Traveling through Moab, Utah

I wanted to share a few scrapbook layouts from our travels through the beautiful landscape of Moab, Utah last May.  We were lucky enough to spend 2 weeks in the Moab area so we had plenty of time to explore and take photos of Dead Horse State Park, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park.

AWAY WE GO - May 17, 2010 - Dead Horse State Park - Moab, Utah

JOURNALING:  We left Bryce Canyon about 9 am to make the 4 1/2 hour drive into Dead Horse State Park.  Along the way, we stopped at a Wal-Mart in Richfield.  We drove into the beautiful campground about 4 pm.  After finally figuring out how to get the trailer into the campsite, we set out to explore the point overlooking the Colorado River.  What a gorgeous place to watch the river wind through the canyon.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Lucy Chesna, National Parks papers

PICTURE PERFECT - May 18, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Dead Horse State Park - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  Here Matt captures both sunrise and sunset at Dead Horse State Park.  We drove the short distance to Canyonlands to visit both Mesa Arch and the Green River overlook, as well as the park road.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Heather, Bon Voyage Travel stack by DCWV, Paper bag

THE GREAT OUTDOORS - May 19, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Dead Horse State Park

JOURNALING:  Meander viewpoint and sunrise at the point.

SUPPLIES USED:  Roam papers by K&Co

FALSE KIVA - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  What a peaceful, quiet place - The size and grandeur of the alcove seems at home with the simplicity of the structure.  What a perfect balance.

SUPPLIES USED:  Paper Lace by K&Co, Roam papers by K&Co, Scraplift of Lisa's layout based on Sassylilsketches April sketch

AZTEC BUTTE - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We hiked the 2.1 mile trail to Aztec Butte to view 3 ancient grainaries (1200 AD).  It was steep up the slick rock.

SUPPLIES USED:  Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Sketch by Cheri O'Neill

CANYONLANDS SUNSET - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We enjoyed a great picnic while watching the sun set over Green River.  What a beautiful spot.

SUPPLIES USED:  Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Sketch by Cheri O'Neill

ESCAPE INTO THE WILD - May 22, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We drove 74 miles south from Moab to visit the Needles area of Canyonlands.  On the way, we passed the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs.  Once in Canyonlands, we had a picnic lunch near Pothole Point.  We decided to brave the 50 mph winds to hike the Slickrock trail.  It was a 2.4 mile trail that wound its way up and down the slickrock, to give us gorgeous views of the canyon below.

SUPPLIES USED:  Boy Scouts papers from K&Co, Bazzill stitch template

NATURE WALKS - May 23, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Arches National Park

JOURNALING:  We drove to the Devil's Garden trailhead to do the 2.6 mile hke out to Landscape Arch.  On the way back, we visited the Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch.  After a picnic lunch at Fiery Furnace, we enjoyed seeing all the major sites on our drive out of the park.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Cheri O'Neill at Let's Scrap, Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Postcards, 50 States Cricut Cartridge

OFF ROAD - May 25, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We decided to drive the 4 wheel drive road called Shafer Trail from Canyonlands and back to Moab.

SUPPLIES USED:  National Parks papers, Cardstock by DCVW

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK - May 25, 2010 - Moab, Utah

JOURNALING:  Delicate arch is such a recognized symbol of Arches.  Here Matt captures the "classic" shot as well as some other great views.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Susan Stringfellow, Blue Awning papers by K&Co, Destinations Cricut cartridge

SLIPPIN THRU THE CRACKS - May 26, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Arches National Park

JOURNALING:  We were excited to explore the Fiery Furnace on a ranger led hike.  We also had a permit to return alone but had issues getting in.

SUPPLIES USED:  Martha Stewart Classic Woodland papers, Sketch by Amy Alvis

FOUR CORNERS WONDERS - May 27, 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  We decided to drive down to 4 corners to explore the ruins of "House on Fire".  We also toured Natural Bridges & Mokey Dugway.

SUPPLIES USED:  Roam papers by K&Co, Destinations Cricut cartridge, George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge

HISTORICAL SITES - May 28, 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  We spent our day doing the same drive, only in reverse and adding Valley of the Gods.  We also hiked out to the "Fallen Roof" ruin.  It was pretty difficult to find but definitely worth the scramble up and down the canyon walls.  We also re-revisited the Gooseneck State Park again.

SUPPLIES USED:  Complete Boy kit by My Minds Eye

May 19, 2010 - Dead Horse Point State Park & Moab (Utah)

Today was our last day in Dead Horse Point State Park and we have to be ready to leave by noon.  Matt started out by doing his normal sunrise shoot.

