AggieOE
Trying to escape the city
The original plan was NOT to go on vacation but instead to see family in Indiana. You see, my wife and I live in Houston, TX and it takes time and, more importantly, vacation days to see family on the other side of the nation from us. Since my parents decided (Dec 12th) they weren't going to Indiana (from Fort Worth) due to conflicting family interests there, we weren't going this year either. However, we already took the days off from work. So, with only one week out, we had to think fast. No matter what, we had Dec 23rd to Jan 2nd off from work. We also are in the process of “attempting” to save for a first house so we wanted to be as “cheap as possible”. Quotes are there because sometimes you just want to get away, no matter what.
So, after checking AirBnB (not a spokesperson) for places near the Grand Canyon, near Durango, and near Estes, we settled on Moab. There, you have Moab itself, Canyonlands, Arches, Monument Valley, La Sal Mountains… so much in one place. Plus, we have a new Jeep Rubicon that needs to see some dirt. I made a thread on here to gather some ideas quickly and helped.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/166513-Moab-Next-Week-(Dec-26th-30th)
After spending Christmas with the folks, we headed out Monday morning from Fort Worth, TX. 15-16 hours later we ended up in Moab. The next morning was a literal breath of fresh air. From 80-deg F in Texas to 14-deg F on the porch of our little rental home off Mill Creek Drive, we welcomed the next few days with open jacketed arms.
Everyone I've talked to has said that if you're new or wondering about specific trails, then stop at visitor center. The gentleman there was extremely informative and seemed eager to help us have some fun there. We learned the best way to go into Arches NP, the old main road north of the current entrance, and sadly that the Shafer trail was closed due to snow, ice, and maintenance.
I don't any pictures of the old main Arches entrance road because I was still in awe of this place and barely remembered to take any pictures. It wasn't extremely challenging but did require high clearance and probably 4wd. I drove the first part in 2wd but eventually had to put it in 4-high as there was a ~1-ft rock ledge we had to go up and I wasn't wanting to bump it in 2wd risking damage. We passed some cool dinosaur tracks and awesome mountain biking trails (although we didn't bring our bikes) before eventually popping into the park right in front of Balance Rock.
My wife, Brittany, finally touched her first bit (small bit at that) of snow for the year. Sadly it'll probably be our only snow for the season.
My goodness it is a Beautiful Park. We explored around and hiked up to Delicate Arch. The altitude was definitely an adjustment for us and we took our sweet time.
Towards the end of the day in the park, we stumbled upon some mule deer near Devil's Garden who were quite intrigued by us, it seemed. We photo'd them for a while before we had to leave. The sun was setting and I didn't want to drive back through the park after dark (even though it was completely dark by the time we exited out the main entrance).
That was mainly it from the first day. Since the sun sets by 5:30, the days are short. We went back to the little house, made some food and poured a couple drinks, and relaxed with an impossible puzzle and many blankets. If it was a bit warmer we'd have sat outside and looked at the stars (which were freaking everywhere) but 15 - 20-deg was a little low for us southerners.
So, after checking AirBnB (not a spokesperson) for places near the Grand Canyon, near Durango, and near Estes, we settled on Moab. There, you have Moab itself, Canyonlands, Arches, Monument Valley, La Sal Mountains… so much in one place. Plus, we have a new Jeep Rubicon that needs to see some dirt. I made a thread on here to gather some ideas quickly and helped.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/166513-Moab-Next-Week-(Dec-26th-30th)
After spending Christmas with the folks, we headed out Monday morning from Fort Worth, TX. 15-16 hours later we ended up in Moab. The next morning was a literal breath of fresh air. From 80-deg F in Texas to 14-deg F on the porch of our little rental home off Mill Creek Drive, we welcomed the next few days with open jacketed arms.
Everyone I've talked to has said that if you're new or wondering about specific trails, then stop at visitor center. The gentleman there was extremely informative and seemed eager to help us have some fun there. We learned the best way to go into Arches NP, the old main road north of the current entrance, and sadly that the Shafer trail was closed due to snow, ice, and maintenance.
I don't any pictures of the old main Arches entrance road because I was still in awe of this place and barely remembered to take any pictures. It wasn't extremely challenging but did require high clearance and probably 4wd. I drove the first part in 2wd but eventually had to put it in 4-high as there was a ~1-ft rock ledge we had to go up and I wasn't wanting to bump it in 2wd risking damage. We passed some cool dinosaur tracks and awesome mountain biking trails (although we didn't bring our bikes) before eventually popping into the park right in front of Balance Rock.
My wife, Brittany, finally touched her first bit (small bit at that) of snow for the year. Sadly it'll probably be our only snow for the season.
My goodness it is a Beautiful Park. We explored around and hiked up to Delicate Arch. The altitude was definitely an adjustment for us and we took our sweet time.
Towards the end of the day in the park, we stumbled upon some mule deer near Devil's Garden who were quite intrigued by us, it seemed. We photo'd them for a while before we had to leave. The sun was setting and I didn't want to drive back through the park after dark (even though it was completely dark by the time we exited out the main entrance).
That was mainly it from the first day. Since the sun sets by 5:30, the days are short. We went back to the little house, made some food and poured a couple drinks, and relaxed with an impossible puzzle and many blankets. If it was a bit warmer we'd have sat outside and looked at the stars (which were freaking everywhere) but 15 - 20-deg was a little low for us southerners.
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