Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - We depart the Outback RV Park and head for Moab, Utah. We have three days scheduled at the Spanish Trail RV Park as you enter the Moab outskirts to the south. The drive only took two hours and was uneventful. Bob and Charlotte drove ahead into Moab and had lunch as we drove to the RV park and set up the rig. On the way, we called a lady named Joyce, who helped us rent a storage space to store our kayaks and bicycles in the "garage" of the RV. This worked out very well and made it easy to get our "toys" our of Bob and Charlotte's bedroom. It turned out that the storage facility was located about 200 feet way from our RV at the Spanish Trail park; right next door. We could have hand-carried our kayaks to the storage shed.

Once Bob and Charlotte returned and we got them settled in, we decided to take a drive to near Canyonlands National Park to check out a campsite called Horse Thief to see if we could camp there for the last four days of our stay. We had not been able to get slot at a park in town since there were so many people in Moab; everyplace was full. There a lot of people in town, and the weather was excellent. When we drove to Horse Thief, we passed a campground that looked pretty good called Seven Mile RV Park. It is located seven miles north of Moab and right on Highway 191. We could have made it into Horse Thief, but we would have been about 22 miles from Moab. We decided to try the Seven Mile RV Park and it worked out very well. The Seven Mile RV Park is located right next to two ATV trails that we traveled once we rented a Polaris RZR 1000. More to follow on this. Our first three days at Spanish Trail which is located to the south of Moab. This made it easier to get to activities in the south of Moab. This also allowed us three days to see Canyonlands South Park (The Needles) and Arches National Park (which is located just two miles north of Moab). Seven Mile RV Park made it easier to visit Canyonlands North (Island in the Sky) and drive the ATV trails to the north of Moab.

Thursday, September 30, 2021 - We pack a lunch and Wayne, Lisa, Bob, and Charlotte head south for the Canyonlands National Park (south entrance). We have to drive 40 miles south to the entrance to the park and then we travel inland (west) for another 22 miles to the park entrance. On the way to the park entrance, we stopped at what is known as "Newspaper Rock." This is a rock that is covered with petroglyphs that are hundreds of years old. Basically, native peoples who traveled in this area used the site to create petroglyphs (etchings) on the desert varnish-rock surface of a huge rock. The contrasting colors made the drawings stand out. See the photo gallery to see what drawings look like. After Newspaper Rock, we drove on to the park entrance. Along the way, we passed numerous tall plateaus with sheer cliffs that were hundreds of feet high. It is extremely beautiful. There were also many sharp peaks sticking up high into the air; quite a sight to see.

Once we entered the park, the first stop for us was at the Cave Spring Cowboy Camp. This is a hike of about .7 miles that takes you through an old cowboy field camp under a long ledge. It was also the home for some native tribes from the past. We saw the antiquated equipment in the cowboy camp and where they started their fires and scorched the ceilings with ash and soot. It is a neat hike and it sure makes you glad that you did not live during that period of time. On the hike, we had to climb two ladders to access the rock on the top of the ridge. It was not too hard and the climb made it fun. After the hike, we hopped back into the truck and head for the "Sliprock Trail." Along the way, we stopped at Wooden Shoe Arch. This is a distant arch (about a half mile away) that is located along a ridge-top. From the side, it looks just like a wooden show. Where the arch of the shoe would be is an actual arch that you can clearly see through. It is pretty unique. We then continued on to the Sliprock Trail. This trail is named because when it rains, horses with metal shoes tend to slip on the rocks. For us, the traction is outstanding hiking along on the sand-paper like sandstone ledges. The hike is 2.4 miles long and is a looping trail. Along the way, there are four scenic view points. This trail traverses a series of ledges of flat sandstone that you walk along with trails between the solid rock locations. There was not a lot of elevation change, but it was still a fun, challenging hike. We often had sheer cliffs off the side of the trail. After the hike, we drove to a picnic area with tables. We had taken the small grill and our one-gallon propane tank. We barbequed Nathan's hotdogs that made for a fun lunch. It really "hit the spot." After lunch, we began the drive back to Moab. It was later in the day, so the new Sun position made the redness of the plateaus stand out. It was a great drive.

Friday, October 1, 2021 - On this day, we decided to head into Moab to eat breakfast at the Moab Diner. This diner is kind of like a Mel's Diner, only smaller. They also sell Blue Bunny ice cream here and this is very good ice cream.

After breakfast, we drove to the entrance to Arches National Park. After entering the park, we began the long, steep climb into Arches National Park. The first along the way in at what is called, "Park Avenue." After a short walk, you have great views of towering sheer cliffs above a deep canyon. There is also a trail that you can hike that takes you back to the road into the park, but you have to be picked up on the other end. We did not take the trail. The views are beyond spectacular. Be sure to see the photos in the photo gallery. We spent about 30 minutes here just being "razzle-dazzled" by the views.

