Moab was not part of the original plan but I am so glad our travel route landed us here. First, the hotel where we stayed, a Wyndham with excellent reviews was barely over $65 per night. That price included a full breakfast each morning and no pet fee. We were right on the main road with views of the surrounding mountains and just a few miles away from Arches National Park. While Arches was far from crowded, a few more miles down the road was Canyonlands National Park. It was basically deserted. The temperatures were in the 50’s one day and while it did snow a bit on our second day, by afternoon it was mostly gone.
Arches has timed entry from April to October and here we were on this beautiful January day, taking our time. The park lies atop an underground salt bed that was deposited across the plateau 300 million years ago. Salt is unstable and over time, this layer beneath the rock has been shifting, buckling, and repositioning itself. Faults make the surface even more unstable. New features are being formed and old ones are being destroyed.
Canyonland National Park is truly one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen. We visited just one part of this massive park, the Island in the Sky area. The other area, Needles is about 75 miles south of Moab. Canyonlands became a National Park in 1964, during the Johnson administration.
All this sightseeing left us hungry and we found 3 amazing places to eat. Our first night, we enjoyed the Moab Brewery where we experienced great service, great burgers and great beer. We also ate at Thai Bella and the curry was outstanding. The seating was conducive to talk with others and we met some locals. One local was a man who had worked at the nearby potash mines and was now retired. Our last evening, we ate at the Blu Pig where I had a brisket sandwich and Carol enjoyed a catfish po’boy sandwich.
I can’t wait to see more of Utah!! The parks there are known as the Mighty Five; Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef and the two we visited, Canyonlands and Arches.
You could spend a lifetime touring Utah. So much to see!