MOAB: THE ALMOST GRAND CANYON

Before I really planned my trip and route, I posted a question on Facebook, if you could go anywhere in the contiguous states, where would you go? I had several people say Moab, I decided to add it to my list. This should've been my first warning. When a lot of people recommend the same place, it usually means it's beautiful, it's got good food and it's going to be full of people. While Moab the city isn't as touristy as some others (they've managed to stave off big chains like Walmart and Chili's) it was still crazy packed. There are TWO national parks nearby, Arches and Canyonlands plus plenty of campgrounds surrounding both parks. But I couldn't find a campsite anywhere when I first arrived. Hotels were $200+ so I spent the night at a rest stop 30 miles outside of town in my car. Luckily I didn't sleep more than 2 hours and got a campsite bright and early first thing the next morning!

Just after sunrise, I took a short walk over to Mesa Arch, set up camp and then sat in a car for a quick rainstorm. Canyonlands is beautiful, and hey there's canyons there! Who woulda thunk it. Another rainstorm in my car and then did a little hike. I was expecting a bit more trails or hiking around the park but luckily there was Arches down the road!

Arches had what I was looking for. Hiking! Climbing! Weird rocks! Friendly old people! After a quick stop through the Moab Brewing Company, I headed back to camp and some dehydrated soup. Made a friend who didn't know how to put out a fire that some camp-thieves started (there's no water in the park) and we watched the sunset from another big rock.

Moab was hard for me to get in to. Not just literally finding a place to sleep but in the amount of people I wasn't expecting in a small town surrounded by oddly shaped rocks. I've never been a fan of crazy touristy places and unfortunately this one kind of ended up being one. But it still rocked.