We then continued on the road to the next stop at what is called the Courthouse Towers View Point. Huge plateaus with sheer cliffs abound in this area. Again, the cliffs are sheer and extremely high. There are also many spires climbing into the sky with rocks balancing, precipitously in many areas. Courthouse Towers is another one of those great viewing areas where you can't take your eyes off of the sheer cliffs; amazing. From here, we drove on to the area of the Windows and Turret Arches.

We had planned to go to Balanced Rock first, but we missed the turn into the parking lot and decided to stop there after visiting the first set of arches. At Window Arch, this is a great little hike up to three arches where you can climb right up to the arch. The two windows arches (North and South) are easy to access and a great place to take photos. We climbed all over the arches and took lots of photos. We then took the short hike over to Turret Arch. This one is a little harder to climb up into, but Bob, Charlotte, Lisa, and I all made it up into the arch. We took lots of photos and videos from the arch. They are truly amazing natural phenomenon. After playing around at Turret Arch, we went back to the car. Bob and Charlotte decided to take a break at the car while Lisa and I hike over to Double Arch.

This is one of my favorites. There are two arches that formed in one area when water accumulated on the top of the arch and the ceiling fell away. These arches are challenging to climb and a lot of fun. Lisa and I climbed to the top of the underside of the arches. After our visit to the Double Arches, we went back to the car to see Bob and Charlotte.

We then drove to Balanced Rock and took the hike around the huge, 55-foot high stone perched upon it pedestal. It is a pretty amazing balance stone created by rain, freezing, and wind. It is one of the primary sites used for advertising Utah along with Delicate Arch.

Speaking of Delicate Arch, that is where we went next. We drove to the viewing location where you can see the Delicate Arch way off in the distance. You cannot hike to the arch from this view point, but you can hike to the arch Wolfe Ranch parking lot. This hike is 3.5 miles with a long part of the hike on solid rock at about 30 degrees of slope. We did not take this hike. We took photos from the view point.

After Delicate Arch, we drove to the trailhead for the hike up to Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the park at just under 300 feet long. This 1.8 mile hike is fairly easy and the views of the Landscape Arch are spectacular. We arrived at the arch and found that it was somewhat hidden against the terrain behind it. Also, the Sun was in a position that made taking photos challenging, but not impossible. We got some great photos and had a good time at the arch. In the past, you could hike up under the arch, but a 60-ton long slab of rock fell off this arch back in 1991 while people were hiking in the area. These people heard popping and cracking, so they moved back out of the way and video-taped and photographed the rock fall. Now, you cannot hike under the arch. After our stay at the Landscape Arch, we hiked back to the car and then drove back to the RV.

Saturday, October 2, 2021 - On this day, we packed up and moved the RV to the Seven Mile RV Park north of Moab.

Sunday, October 3, 2021 - We found out the Brian and Lorrayne Graham were in the Moab area with Lorrayne's mom and dad, Ken and Roberta. We decided that we would travel with them to the Dead Horse State Park near the entrance to Canyonlands National Park North. We had a leisurely breakfast and then Ken, Roberta, Brian, and Lorrayne arrived at about 10:30am. We visited for a few minutes and then drove in two cars to the state park.

Dead Horse State Park is unique in that it is right near the entrance to Canyonlands NP. It cost $20 to enter the park and they do not take the national parks "geezer" pass. The idea behind this state park is that you have a high plateau that narrows down to a "choke point" that they early cowboys in the area called "the neck." It then widens out more onto a point of land with severe cliffs on all sides. The cowboys in the 1800s and the early 1900s would herd wild horses onto this point of land and then seal off the neck with branches and rocks. The horses were essentially corralled. The cowboys would then take the best horses and the rest were left to starve to death; hence the name Dead Horse State Park. Pretty brutal, but that is what happened back then. For us, after stopping at the Visitor Center, we drove out to the very point of land and hiked trails on the east and west sides of the points. Like Canyonlands, were were treated to outstanding views of sheer cliffs and distance vistas. This likely could have been incorporated into Canyonlands, but we are not sure why it was kept separate; money maybe? Trying to corral eight people and move in the same direction became a little "unwieldy," so we decided to break up the group with Bob and Charlotte hiking with Lisa and I. The Graham Family went a different direction and we made plans to meet with Brian and Lorrayne later. We had a fun time hiking and after wards drove back to the RV.

We then decided that we would rent an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and drive some of the trails in the area. We decided to drive into Moab to see about renting an ATV. We went to an Adventure Sports store on the main drag of Moab. They did not have ATVs, so the recommended another store a short distance away. We went there and reserved a four-seat Polaris RZR 1000 for the next day. The cost of the ATV was $460 with a $40 fee to cover any problems that we might have. If we broke or threw a belt or had a flat tire, a person would come out and fix it for us if we had this coverage. That put us at a little over $500 to rent from8:00 am until 6:00 pm. The local and state taxes then added another $93 to the cost taking us up over $600. Since we split the cost with the Capps, it totaled $300 for each family. We felt that it was worth the expense, since we had a great day riding in the mountains. They would throw in a trailer that we could use to tow the ATV to our RV where we were able to access both trails that we drove.

