2018.10.12 - Monument Valley to Moab, Utah

Friday, 10.12.2018 - Monument Valley to Moab, Utah - Another short travel day, some of which is re-tracing yesterday's route back to the turn-off at Bluff, Utah. The weather was much improved, however, so the drive back thru Monument Valley was sunny and bright.

A sunny morning in Monument Valley

From Bluff, Utah, we headed towards Moab on Hwy 191 which would be the main route of our travels for the next few days. We stopped for lunch in the town of Montecello, alongside the Abajo Mountains which were capped with new snow. As we continued north, we passed a lot of secondary roads heading west into the east side of Canyonlands National Park. With more time and a toad to maneuver the smaller and often unpaved roads, this area would be a great place to spend a couple of weeks.  

Just south of Moab, we hit our first arch - Wilson Arch, right next to the highway. We parked the rig and John took the hike up the hill to take a few photos. Rene "held down the fort" and watched as he made his way to the top. 

  Wilson Arch - as viewed from the highway.

Wilson Arch - from the top

Rene holding down the fort below at Wilson Arch

We continued north towards Moab, passing many red-rock natural formations including the infamous Hole-in-the-Rock tourist trap (very cheesy, by the way). 

 We thought this one looked like a "crown"

It appeared to have a "door" at the bottom

Hole-in-the-Rock - Cheesy tourist trap

The Moab KOA was on the south side of town, right at the base of a large saw-tooth ridge of rocks. By the looks of things, it appeared to be nearly full, as would the town, in general, we would soon see. We got a not-so-level site right next to the highway and had plenty of "road traffic noise" to keep us company throughout the night.  

 Red-rock ridges along the highway across from the Moab KOA

La Sal Mountains to the east from our Moab KOA site

Tomorrow - we spend the day around Moab to visit Arches National Park and Deadhorse Point State Park.