Moab Utah.... Adventure Capital of America

I don't know if that title is real or not, but driving down the main street sure makes me think it should be. Every shop, minus 1 lawyer and a candy store, was a canyoneering, rock climbing, outdoor gear, rafting or mountain biking specialty shop... We stayed in a nice little RV campground just north of town for 2 nights and had 2 days of exploring Arches NP and Canyonlands NP.
Going into Arches NP, there is a pull off on the side of the road that shows the Moab Fault. With a geologist in the rig, you can expect to stop to have a look. Not only that, but we could see a busy mining group across the highway actively pulling out some copper. The fault caused a big difference in the height of the cliffs on each side of the highway and you could clearly see the layers of rock. Continuing on, there was Park Avenue which was a little wash (occassional river that is mostly dry, but is where the flood waters roar through) illustrating the errosion process. Matt and I took a little over an hour to walk down the wash and back and he explained the errossion properties of the different layers of rock. As we got deeper in the park, the Arches became the center piece of the landscapes and views. Years of water being trapped in the rocks, freezing and then expanding to create cracks in the sandstone created these amazing formations.

Now the funny thing is, up until this point I had drafted back during our trip, however, I failed to ever post it... and not only that, I never finished drafting about our trip... so from this point on, I am working on memories and things will probably be just an overview rather than the detail you've seen so far.

We spent the whole day at Arches, enjoyed a spectacular desert sunset and then headed back to camp. The next day, we packed everything up and went to Canyonlands NP which is just a few miles past Arches and on the otherside of the highway. We had some very cold and windy conditions, but it didn't stop us from finding some incredible views. This one here is looking south towards the confluence of the Green & Colorado Rivers which as you know, continue on to create the Grand Canyon. So really, this is the start of an incredible geological formation that is millions of years old. Looking down onto the first 'platform' you can see winding wagon trails. These are now protected and the tracks you see were created by the settlers/prospectors and remain because of the harsh conditions in the desert cause nature to heal so very slowly.


From Moab, there are a ton of other places to see, but we headed out from Canyonlands to head towards Capitol Reef NP.

Monument Valley... the unknown super-spot

From the Grand Canyon, we drove through the Painted Dessert northeast towards the Arizona/Utah border. The Painted Dessert is very aptly titled as it appears to have brush strokes of colour across the hills. They are beautiful. The picture here Matt took on Highway 160 just off of Highway 89.




So, I've heard of it, but never considered going to Monument Valley, but as it is on the way to Arches & Canyonlands and Matt was into it... we went. We saw. And we fell in love... not with each other, we are already in love there... but with the view. It. Was. Sensational.

The pictures don't do it justice, but I've included a few. If ever you go near the southwestern US... Come here. Get here in time for sunset and then stay the night and rise early for sunrise. You can always go back to bed after soaking in the view for awhile. Get cheap-ass breakie at the hotel and enjoy the yummy food for dinner. They know how to serve filling delicious southern meals with a Navajo twist and a Mexican twang.







Looking east from the hotel room at the gathering dark in Monument Valley.







We are now safely in Moab, Utah and heading to Arches National Park in the morning. Then to Canyonlands. We have a few days here with Internet, so hopefully I'll get lots more pics onto Facebook.

Cheers for now...

Who knew the Grand Canyon was so, well Grand?

First things first...as promised... a picture of the srf crib!


So... I've always heard that the Grand Canyon was something you just had to see... but now I understand why. We had a bit of a sleep in whilst in Barstow California and the drive over the mountains to the Arizona border took a fair bit out of my jet-lagged body, but we made it all the way to Valle, Arizona... and the only place to park the Surf Crib was "Bed Rock City" where everything was Flintstones inspired... including the office and shower block. Something tells me that 30 years ago it was the coolest place in town, but it hasn't aged to well, nor maintained what-so-ever, but for $15 bucks we got to "Hook Up" the RV and recharge all our necessary batteries, phones, cameras etc before our morning trek to the Grand Canyon. The howling of the coyote's kept Matt awake, but I slept like a champion as I had worked hard at keeping the RV on the road.

So, enter Grand Canyon. Can I just say that at no time on the drive to the Grand Canyon are you prepared for the dramatic drop-off at the rim. You appear to be driving through mundane flat-lands and then all of a sudden, you get this glimpse through the low twisted junipers and pinyon pine of this gaping rugged hole in the ground. The park is well planned, and the construction they are doing will make traveling to this canyon a whole heap easier. The free shuttle services take you to all the great points and then some of the off the beaten path points that avid back-country hikers enjoy. The paved rim trail goes for miles in both directions and can suit any ability level all while offering some breath taking views. The bus drivers all have a wonderful sense of humour and they entertain the passengers with great information with a sarcastic twist that both Matt and I found hilarious.


The campground services were great, while lodging was ample in the surprisingly good November weather. The clear blue skies brought mild and perfect hiking conditions. Visibility was above average and we could see up to 120+ miles from the high plateau. We spent 3 nights there and did two day hikes into the canyon only traversing 1,640 feet in elevation or 500 metres. Going down the trail is easy... it's going up that is the killer! Only 5 miles round trip, we did the Santa Maria Springs day hike in about 3.5 hours, including lunch break. We also hiked Cedar Springs, though that elevation change was much less and the trail more established and maintained. Both offer excellent close ups of the terrain, the change in rocks and the vegetation. We managed to see a bull elk taking a nap under a tree and a few mule deer along side the road, but the highlight was the chipmunks and squirrels--Just kidding... it was the view of course! :)

Safe and Sound... pimpin' in the Surf Crib...

Yes, that's right, our pimped up motor home has personalised plates "Srf Crib." Picture pending. After a smooth comfy ride on the fancy A380 direct from Melbourne to LAX we have gotten our motor home $130Au worth of cheap-ass-shit from Walmart and have headed east. We made it all the way to Barstow where we pulled off to sample the goods at Costco, figure out how to make the outlets work in the RV and stretch our crumpled bodies out on a flat surface horizontally. Nothing quite like 40 hours of sitting upright to make a body remind you how old you are!! We are hoping to get on the road early in the morning and get to the Grand Canyon by the afternoon for a quick hike, a sunset pic and to find a nice flat campsite to hook up. :) NOT that kind of "Hook Up"... I mean plug in the RV to an outlet, get some juice flowing to our fridge so we can buy milk & perishables "Hook Up".

Special thanks to Uncle Fred for the pimpin' ride, Pop-gun Pete who picked up complete strangers at the airport and took us on a whirlwind tour of Walmart, filled our tanks and showed us the way out of LAX before the afternoon traffic call began.

'Tis all for now folks. Pics & more to come. :)

Ciao.

Alison & (Matt)