Moab: The Final Frontier

After setting up at our lovely little river camp spot on Tuesday morning, we consulted our climbing guide book and headed to a crag called the Ice Cream Parlour - it was a neat drive getting there and we had a fun afternoon of climbing while the pups hung out in the shade.

Creatures of the crag

Afterwards, we celebrated with a cold beer and a margarita at the Moab Brewery and then decided to go for an impromptu hike into Negro Bill Canyon at dusk. We knew we had limited time before we lost our light, but seeing as we were camped right across the street, we decided to go for it. In the end, we were so glad we did - the canyon was uncrowded at that time of day, and not to mention nice and cool. We packed a headlamp but didn't need to use it, though we did wind up making our way out just after sunset.

Beautiful light in the canyon just before sunset

Making the universal sign for "arch" at the Morning Glory Bridge (okay, I don't think there's actually a universal sign for arch - not sure what he's doing there)

Would definitely recommend this hike - and dog friendly too!

On Wednesday, we found another hike to do - through the Bootleg Canyon up to Corona Arch. This turned out to be another beautiful hike - and also dog friendly as well as completely uncrowded which is always nice. Afterwards, we headed to another climbing crag called Wall Street where we had yet another great afternoon of climbing. As a side note, we'd looked into putting Indi and Scout in for a day of doggie day care while in Moab so that we could do some climbing in Arches, but it turned out to be quite expensive. In the end, we were glad things worked out the way that they did as we discovered some fun dog friendly hikes and climbing crags.

Scout keeping hydrated in Bootleg Canyon

Family shot by the Corona Arch

Climbing at Wall Street

Time for a cold beer?

On Thursday, we'd lined up a canoe rental and planned to do an 11 mile float/paddle down the Colorado river, however gusting winds (that word again!) thwarted our plans. Instead, we did a hike up Hunter Canyon. Though this canyon was somewhat underwhelming compared to the other two we'd explored (or maybe we were just getting hiked out) it was certainly memorable in its own right. On our way out of the canyon, we heard a group of people in the distance singing an enthusiastic rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" followed by some even more enthusiastic cheering and tribal chanting. Exchanging a wary look, we continued down the canyon, rounded a corner and came across about 30 people splashing around in one of the streams that lined the canyon. They were all perfectly nice and friendly and greeted us politely - and oh yes, they were all completely naked. What else could I say except: "Wow, these sure weren't the views I was expecting on this hike!"

Okay, I guess I could have kept my mouth shut but the words were out before I could stop them.

By then, the temps had really crept up and we were feeling too hot and tired to do much else except for chill out at camp. Once it cooled off a bit, we had a nice last night dinner at the Moab Brewery and then went to the movies.

Fully clothed in Hunter Canyon

On Friday, we broke camp and hit the road for the long drive home. We'd planned on spending the night in Idaho or Montana but wound up making the push to do the full drive and arrived back in Blairmore at 3am. While it was nice to sleep in our own bed, we are already missing the cozy confines of our little life on the road.

Guess that means we'll have to start planning another trip....