Trek from Flagstaff, AZ to Moab, UT
May 9 – 15, 2018
We convinced Clay that his next visit should we while we were in the west, because he hadn’t yet seen the best parts of it. (And he was currently obsessed with the television show West World.) So we picked him up in Phoenix and watched our truck odometer roll over 100,000 miles on the drive back to our campsite.
One week later we dropped him off at a tiny airport in Moab, UT that had just opened (they hadn’t even paved their parking lot yet) with our odometer reading just over 101,000.
There was plenty to see in that 1,000 miles…
You can’t beat a first trip to the Grand Canyon. For the girls, it was their first time to view it from the South Rim.As usual, friendly rodents were one of the highlights.As we drove northeastward from Flagstaff, we made a short stop to drive through Monument Valley. High winds made for difficult viewing outside of the safety of the truck’s cab.Despite the wind, we were able to appreciate these quintessential wild west views.We spent one night camped near the edge of this amazing canyon at Goosenecks State Park near Mexican Hat, Utah. At this location we experienced what was maybe the most extreme wind I’ve ever encountered. It even took the refrigerator vent cover off the roof of Stumbo! We spent several hours there with our slide pulled in to reduce the rocking from the gusts. The fact that the extreme wind was relentlessly blowing AWAY from the deep canyon was the only reason it felt safe to approach the edge.Beauty of the arches is literally in the eye of this beholder.Double Arch is still my favorite!Enjoying the day’s end from under the cover of Double Arch.Sunset in my favorite spot with my favorite person.The view from every angle was so breathtaking that we were running from place to place to see the sun create new colors around each formation.Although we had been through Moab before, this was our first visit to the Canyonland National Park Island in the Sky district – it definitely lived up to it’s name. I could have looked through Mesa Arch all day.We have seen so many amazing views over the past couple of years, but I’m not sure anything compares to the unbelievable expanses that open up below you from the Island in the Sky.They aren’t in nearly as much danger as it appears, but I promise that it’s more beautiful than any photo can capture.Canyons within canyons within canyons.Our free parking spot just outside of Moab was on BLM land, a spot which was the original entrance to Arches National Park. Now it’s a maze of narrow dirt roads for ATV’s and boondockers like us. From our front door we could see the Windows District of Arches N.P. in the distance. Each night at sunset the formations glowed a deep red as the land around them darkened.Delicate Arch!This is such an amazing place to be. We loved getting to show it to Uncle Clay. When we were here 18 months earlier, the 3.5mile hike was Coral’s longest to date. On this later visit she hiked like a real pro.We scampered up into some other holes in the rock to enjoy Delicate from other angles.We took Clay to the Moab Airport, which at the time he purchased his tickets, was not even yet open.
Considering the fact that we only live in 281 square feet, having an additional family member sleeping on the floor for a week didn’t upset the whole dynamic as much as it could have. Clay knows us well enough that he was likely mentally prepared for the minimal showering, meals eaten out of Ziplocs, and hours spent sitting between 2 booster seats. And knocking out 3 National Parks, one Navajo Park, and one state park in as many days was no small feat – but it was a total blast.
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