Moab, UT Trip Report
In January, our family moved to Durango, CO so that I could start a new job. Living in the Four Corners area has some nice advantages, like the fact that Moab, UT is now only 3 hours away. This past weekend, one of my Jeeping dreams came true as we got to make our first trip out to Jeep Mecca. We only had time to scratch the surface of what Moab has to offer and I’m sure this will just be the first of many trips to come.
Moab is truly a beautiful and unique place and is hard to describe with words. Pictures don’t do it justice either….but regardless, here’s our photo trip report.
(click pictures to enlarge)
Saturday we meet up with a group of Jeepers from the Colorado Trail Runs 4WD Club to run the Top Of The World trail.
Climbing the trail, the vegetation and trail conditions reminded me of wheeling in TX. Lots of small bumps/rocks made for a rough ride.
Flexing the Anti-Rock.
The trail had a few fun and challenging ledges to climb, but unfortunately I only got a picture of this small one.
The view at the top was worth the bumpy ride.
The La Sal mountains.
Enjoying the view.
Happy to reach the top.
The wind made a few of us chilled as we ate our sack lunch.
Jeeping is better with my best friend.
The only way to make the view more beautiful was to get my bride in the picture.
The reward of the ride.
It was Summer’s idea to sit on the 1,300 foot ledge.
The obligatory Jeep on the ledge shot.
Needless to say….Ethan was excited.
7,065 feet in elevation.
Addie fell asleep on the rough ride down.
Beautiful sunset on the ride back into Moab.
Ready for dinner at the Moab Diner.
Sunday morning started out with exploring Arches National Park. We bypassed the main park entrance and entered via Willow Springs trail so we could search for the fossilized dinosaur footprints.
Theropod footprints.
Arches offers amazing views all around.
Balanced Rock was simply unbelievable.
Breathtaking scenery everywhere you look.
Exploring the arches in the Windows section.
Turret Arch
Ethan wouldn’t leave this spot until we shot his picture.
After a fantastic lunch at Milt’s Stop N’ Eat (Moab’s oldest restaurant), we headed to the Sand Flats Recreation Area to play on the world famous slickrock. We didn’t have a lot of time left, but we made the most of what we had.
First things first, we got to play on Baby Lion’s Back.
Going up….
Riding the fin.
Anyone for a swim?
Going down is just as fun as going up.
This felt like driving off a really steep boat ramp. The water came up to the step tube on the rocker guards.
After the warm up, we headed to Fins N’ Things.
Driving on the fins is an absolute blast. The traction is amazing and the steep climbs and descents are a hoot.
Walking down a ledge.
The wider view of the same descent as above.
Beautiful scenery from the top of the fins.
The finest Thing I saw on the trail….
This descent doesn’t look too bad in the photo, but it sure was intimidating in person.
View from the bottom.
Lining up for the drop.
Nose dive.
Plenty of steep descents to enjoy.
Safely off another fin.
Unfortunately after running the first shorter half of the trail, it was getting late and we needed to hit the road back to CO. The good news is that we are now the proud owners of an annual pass to the Sand Flats Recreation Area and can pick up right were we left off on our next trip out.