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Moab! The place we’ve read about, heard about and dreamt about! There is so much to do here; it is an outdoor-lovers’ paradise. Hikers, mountain bikers, rock climbers, rafters, hunters, fishers and even off-roaders will all find plenty to do.

Moab serves as the hub for all these activities, a place to restock and refresh before heading out again. We started at the excellent Moab Information Center. We always start our stay in a new place with a trip to the visitor center. It helps us figure out what we want to do and see. It’s right in the center of town and it’s packed with information on the area.

Moab sits in a valley at the foot of the La Sal Mountains. The town is defined by the Colorado River on the north and west. Farming and ranching were the main occupations in the town’s early days. Then came World War II and the government’s need for uranium. In the 1950s the uranium mining boom continued (to fuel nuclear power plants) with prospectors venturing out in the harsh desert to seek their fortunes. Many were never heard from again.

Ultimately, uranium proved to be profitable only for the big mining outfits and the single prospector generally gained nothing but lethal doses of radioactivity. By the late 1970s even the large mines closed since cheaper and better quality uranium had been discovered in Africa.

An ominous reminder of the mining boom lies just north of Moab. The Atlas site is a 130-acre radioactive tailings pile near the north bank of the Colorado River. (Those of you who drink that water should be concerned, and this is only one of many radioactive waste sites along the Colorado River.) The US government has the site slated for cleanup but until then, every time the wind blows, radioactive dust settles on the people of Moab. That is not something they tell you at the Information Center!

This is the harsh, rugged, red desert that one of my favorite authors, Ed Abbey, immortalized in his book, Desert Solitaire. It is based on Abbey’s years as a park ranger at Arches National Park in the late 1950s. I picked up a copy to re-read during our stay. It’s a great way to contrast modern day Moab with its past. Before the roads were paved at Arches, before there was a Canyonlands National Park, before… If you haven’t read it, try it. Oh, he can be infuriating at times yet I can’t help but admire his passion for all things wild.

Evidence from previous inhabitants surrounds Moab and stretches way back in time, and I mean waaaay back. Like 150 million years ago. Back at a time when the rocks around Moab were still mud in a shallow lake. Back when dinosaurs walked the earth. The conditions were just right and dinosaurs left plenty of evidence of their existence in the Morrison Rock Formation. There are at least three dinosaur track sites near Moab and dinosaur fossils are constantly being discovered.

The next inhabitants to leave an impression were the people of the Fremont Culture. They lived in the area from 600 AD to 1300 AD and they carved many inscriptions on the rocks. Later the Ancestral Puebloans added their marks on the rocks. Then came the Utes who added their own designs. Were the petrogylphs (rock art) messages? Warnings? Prayers? We can only guess as we marvel at their handiwork. And lastly, Anglo settlers, some of whom just couldn’t resist, added their names to the rocks.

Though the community of Moab is small (about 5,000 people) it supports a local, independent radio station, KZMU. The station broadcasts shows like Democracy Now and an eclectic mix of music. Listening to KZMU satisfied our KXCI craving (Tucson’s local, independent radio station). One of the great things about both these stations, no commercials!

The vibrant, active town has also invested in a wonderful series of bike paths. We were close to one that curves through town and rode along it everyday. Not that the town is huge, but any time you can get off the main road and ride along a creek under beautiful trees and listen to the birds instead of traffic, you do it!

The first few days of our stay were work days so we only had time for short jaunts in the afternoons. One afternoon we rode out to the Nature Conservancy’s Matheson Preserve along the Colorado River. What was once old ranch land is slowly being restored as a safe haven for wildlife. It was pretty quiet during our visit but we did hear and smell a skunk and saw some deer. We had the place to ourselves as we sat by the Colorado River and watched the dying sun paint the rocks.

Another afternoon I toured the Dan O’Laurie Museum. The museum has nice displays about dinosaurs, mining and the history of the town. It is clearly a labor of love and quite informative too. Afterwards Lance and I rode to the Rotary Park on the east side of town and played frisbee in the grass.

The weather was warm, in the 80s, but our RV was tucked in the shade at our park and stayed quite comfortable. We had perfect weather during our stay, especially the two days which we devoted to exploring Arches and Canyonlands (more about that later). The morning we left was wet as a huge storm deluged the town. Driving out of Moab we saw water running in normally dry arroyos and it was red like the rocks. It was slow going in the storm, but we soon left it behind.

Photos: View our photos from Moab, Utah.

Dates: Our wonderful Moab stay lasted from 09/26/06 to 10/03/06.