Moab...Where?

I was sat in my hotel room back in Omaha wondering where else in America I'd like to visit, and so I asked good old Google. I typed in, "top 10 places to visit in the U.S.", and what came up amongst the search results was a page showing alternative cities to visit.

Looking down the list I saw some pictures which immediately drew my eye, the stills on the webpage were for a place called Moab. Now I don't know about you but I'd never heard of Moab before, never the less the images associated with it meant I simply had to go there.

Months later I flew into Denver and got a connecting flight straight to Moab which is located on the east side of Utah. It was a regular flight into Denver on some kind of standard Boeing commuter jet, but the flight into Moab was on a 12 seater turboprop aircraft, and what a flight that was.

The tiny aircraft flew pretty much straight through the canyons on it's way to Moab, the views from the larger than normal aircraft windows were phenomenal, it was almost as if you could reach out and touch the scenery. 

Another advantage of being on such a tiny jet was that the cockpit was open to the passengers, on approach to Moab airfield you could watch the pilots at work as they battled the cross winds and thermals being thrown up from the canyon floor. 

After I landed I collected my luggage and made for the hire car lot. I'd booked the cheapest car they had, but after flashing my military I.D. I was upgraded to a Jeep Wrangler with the addition of a, "thanks for your service". 

I headed out from the airfield and just a few miles down the road, I was greeted by the impressively red rock that surrounds Moab. Steep sided canyon walls dictated the direction of the main highway into town, which sat like an island of convenience at the edge of a murky ribbon, otherwise known as the Colorado River.

Arriving at my accommodation I found it difficult to absorb all of what I could see. I don't think I've ever stayed anywhere that is so humbled by it's surroundings in every single direction. But with two huge national parks to see, slick rock mountain biking to do, I snapped out of my dumbfoundedness and headed out to the first port of call, Arches National Park.

As I headed deep into the park it was well above 100 degrees, and the sandy desert like floor reflected the intense heat straight back into my face. Taking a 4x4 trail I headed out to Tower Arch, and a 4 mile trek in the arid scorched air of the day. Carrying only one litre of water in my rucksack it was probably pushing it to be honest, but against my better judgement I cracked on.

I arrived at Tower Arch and took some respite in the shade provided by this huge sandstone formation. In that kind of heat your sweat evaporates instantly and so has a pickling effect on your body. Maybe one litre wasn't enough after all, and getting lost on the way back through the sandstone fins could literally be fatal. 

Careful navigation on the way back ensured I got to the car just in time to chug down an American staple, Gatorade. Feeling refreshed but also a little wary, I pushed on through the park taking in the aptly named Fiery Furnace, Double Arch, Balanced Rock, and the ultimate show stopper, Delicate Arch.

The next morning with the mercury still well into triple digits, I collected a mountain bike from a local shop and cycled the ten miles up hill to the Brand Trails. This network of trails caters for all abilities. There's family friendly up and down riding, but also a mixture of technical slick rock, some extreme rock clearing stunts, and steep switch backs. 

I spent the next four hours in the saddle in the baking sun, I rode most of the trails on offer but the heat was taking it out of me, and so I headed back into town. Once back in town I jumped into the Jeep to make to make the most of what light was still available, and headed into Moab's second National Park, Canyonlands.

The author Edward Abbey, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth - there is nothing else like it anywhere", and trust me he's not wrong. Driving around the canyon rim and stopping off at all the view points along the way, I struggled to take in the vast openness of what I could see.

This colourful landscape was carved by two rivers, the Colorado River and the Green River. What's left behind is a complex relief pattern of mesas, buttes, and canyons, all presented in a rich deep red sandstone.  

Like I stated previously, the beauty of coming to National Parks in Moab is the lack of tourists (present company excluded). I traversed the whole park and never saw more than a couple of dozen other visitors, and this quietness made my visit a very personal experience.

Toward the entrance of the park I'd noticed a small trail that was only for vehicles with high ground clearance, and due to the generosity of the lady in the car hire shop, today that was me. I took a metalled track which snaked down toward the canyon floor.

It was a track like you see on TV, it was just wide enough for a car with a drop of maybe 1000ft to one side. This gave me the perfect opportunity to drop the Jeep into 4 wheel drive and pretend that I was Colin McCrae. With a boot full of throttle, a good amount of opposite lock, and a clear view out of the side window, I was Colin McCrae. 

That day I spent off roading in the Canyonlands has to be one of my best ever days, and I can't recommend Moab enough. I know it's slightly off the beaten track but it's worth the extra hassle. From the flight into Moab, to driving the canyon rim, to mountain biking on the red sandstone, it has to be one of my favourite destinations to date.

And just to cap the day off the apartment I was staying in had an outdoor hot tub. I sat outside soaking my tired bones and enjoyed the light show as a thunder storm kicked off (good idea/bad idea, you decide).

Moab, make sure it's on your bucket list.