Moab?
Wait. I thought we were going to Grand Junction? What’s happening here?
We did go towards Grand Junction, but then we saw how close Moab was and since we didn’t have a reservation anywhere, we thought…why not?
Le’s go see the Arches National Park!
Justin has said numerous times, this drive has to have been the most beautiful day of driving we’ve ever had.
Originally, we were going to go a shorter southern route from Salida to Telluride, but a bridge went out and we had to reroute along a northern route.
We get it that all of Colorado is beautiful, but we couldn’t help ourselves from pointing out each and every breathtaking view or rock formation either up close or in the distance.
We started to feel a little ridiculous but we couldn’t help ourselves…
“Oh my gosh, look over there.”
“Look at that.”
“Whoa.”
“Seriously? It just keeps getting better. How is this possible?”
“Wow…That’s beautiful.”
The whole ride (or at least when I was looking out the window and not trying to distract from the winding mountain roads again!).
Our maps kept us up to speed on what lake we were passing or mountain we were looking at in the distance. We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing and how it never got old.
I think the diversity of that day was what surprised us most.
We started in a deserty valley along the river, but drove through snow covered towns and mountains, before coming to green plains, and eventually the red rock desert of Moab.
It never got old.
For those wondering if this trip has ever gotten hard, the answer is yes.
Today was my day.
It wasn’t awful and I didn’t want to throw in the towel, but I was kinda done. I just wanted to pout and be by myself for a little bit.
I don’t know if it was the long day of driving, the stress of yet another steep windy mountain road, or just the fact that we’ve been on the go for a while now.
We got stuck in traffic in Utah as fires were being put out on the side of the road. I’ve never seen people walking about the highway chitchatting with other passengers before, but there we were with our birdseye view from the camper.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait too long. One guy said the last time he got stuck on this road, his wait was 7 hours. Let’s hear it for RVs and bathrooms and fridges!
But our wait wasn’t anywhere near that and before long, we were pulling into our next camping spot – another dispersed site!
We drove down a long dirt road that we weren’t exactly sure was the right place.
General vicinity of where we camped. Middle of nowhere Utah.
Fortunately, it was not a wrong turn again and there at the end of a bumpy dirt road, was a little marked off lot with sites for camping.
And guess what? They had one spot left!
Thanks God for saving that one for us! I was done with driving and just wanted to know we had a safe spot to stay for the night. That might sound strange, but it did help me feel better and less anxious.
Yet again, another picturesque place to camp. This time, it was in the desert with a mountain right behind us. Nothing to see except the few other campers in the lot with us.
It felt good to be stopped and to get out for a moment to regroup.
Wherever in Utah we were was a totally different kind of beautiful than I’d experienced before and I was grateful to be there.
But there wasn’t much sitting around time. We unhitched the car, climbed in, and headed to the Arches National Park for a little exploration before bed!
