Arrived in Moab in early afternoon. Moab will be our focus of operation for 2 weeks or so. The area is rich in “rock art” (a debatable categorization), some requiring considerable exploration and canyon hiking. Moab also has a great modern library (the only one in the county) and a BLM regional headquarters that will provide us with local information not available to tourists.
The relatively inexpensive KOA campground is luxury that we will take advantage of as we plan our itinerary. Moab is also the only “city” SE Utah and has excellent stores and facilities for car maintenance, laundry, etc. Moab is a place for tourists and adventurers. The town itself has 5,000 residents, but also has 1.6 million visitors during the summer and fall months.
As soon as we finished setting up our tent, it started to downpour. The weather service says Moab only gets .54 inches of rain in July, about 8-10 inches for the year. Just our luck, it has been stormy almost every day we have been here. About .25 inches the first day and at least a half-inch a few days later. It rained again yesterday evening around suppertime. Rain on the Colorado Plateau in the summertime is like a “monsoon.” It comes up quickly and violently and then subsides. Our tent was set up well to handle the wind gusts, rain, and blowing sand.
Temperatures have ranged between 95º and 105º during the day and in the 60s and 70s at night. Janet and I try to plan our hikes in the morning because the sandstone rocks in the canyons are like a kiln by the afternoon. We take several gallons of water with us, as well as protective clothing, wet neck scarves, granola bars, peanuts, and beef jerky. Our walking sticks have come in very handy, as we often have to clamor over rocks or traverse slickrock surfaces.
If we can get pictures on Janet’s blog, you will see that our campground in Moab is located in a valley between the “Moab Rim,” that rises about 600 feet to the west, where the wild canyons begin, and the La Sal Mountains to the east, about 3-4 miles from us. The La Sal Mountains are the second tallest range in Utah; Mt. Peale, one of a dozen peaks, is over 12,700 feet.
When we leave Moab, we will miss the international flavor of the campground and City Market. So far our neighbors have been German, Austrian, Dutch, French, English, Korean, inner-city teenagers, and Mormons. Almost all come for one or two days to see the national parks and scenery, although a few young men come for the mountain biking and canyoneering.
Our future entries will tell a little bit more about our hikes and search for obscure prehistoric American Indian petroglyphs and pictographs.
Here is our site at the KOA in Moab.
This is the view of the La Sal Mountain range from our site.
The unusual cloud cover is obscuring the mountains beyond Moab.
The early sun reflects on the Moab Rim across the road from our campsite.
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