is a funky, colorful place

Lunch was delicious & peaceful. i

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Five miles northwest of Moab is Arches National Park. This NP contains the largest number of natural stone arches in the country. Along with 2,000 arches, there are many red rock canyons, spires, fins and balancing rocks. Here a some of the many pictures we took.

Balanced Rock

Double Arch

I see a turtle!

Delicate Arch

I call these Pancake Rocks

Firey Furnace behind the Pancake Rocksh Jo at Firey Furnace

Shadow Selfie

Sanddune Arch

DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK

Ten miles west of Moab is Dead Horse Point State Park. Dead Horse Point towers 2,000 feet above the Colorado River with views of the pinnacles and buttes of the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. There are a few stories on the name. One is a band of wild mustangs was once herded into a natural corral formed by the rock formations and were forgotten about. They were left there to die of thirst, in view of the Colorado River. A sad story, but that explains the name.

There is only one viewpoint in this park located at the ‘end of the road’. There is a short rim walk with breathtaking views. Actually there are several viewpoints. But you can only get to them by hiking or biking. This State Park is a biker’s paradise. There are 17 miles of mountain biking trails. There is a map that color codes the trails based on skill level. In the town of Moab there are several bike shops that rent bikes and offer guided biking tours.

Rim Trail

See that dirt road in the above and below pictures? That is Potash and then Shafer Road. It stems off of Hwy 279 and ends at the mesa top of Canyonlands National Park. We will be traveling that road on the next day.

Colorado River

HIGHWAY 279

Highway 279 leads onto Potash Road which is on land owned by Moab Salt LLC. Potash Road is a dirt, gravel, rocky and winding road that takes you across the canyon and between the red rocks to Shafer Basin and Road. Shafer Road switchbacks up to the mesa top to Canyonlands National Park. It is one of four ways to get into Canyonlands. It is the daring and adventurous way and one of the most beautiful and scenic routes into this National Park. This route is about 20 miles long. It took us more than 2 hours to travel it.

We traveled circled area.

Highway 279 h

Potash Road h

Moab Salt LLC land h

This area is old sea bottom and the conditions are good for leaching salt from the ground. The area is filled with pools of water that is evaporated by the sun. This process brings the salt up from beneath the ground. These pools of water are called Solar Evaporation Ponds. The salt is called potash.

Solar Evaporation Ponds h

Potash Road continues

Potash Road now becomes Shafer Road

That’s Canyonlands NP ahead. h

Colorado River h

Shafer Road continues

We are now entering the NP

Two hours is a long time to hold it. A few times I had to make a pit stop behind rocks. We came around a corner and saw this. i

See that cliff ahead. That is how we get to the mesa top. That cliff has switchback roads that I call Invisible Way. You cannot see the road until you are upon it. And you cannot tell if that road is going to continue around a bend or turn into a switchback. And part of that road is right along the edge of the cliff. You will meet traffic coming down. That is a breath holding time.

Almost there – looking down

Still Shafer road

Made it to the top!!

That was an adventure!

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

Canyonlands National Park encompasses deeply eroded canyons with sheer-sided mesas and a variety of spires, arches and unusual rock formations. The park is divided into three districts, each entered into by different roads. The Needles District is at the south eastern end of the park and that entrance road at least 100 miles out of our way. That will be another day on another trip. The Maze District is at the south western part of the park and that is a rough dirt road and definitely needs a 4-wheel drive. We visited the “Island in the Sky” area in the north eastern part of the park. There are two ways to get into this area. We took the adventurous route.