Travels of Geo Nova: MOAB AND TORREY UTAH

MOAB AND TORREY UTAH

Moab is a desert town that has grown exponentially in the last several decades. It is home to Arches National Park. It is a good launching point for visits to Canyonlands NP and Dead Horse State Park but what really has put it on the map are the multitudes of both Jeep and Mountain Bike trails, in fact of the worlds 10 best mountain bike trails, 9 are here. People come from all over the world to ride these trails, most of which are far above my skill level. Moab is also home to my B and B, bakery and brewery. The Brewery is good and the bakery is only so so.

On our first morning we departed the campground before sunrise in an attempt to capture some photographs with that magical golden lighting that typically is seen at that time of the day. Unfortunately things did not work out but we still enjoyed the rest of the day in the park going on a few short hikes to see some of the many arches.

Another day at 4pm, along with 8 other caravaners I went on a Ranger Guided Hike in what is known as The Firry Furnace, a formation of rock fins that form a labyrinth of very narrow canyons that required straddling deep crevices and walking on narrow ledges. It truly is a magical place. The parks are great and I will let the pictures tell the story.

The owner of the RV Park we stayed at was a most interesting and nice person. He was drafted by a MLB team as a young man but never made it to the Big League. In addition to running several campgrounds with his family he is deeply involved in the Jeep scene. He offered to take anyone from our group for a Jeep Crawl, we took him up on the offer and it was fun and not quite I expected. The Jeep is not any ordinary jeep but a very specialized and sophisticated piece of machinery. I am told the price tag is around $100,000. The ride included drop offs of 4-5 feet and climbs and docents in the range of 60-70 degrees.

We managed to find a Nature Conservancy Preserve, 800 acres of wetlands in the desert, to go birding in. It ended up being right behind the campground but as in Maine “you can’t get there from here”. All of this land was between the road into town on one side and the Colorado River on the other; it is the great flood plain for the river.

Now we are on to Torrey Utah, home of Capital Reef National Park. Torrey is a very small town southwest of Moab. A classic case of you can’t get there from here. First we had to drive 50 miles north before we could go west and then southwest. The drive brought us through Green River, a very small town that boasted a world-class museum devoted to the life of John Wesley Powell, a very fascinating man who is foremost remembered for his exploration of the Grand Canyon in 1869. He also charted the Green River into the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. In Green River we also stopped at the melon stand. They are known for their outstanding melons. There were so many we never seen before and wish we could have bought them all but we settled for one new kind and a watermelon. YUM!

The next stop along the way was Goblin Valley State Park. Here when looking out across the desert we felt that we were in a Star Wars movie with different aliens. Tim Alan was in a movie filmed here, Galaxy Quest in 1999. If you want a laugh watch it. Again I will let the photos do the explaining.

Capitol Reef National Park is what is known as a water pocket fold, in scientific terms a monocline. Many million years ago there was a gigantic uplifting caused by colliding tectonic plates. This along with many raising and falling large continual oceans along with wind created these interesting rocks. Of historical significance the area was home to a small settlement of Mormons dating back to the latter 19^th century. Because of the river there is an oasis in the middle of this high desert. There is a restored farmhouse in the park from that period and Mormons now sell assorted crafts along with some fabulous baked goods! We hiked several trails and I even found time for a bike ride.