There's no place like home... there's no place like home. Most of us have probably used this phrase from The Wizard of Oz movie many times in life. :) Our two weeks away from home in our "home away from home" 5th-wheel camper was refreshing and delightful.
When we talked about staying in the Moab area for more than a week, I actually thought we would become bored and started considering other nearby places to explore. Turns out we didn't need any alternative plans!
There were ample adventures for us to enjoy, and we didn't need to (over)pack each day full of adventure. Most days we returned back to camp by 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Each day was unique and amazing in some manner. We listened to four different books in the 14 days... This means four new blocks will be added to my stack of bookish journal blocks. :) The books were The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick and The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.
(Trinidad is also an official artist community and at one time had a similar co-op gallery. However, the level of artwork was nowhere near what we saw in Mancos.)
There was a nice coffee/tea stop and an interesting museum with several vintage quilts.
I made my first purchase of fiber/fabric souvenirs at the co-op. This hand-dyed piece was considered a "second" and asked begged me to take it home. I had to oblige and my plan is to turn it into a new quilted purse for myself.
The next day we drove to Moab. I was able to finish up the binding on the Ribbons quilt that I made at the quilt retreat. The variegated embroidery floss looks great and blends with the colors of the quilt perfectly! She was ready for a photo shoot in the rock country.
We scouted out Goose Island CG several times as we drove to and from town and formulated a plan to claim a spot on Sunday morning.
After dinner we took a drive up the river to explore and seek out a good sunset view. Castle View was where we ended up. While the sunset was nothing spectacular, the view was! It was soooooo quiet. There was no road noise... just silence. It was all so vast... almost overwhelming so.
Our first full day in the area we headed to Canyonlands NP. Again, vast... huge! It was interesting to see the change in landscape and terrain and how the light of the day offered new and ever-changing views.
Canyonlands is so large that it has two entrances and the different sections are not joined by a road. The next day we headed to the southern section of the park - Needles. It was nearly an 80-mile drive to the park entrance. The day started with light rain but eventually cleared. On the way to the Needles, you go by Bears Ears National Monument, and you pass by the Newspaper Rock... and incredible wall of petroglyphs. This wall was so impressive and ranks among my favorite sites from the trip.
We enjoyed a few short hikes and stumbled around on several rock formations. We enjoyed the Spring Creek trail that showed various caves where cowboys would seek shelter... There is evidence that well before the cowboys, the Natives used them as well. There are a few pictographs painted on the white section of the walls.
There are scientific explanations for the varying rocks and how they form and change and why they are different... and all of that information was available at the park's visitor center. We asked our questions on our way out of the park and returned to town.
We had an early dinner at a place that came highly recommended on the Find Me Gluten Free app - Proper Brewing. The service was slow and the food was cold and not all that great. We returned to our campsite and got ready for the move to a level campsite. LOL!
The Ribbons quilt had her photo shoot before we moved...
The next morning was an early one... up at 5:45 to make coffee and tea and then had to Goose Island Campground to claim an empty site. We were prepared to need to sit for an hour or so before finding one. No need for us to wait! We claimed the site, paid for it and locked up our bikes to the picnic table to secure it. After a shower and breakfast, we needed to take care of emptying the holding tanks and getting fresh water. When our "housekeeping" chores were complete we set up camp in the new LEVEL site.
The bike path was right in our back yard, so we hopped on the bikes and used it. Following lunch, we visited the "Hole in the Rock" It was a house built into the rock... just as the name states... hole in the rock. The original builder blasted openings in the rock to create rooms. The husband-and-wife owners ran a small cafe and gift shop in the beginning. It is now a tourist trap that charged $9/person for a tour.
It was now Monday. We had planned on visiting Arches on Tuesday, but since there rain was in the forecast for Tuesday, we decided to make our visit on Monday. It was recommended that you get to the gates before 8 am or after 2 pm. We entered the park at 7 am and enjoyed the views as the day started. Our first stop was at the Park Avenue trailhead area. Again, the magnitude and enormity of the rocks awed us.
Our next stop was the area with the windows and double arch. The crowds were thick yet and we even had the opportunity to get a picture with no one else in the background!
We then hiked to the Double Arch and discovered a wedding party was arriving and headed to the Arch. We wished them well and headed to the trailhead for the Delicate Arch. We didn't have a strong desire to hike the strenuous and challenging 1.5+ miles to get a close up of the beauty and settled for a view from a little farther away. I needed a shot of me with my shirt... It's not great, but I'll accept it. ;)
Upon the return to the truck, we enjoyed a snacky lunch of crackers, cheese, jerky and fruit and then went to the visitor's center where we watched the park info video and toured the gift shop. I nearly purchased a mini quilt kit. It had a small panel with a few borders to be added and then quilted. I think the price was $38.
While tempting... I opted for a mini puzzle. Just 4"x6" finished and so cute! We strolled the town again and purchased postcards for the grandkids and purchased a few affordable t-shirts. Dave and I enjoyed the puzzle that evening as we finished listening to a book... The Alice Network, I believe. We made a quick stop at a thrift shop and acquired three new-to-us puzzles to enjoy in the evenings.
