I’m a little behind on my blog. We kept very busy on our month long trip to Aspen and Ouray CO, Moab UT, Yellowstone, Tetons, Cody WY, Mt. Rushmore and Badlands. I hope you enjoy this blog on Moab. I hope to publish the remaining trip blogs within the next few days.

We left Ouray, CO and headed to Moab, UT on September 17^th, where we met up with friends from our RV homebase; Mountain Falls Luxury Motorcoach Resort in Lake Toxaway, NC. It was our first time meeting up with another couple for an RV vacation. We could not have had a better time. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring Moab with Van and Jane.

The weather was very nice during our stay. Temps got up to the 70s and 80s in the afternoon, and cooled down to the 30s at night. The week prior to our visit, temps were up near 105 degrees! We would not have enjoyed that.

We stayed at the Portal RV Resort, renting an owner lot. All owner lots are very large with cement slabs and patios. Our patio included a pergola with a nice outdoor dining set. The resort is set off the main road about a ¼ mile so you don’t hear much traffic. We loved the resort.

For our first evening in Moab we tried out Jeffrey’s Steakhouse. I think it is the most upscale restaurant in town, although it is casual enough for jeans. The restaurant is in a restored historic sandstone building. We sat at a table on the patio and enjoyed the cool evening. It was a great setting for catching up with our friends, while enjoying excellent filets and wine.

During the week we toured Dead Horse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park and Arches. Unfortunately, Arches National Park is closed from 7pm to 7am Sunday night through Friday morning for the entire year due to road construction. This left us only Friday and Saturday nights for sunset and Milky Way shots, and as luck would have it, the weather was not cooperative.

Dead Horse Point State Park reminded me of Gooseneck’s Sate Park, also in Utah. From the viewing point, 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River, vertical cliffs and canyons surround you. It is very scenic.

One afternoon we drove along Potash road from Moab to Canyonlands. It is a scenic byway, which ends at the gooseneck, seen from the Dead Horse Point State Park viewing point. We stopped at the river, broke out the wine and sandwiches and enjoyed sunset.

This is a good overview of the Potash Road landscape, where it meets up with Shafer Trail, from an overlook in the state park.

Pictures taken along Potash Road

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We really wanted to get some good Milky Way shots while in Moab. We were there during the ‘new moon’ phase, so star gazing was expected to be optimal. One evening, we found a nice BLM (Bureau of Land Management) spot off of Rt 128 near Castle Valley for shooting the Milk Way, and for having a cook-out. We grilled burgers off the back of the pickup while waiting for the skies to darken. It was a lot of fun.

The Fisher Towers were nearby where we photographed the Milky Way:

Shot taken from Fisher Towers, looking back at the Colorado River

On another day we visited Canyonlands. While there, we took a short hike to see the Mesa Arch. The views through the arch are spectacular.

We then took sunset pictures at the Green River Overlook in Canyonlands. Following sunset we found a picnic spot in the park and grilled up some dinner. We cooked and ate under our headlamps, as it was pitch black outside. After dinner we headed back over to the Green River Overlook where we found the winds to be exceptionally strong and it was so dark you could barely see your hand in front of your face. The winds made shooting the Milky Way difficult and the darkness made it impossible to get any definition of the landscape, so I decided to simply play around with lightpainting.

We returned to Canyonlands for sunrise. It was still very windy, but sunrise turned out to be pretty good. We would have liked for a little more light on the clouds, but photographers are rarely fully happy with their shooting environment

The only time we really had for touring Arches National Park, considering the weather and road closures, was during the day. This made for lack luster photo opportunities. Regardless, we enjoyed seeing the park and now have a good reason to return to Moab.

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For our last day in Moab we rented ATVs and took a tour to a point called Hell’s Landing. The weather was perfect for the ride. The winds had finally died down and the temperature had cooled to the 70s. For those who like Mountain Biking, this is the place to be. There are miles and miles of land to explore.

After a fun-filled week of sightseeing, cook-outs in unique settings, star-gazing, and off-roading, we spent our last evening at the RV park and played a game of Euchre. I was thrilled to learn that Jane and Van knew how to play. Not many people do, unless you are from Michigan.

We had a great week in Moab and look forward to returning at a future time.

Our next destination is Yellowstone, while Van and Jane travel towards Zion.