After staying in Durango for three nights, we headed off to Moab, Utah! I have been to Moab before and I can't wait to experience it again. Moab is located in a great position in Utah between two amazing National Parks: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Entering the area is a great ride! You'll go down a scenic road which will lead you through practical barren land with mountains surrounding in all directions. Going does this road is no where as near as amazing as the things you will see if you go to the parks. The area is best described as a mountainous red desert with just plain fascinating natural monuments and formations made by erosion and weathering and so on. It's beauty is a completely different beauty compared to Colorado. It's like asking if Asian food is better or Italian food is better? Both of have their positives and negatives yet both of them are amazing and so does these two locations. Moab is just plain fascinating to the eye. The skies are clear and the stars are vivid like any other wonderland. That is always a good sign of a good location people ;) The terrain is wonderful and is filled with variety and color. At points you'll see hills of green and blue color of that sort which is actually traces of Uranium that is quite abundant there. No worries, it won't radiate on ya! (I think...) Unlike Purgatory, this is more of the adventure man's destination so get ready to get dirty and tired! Moab really brings the man out of you, trust me. For more info on Moab, check the "Locations" page soon.
I stayed in a little condo just outside of Moab. It was actually very nice with a hot tub which is a huge plus if you just had a long day of rafting, 4x4-ing, hiking, and so fourth. Nice facilities it had too yet some were faulty, but that didn't stop me from enjoying myself! It was about 5 minutes out of town which is perfect since during season, it gets very packed. Moab has a nice assortment of restaurants there that one must try. They have restaurants that have excellent food for a great price! I recommend the Thai restaurant there as well as Zak's. The Thai restaurant is pretty authentic (since I'm Thai, I know) and has a real delicious Yum Nur. Zak's has an all you can eat pizza and salad buffet which does real well for it self the price. I haven't tried the rest, but I sure need to next time I'm in town.
If you're asking what to do there at Moab, get ready to get you're arms filled. 4x4 is huge there where some of the trails are infamous for the strenuous difficulty. The area is also huge in mountain biking. Sadly I couldn't experience that with the broken collar bone I have obtained. Another popular choice of adventure is the rafting since Moab is located right by the Colorado River which makes it a prime location for rafters to stay. It is right at the beginning of a very tough rapids that is beyond a 5 rating at points. If you do it, be careful and seek professional advice first! The hiking here is great and is really is one of the things you must do. Go to Arches National Park and see the amazing arches and views that it gives you. Hike in Canyonlands where it has different sections where they give different experiences! I had some really nice hikes here including Devil's Garden Loop (not as intimidating as it sounds) in Arches and Whale Rock Crater Trail at Canyonlands. I'll give more detailed info on those hikes in later updates ^_^ There are so many more trials to try that I didn't so do me a favor and hike'em for me and tell me about it!
What I personally did there was 4x4 and rafting with some "extreme" hiking. First we did the hiking...well...not really. We were about to hike one of my favorite hikes in that location "Devil's Garden Loop" but then I thunderstorm came out of nowhere and trapped us at the entrance. Again our luck with storms on this trip, but my my, it was a mighty storm!!! It was very wicked and felt such a rush of adrenaline like no other. The next day, we went on bi-excursion which included a 4x4 drive in the Canyonlands National Park and mild rafting down the Colorado. The ride was amazingly fun with many bumps and uphill climbs to excite the nerves. The views were also very spectacular! Went to see the famous Thelma and Louise cliff. Pretty cool now ;) After that long, yet awesome drive, we went rafting which was relaxing at most part. It got nice and hectic when we hit some 3's but then back to relaxing. All in all, it was just great and recommend you guys do it as well! I'll try to remember the people we went with later and add it to the blog :P Really, Moab is a top place to go in my definition and I highly recommend it for any type of adventurer. Give it a try and I guarantee you'll smile at least once!
Happy Adventures!
Alex "Vegas" Roberts