Wednesday was a day with the need for some "housekeeping" again. Dave had been watching the weather and saw that there were several nights that were predicted to be in the lower 30s. He was concerned about running out of battery power for the furnace. We inquired at an RV park about vacancy over the weekend so that we would have power for the camper. They wanted $300 for three nights. It was a hard pill to swallow after just $10 (with our senior discount) in the BLM campgrounds. Yikes! We opted to invest in a solar panel for that money.
It didn't take long before we were ready to head out again, knowing our batteries were being charged, this time to Dead Horse Point State Park. You are probably as tired of hearing me say... "the view was spectacular!", as I am tired of saying it. ;)
After lunch we ventured on to discover some dinosaur tracks.
There was a trail that had markers showing small, exposed areas of petrified dinosaur bones.
All fascinating history. I found it interesting that the ground had a green hue to it. One sign explained that it was petrified algae. Interesting stuff!
The next day was I actually pulled out my Grandmother's flower garden block to embellish with stitching. The view was a little distracting, and the bike trail was calling us. We rode to the edge of town where there was a park that gave us the opportunity to catch up on emails and text messages.
After lunch we were off to find the Grandstaff Trailhead. This trail took us to Morning Glory Bridge. It was a 4-1/4 mile hike, round trip. There was a sign at the beginning that noted that poison ivy was prevalent in the area below the "bridge" and to be careful in that area.
The trail crossed a creek about 6 times, went up and then down, and then around a bend, and then up some more and down again. We lost the trail at one point and had to double back. Dave was so kindly helping me up a steep bank of the creek and I landed in a plant that was creeping along the ground. It had three leaves... we kept wondering "was it poison ivy???"
I was careful to not touch my face or anything else, rinsed my hand in the cold creek water and got back on the trail. When we finally reached the natural bridge area we did in fact see poison ivy. What I fell into was NOT poison ivy. Whew!
We were free to enjoy watching a group of people repelling down from the top. After a few minutes we turned back to return to the truck. We missed a small section of the trail again but were soon back on track without incident.
Friday was a cool and cloudy day. There was light rain so we did a driving tour. We enjoyed the scenic drive from Castle View to Moab, through the La Sal Mountains. We saw snow at the highest elevations. We saw deer and elk several times along the road.
We were back in the sunshine by the time we returned to the bottom of the valley. We had been interested in do the hike at Ken's Lake but had been told the lake wasn't anything special and the water level was way down. We saw the sign and turned in anyway. Dave used his binoculars and saw the falls that were supposed to be at the end of the trail. It was going to be another 4-mile hike... I wasn't really interested since it was so cold.
Dave spotted a road that went up the hill near the top of the falls... off we went. He got us to a spot that was just a 200-foot hike downhill to the falls. It was a narrow dirt road (not quite 2 cars wide), and we had to park off the edge of the road... the dirt and gravel was a little soft and I was a nervous wreck knowing he was going to need 4-wheel drive to get out of it. He was not concerned a bit... I let it go and kept my mouth shut. In the end, the view and the sound of the falls were worth it! All's well that ends well. ;)
From there we went in search of more petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks up Potash Road. We encountered numerous rock climbers in addition to the features we were in search of. It was fascinating, yet nerve racking, to watch them. And it took place on the shoulder of the highway! Wow...
We made one last stop at the pictographs located just outside Arches NP, stopped to check email, etc. and then headed to camp.
We had one last day remaining...
It was going to be a beautiful day, so we rode our bikes to town for some more souvenirs for the grandkids and lunch.
As a kid, I saw more than my fair share of rock and fossil shops because of my grandpa's interest in rocks and gems. It was the last place that I wanted to visit in Moab. LOL! However, it was the treasure trove of "prizes" for everyone. Lunch on the patio at The Spoke followed the shopping. We were then headed back to camp for a relaxing time of mid-day happy hour. We made a last-minute decision to take our last scenic drive through Arches.
We soaked in the variety of rocks, stones, formations and landscape changes and colors one last time. Words and photos don't do it justice. Stunning... Magnificent... Vast... Large... Majestic... Really, I'm speechless.
On Sunday morning we were up and ready to leave the campground by 8:30... the next occupant of the site was ready and waiting. LOL! We had looked for options of camping near Grand Junction, or even closer to home, Gunnison... and anywhere in between. We ended up making reservations back at Mancos. We made a diversion to the Four Corners and then drove through Cortez. One night at the State Park and then we were going home.
Now that I'm home... I have the mountain of laundry to tackle and a birthday present to make for Grand-daughter, Hanna.
There's no place like home! I hope that you enjoyed the trip along with me. I did stop at two other quilt shops... here are all of my treasures.
I was excited to finally find some AGF binding print.
It was a bonus that she had a 26% off sale! It is a fabulous shop and the owner was so kind. She has all of the products available online as well! She even purchased a few books from me to sell. (Thanks to Dave, my greatest supporter)
I bought a few remnant pieces with some sort of mini quilt in mind as a reminder of our 2-week vacation.
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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