Monday, October 4, 2021 - We started the day by driving into town to pick up the Polaris Razor. They loaded the ATV on their trailer that was hooked up to our Ford F-350. We towed the Polaris Razor back to our RV to ride on the Gemini Bridges Trail. This trail started about 200 feet away from our RV.

We loaded up the ATV and headed for the Gemini Bridges Trail. I drove and Bob Capp was in the right seat. The ladies rode in the back seats. The first part of the trail climbs up along the ridgeline along Highway 191. It gets pretty steep with significant drop-offs. At the top, it turns into a trail that crosses over rocky areas and stretches of pure rock surface. Once on top of the mesa, we did get some sandy areas of the trail. We took one side-trail that took us to a base-camp for the local Boy Scouts of America. It would have been a great place for a picnic lunch; had we had one. We planned to return to the RV for lunch. We switched out drivers, and Bob Capp drove on. We came to the Gemini Bridges where we had a short hike to the bridges. The bridges are called "bridges" rather than "arches" because they were caused by water flow under them rather than water on top of them along with wind and freezing. They are pretty large and there are two of them that run parallel to each other. After exploring the bridges, we decided to head back to the RV. The road continued on to the road that enters Canyonlands NP, but is it not too challenging on that portion of the route. As we drove back, I was in the front passenger seat and was able to take some decent videos of the drop-offs along the trail. Check out the videos and photos on the this blog. When we arrived back at the RV, we got something to eat. We then saddled up again to head north to what is called the Mill Canyon Trail. Charlotte decided to remain at the RV for this ride. This is a looping trail that can be challenging in a few places. There are also some trails coming off this trail that you absolutely do not want to take. We were able to avoid these trails. Also, Lisa drove for the first 25% of this trail and she did an excellent job. She climbed hills, drove on rock shelfs, climbed over rocks, and improved dramatically as the drive went continued. Be sure to watch the video of Lisa driving the ATV. My son, William, has done a ton of off road driving with four-wheel drive vehicles, but for us, it was all new. We had a great time and learned a lot. Bob took over again and drove through canyons, along river bottom washes, and through water in the river. It was a great trip and we all had a great time. The Polaris Razor work fine and gave us a chance to experience what it is like to drive off road.

After we returned to the RV, Bob and Charlotte took the ATV for drive on some roads that we had not explored yet. After their drive, we decided to take the ATV back to the sports center. We had to fill it with fuel and then wash it (spray car wash) before turning it in. We did this, check it in, and were on our way. Lots of fun and a great experience.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 - Bob and Charlotte decided that they would begin the journey back to Murphy, Texas (near Dallas) a day early. We had accomplished everything that we had planned to do on this trip, so Bob and Charlotte decided to get back home. They had packed their new Honda and were ready to leave early. We said our "goodbyes" the night before and Bob and Charlotte left at about 5:00 am without waking us up. Sure seemed quiet after they had left; empty nest syndrome for us. We had such a great visit and it was so much fun having them around that they were greatly missed when they were gone.

The weather was supposed to be pretty good for most of the day, we decided to go for a bike ride. We left at around 10:00am to ride the road up to Canyonland NP. We set our goal to ride to the Visitor Center and then back to the RV. The road is excellent since it has a very wide shoulder and the cars passing us gave us a very wide berth. It turns out that the trip to the Visitor Center is uphill virtually all the way. There are a couple sections with eight percent grades. The distance was 46 total miles with a total climb of 2,400 feet elevation. We were lucky and the weather held off for us for the entire ride. The ride back was quite easy since it was downhill nearly all the way and we even had a little bit of a tailwind. It felt good to get back in the saddle again.

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 - We had made arrangements with Brian and Lorrayne Graham to go on a bicycle ride along the Colorado River and then on the trail to our RV parked eight miles out of town. We planned to limit the distance to around 25 miles. We actually rode the Colorado River Trail, but it was fairly short; about three miles out and three miles back. We then hopped on the trail going out past the entrance to Arches National Park and on to the turnoff for Canyonlands National Park that is about eight miles down to where we have parked the RV. This added another 16 miles to our ride, so we ended up with 26 miles. The trial to our RV is a fairly continuous climb with a 1.3 mile section that is all at seven percent. It made for a fun ride back into town. When we got back to town, we wen to the Moab Diner for lunch and ice cream for desert. After lunch, Brian and Lorrayne headed back to their RV to prep for their departure to Durango, Colorado and we went the storage facility where we had stored the items in our garage and brought them back to the RV to pack for travel. We leave tomorrow for Helper, Utah.

Thursday, October 7, 2021 - We depart at 10:00am for the two hour drive to Helper, Utah. When there, we will work on the blog and give the truck/RV a bath.