Headed to Moab, UT
Talk about a beautiful drive. The southwestern corner of Colorado is probably one of the prettiest areas we have ever driven through.
What really amazed us was the drastic change in terrain from Southwestern Colorado to Southeastern Utah. It was like we drove out of this green lush world into and dusty dirty dry world. It was still very beautiful but in a completely different way.
Our first stop of the day was at Wilson's Arch. This is the first arch that you come to from the south side of Moab on U.S Highway 191. Being the first arch we have seen as a family it was quite exhilarating and we had to stop and explore a bit.
After hiking around and up to the opening at Wilson's Arch we took a few pictures before heading back to the car. Once back on the road we came across a cool little place before getting to Moab called HOLE N "THE ROCK". You know we had to stop and see what that was all about. Turns out it was a house that had been built in the side of a mountain. How cool is that? They also have a small store and petting zoo area for us to check out. For being out in the middle of nowhere it really wasn't bad, the boys had a ton of fun with the camel and bull.
The Petting Zoo
Camel seemed to like Kristin's ponytail!
Kristin and Clark decided to go on the tour of home that Albert and Gladys Christensen built right in the mountain. They ended up with a 5,000 sqf home that has 14 rooms and a 65 foot chimney. When Albert died in 1957 his wife didn't stop building their home like most would think. She opened a gift shop and gave tours of this marvel of engineering. Upon her passing in 1974 she was buried next to Albert in a small area next to the home.
While they did the tour Cayson and I just hung out and had a little lunch in the back of the van.
On the road again we just can't wait to get on the road again...........
We finally finished up at this stop and made our way north. Today is the day we are going to meet up with Papa and Mimi Van Kleeck at Fisher's Tower just East of Moab.
With a few extra hours of time to waste once we got to Moab we decided to walk down to the Colorado River. The boys had fun playing in the sand while we just enjoyed the scenery. A couple even stopped to wash their dog off in the river with environmentally safe shampoo.
Let's just say Papa got a little turned around on the way to meet us and we arrived with enough time to go ahead and explore the park.
Now that is a very different type of terrain than most people are used to. If you have some time while in the Moab area I would highly suggest a visit out to Fisher's Tower. The hiking is a little strenuous so make sure you bring plenty of water.
Thinking back I bet it took us about 45 minutes to get to the towers and then the same back to the parking lot. Just as we crested the last raise Papa and Mimi drove into the parking lot.
Well the day is about half over by this time and we can all go back to town and check into our hotel for the next two nights (Quality Inn Moab Slickrock Area). The boys decided they wanted to go for a little swim before we have dinner and head over to Arches National Park to watch the sun go down.
This post seems to be getting a little long winded in my mind so I think I will finish it up here and start the next post with us entering Arches National Park.
We hope you enjoyed riding along with us and if you have any questions please reach out and we will do our best to answer you as promptly as possible.