We spent the morning hiking around to all of the overlook areas in the park.  We started out at our campground and hiked the 4+ miles down to the neck and then back up to the Visitors Center and then back to our campground. 

Matt enjoying the view of the Shafer Canyon overlook.

We came back to the RV and in 30 minutes had it all packed up and ready to do the 32 mile drive into Moab.  We got settled into our camground, Slickrock.  We barely have enough room to slide out as the sites are so narrow.  We are starting to understand the difference in the ratings in all our campground books and we see why this one is rated lower than the ones we have been staying at.  It could be really nice as there are lots of cottonwood trees all over, but they tried to squeeze in too many sites.  I doubt we will return to this campground in the future.

After getting settled in, we decided to visit the metropolis of Moab.  We're not sure if its just really busy here or if we are just used to the quiet of the parks, but its been a bit overwhelming!!  Lots of RV's, Jeeps, bikes, people, etc.  We visited several bike stores and a couple of gear stores.  I'm not the proud owner of a new smaller backpack that should hopefully help me out hiking a bit.  Matt found a new attachment for his pack that he had been looking for also.

We enjoyed a great burger dinner at the Moab Brewery where we both enjoyed some of their homemade root bear.  Back to the RV for a peaceful evening and a few catch up items.

May 18, 2010 - Dead Horse Point State Park & Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

For those of you who are wondering just where exactly we are, here is a map of the area and we are in Dead Horse Point (red square) right now and will go to Moab after.

Matt started out his day with a sunrise shoot of Dead Horse Point and the Colorado river below.  The weather is chilly with our high only reaching into the high 50's and partly cloudy.

What a beautiful view at sunrise.  

I have to look at the photos as I'm very unlikely to make the actual shoot.  

Sunset is more my style or as Matt tells his dad, that I need training to get up and fix his coffee at 5 in the morning before he goes...  Hope he's not holding his breath...

And another beautiful view...

Since Dead Horse Point State Park is right next to Canyonlands National Park, we decided to drive over there for the day.  We hiked the 1/2 mile to Mesa Arch and took several photos there.  We continued and drove all through the park stopping at all the major viewpoints along the way.  We tried to have a picnic at one of the overview points, but it was too chilly so we ended up eating our picnic lunch in the front seat of the truck so we were out of the cold wind.

Here we are in front of Mesa Arch.  

What a gorgeous view (and huge drop as I happened to look over the edge).

Another view of the dramatic scenery. 

As soon as we got back to the RV, it started raining and thundering so we decided that the warmest (and safest) thing to do is to hang out until the weather improves.  It did improve in time for us to go for a sunset shot at Dead Horse Point.

Sunset over the Colorado River

May 17, 2010 - Dead Horse Point State Park (Utah)

We left Bryce Canyon about 9am to start our drive to Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah.  According to map quest, the drive was to take about 4.5 hours however, we have at least one stop along the way planned.  We have been without a real grocery store since we left Padre several weeks ago and are in need of restocking.  A great iPhone App for Wal-Mart very clearly pointed one out along our route (what would we do without our iPhone and Wal-Mart???).  We stopped in Richfield, Utah for a Wal-Mart stock up and for lunch.


We made it into the campground in the park around 4pm.  Its a very small campground with only 21 spots in it and I was lucky enough to find tonight and tomorrow night open when I was looking about a month ago.  The roads in the campground are very narrow and our spot was the first one that we came to when we entered the campground.  I think Matt's exact comment was "How the Hell am I supposed to back this thing in there?".  The paved drive was an impossible turn for the trailer as it was angled the exact opposite of the entrance to the campground  We decided to circle the campground and back into the spot as if we were leaving the campground instead of coming into it.  Worked like a charm.  The paved areas are narrow and lined with lots of junipers but the camp areas are open and wide with great covered picnic areas.  Defnitely the most beautiful & quiet spot we have stayed in so far.  Easy to see why it books up so fast.

After getting the trailer leveled and slid out, we headed out to explore the Point.  It is a gorgeous area high above the Colorado River that winds and winds its way through the canyon.  I would recommend that anyone stop here for an hour or so to make the drive down to the viewpoint, its more than worth the $10 entrance fee to the park.

Internet connection here is very slow so I'll update with more photos (including those promised of Red Canyon) tomorrow when we get settled into Moab.  We are both ready for a bit of town life after several weeks in the parks.