Moab Invitation '09

Please join us for our...

5th ANNUAL FAMILY FALL MOAB TRIP

10/2/09 - 10/5/09

DATES:

"Come for one day or come for the whole weekend, we'll see to it that you have more fun than you can stand before it's all over." - Winston Churchill

YOU ARE INVITED to join us for our 5th Annual Family Fall Moab Trip!!!

We are going to Moab, Utah over the weekend of Friday, October 2 through Monday, October 5.

That's General Conference weekend for those of you of the LDS persuasion. So there shall be no, "I am too busy with my church calling to take a weekend off," excuses allowed. Yes, there is a decent radio signal on the trail, and, yes, at least a few of the menfolk will be going to the local meetinghouse for the Saturday Priesthood meeting. We'll drag your husband along with us if that's what it takes to get you interested in coming.

• 1ST YR = 3 people, no 4x4s (took a tour and rented a 4x4), and 9 trail-seats occupied
• 2ND YR = 9 people, 2 4x4s, and 26 trail-seats occupied
• 3RD YR = 33 people, 8 4x4s, 119 trail-seats occupied
• 4TH YR = 23 people, 5 4x4s (including 2 atvs), and 62 trail-seats occupied (stupid $4.50 gas prices threw off our trend)
• 5TH YR!! = 2009!! = Will this year be...??? It's up to you, come and have fun, or stay home and be miserable.

PLEASE RSVP WITH ANY RESERVATION REQUESTS BY 9/15/2009!!!

COSTS:

"It doesn't need to cost much to have a good time. If we all pinch our pennies, then nobody will feel like a cheapskate." - Benjamin Franklin

Okay, so "the economy" (whatever that means) is putting a dent in all of our budgets of late (real or imagined). For us, this year will be a budget "conscious" trip (a step or two above last year's "super-budget-economy trip)."

See Moab - Costs for more details about this year's costs analysis

LODGING:

"Spend $200 per night or spend $5 per night, just spend the night sleeping so you have enough energy for the next day's challenges." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Please RSVP by 9/15/09 to let us know (1) if you're coming, (2) your lodging budget, and (3) your amenities requirements (i.e. - flush toilets, RV hookups, private cabin only, etc...). We will then choose a camping option that will best fit the majority of those who are committed.

See Moab - Lodging for more details on Lodging

MEALS:

"The most lasting travel souvenir is the memory of a good meal." – Ghandi

For us, most meals will be picnic-style, out on the trail. For those of you that have a budget phobia of the whole spending-too-much-money-on-eating-out-peer-pressure phenomena, please note that we will personally, probably, be limiting eating out to 2, or maybe 3, meals over the course of 4 days. Oh, and don't forget to read my anti-meal planning propaganda at the link below, it's really quite provocative!

See Moab - Meals for more details on Meals

ITINERARY:

"Friends and family are like goats, and the best laid plans are like a carefully engineered, premium feeding grass. Sometimes the goats will eat it up and sometimes they will $#!@ all over it, but the effort is always worthwhile as it provides nourishment, purpose, and even entertainment for the goats" - Stephen R. Covey

See Moab - Itinerary for more details on the formation of an "informal" formal itinerary

WEATHER:

"It's not THAT hot." – Dante

See Moab - Weather for more details about the Fall climate in Moab

JEEPING ADVENTURES/ OTHER ADVENTURES:

"Whatever it is that you like to do, try doing it in Moab, it's always funner there." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

... Arches National Park - Canyonlands National Park - State Parks - Rafting - Climbing - Canyoneering- Mountain biking - Hiking - Sunrise / Sunset ...

... and last, but not least...JEEPING, lots and lots of jeeping! With trail names like Hell's Revenge, Wipeout Hill, Tip Over Challenge, Metal Masher, Steel Bender, Chicken Corners, Widowmaker, and more: all available for your jeeping pleasure, we promise not to disappoint the thrill seeker and masochist alike. It might be a good idea to pack some brown pants.

See Moab - Jeeping Adventures and Moab - Other Adventures for more details on potential adventure opportunities

OTHER:

See also: moab-utah.com , discovermoab.com , and moabchamber.com.

For LOTS more pictures from prior years' trips see http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/574247985ZDWeAB

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Moab Other Adventures '09

"Whatever it is that you like to do, try doing it in Moab, it's always funner there." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

NATIONAL PARKS AND STATE PARKS - Arches and Canyonlands both have more recreation opportunities than we could possibly list. See http://www.nps.gov/arch for more info on Arches National Park. See http://www.nps.gov/cany for more info on Canyonlands National Park. Hopefully, we'll spend at least 1/2 day in each national park.

Dead Horse Point State Park, although a very nice park and very much worth the time and cost to visit, will probably get overlooked again this year. It is simply an issue of not enough time for everything.

HIKING - Unlimited hiking opportunities abound! We always like to do some hiking while in Moab. We'd really like to try and do the Delicate Arch hike at sunset this year, followed by a full moon hike back to the parking lot. We always talk about it, but it seems like we never find the time to actually do it. It was a high priority last year, but overcast skies each evening interfered with the plans. See Discover Moab's hiking guide, the Arches National Park hiking guide, the Canyonlands National Park hiking guide, the Moab BLM's hiking guide for more details. Also, for an excellent series of hiking articles written by locals, check out the Moab Happenings' Hiking Happenings archive (scroll down about 4 screens to get to the Hiking section).

MOUNTAIN BIKING - Bring mountain bikes (or motorcycles) if you choose or rent one in town for about $35 - $40. See Discover Moab's rental guide for company names and rates. Some of the most popular mountain biking trails are also popular jeep trails (or at least crisscross with popular jeep trails). So you could potentially bike along with us on some of the trails. You'll probably have no problems keeping up. Some of the best trails average about 2-3 miles per hour in the jeeps. The bicycles can run circles around us on many road segments. Let us know if you plan on doing any mountain biking and we will do what we can to plan some appropriate activites. See Discover Moab's biking guide and the Moab BLM biking guide for more details.

ROCK CLIMBING/ CANYONEERING - Unfortunately, we don't really have the equipment or expertise to assist in these activities. However, there are a couple of people who have come with us in the past who do. Let us know if you are interested and we will do what we can to get those with the know how to plan an activity for us. Also, let us know what kind of money you are willing to spend. If there is enough interest in a "commercial" option, we may block out a half a day and try to get some assistance from a local outfitter. Otherwise, plan your own excursions by contacting the guides and outfitters at Discover Moab's guides and outfitters.

RAFTING – Most rafting trips in the area take more time than is available in one weekend. However, there is one company that does jet boat tours that are 2 to 4 hours long. Including the "Canyonlands By Night" tour where they synchronize music to a light show that they project onto the canyon walls. Unfortunately, these tours are way beyond our budget this year, but if any of you are interested, see Canyonlands By Night for more details or to make your reservations.

SUNRISE/ SUNSET - Official sunrise will be around 7:15 am and sunsets will be around 7:00 pm. You really should make an effort to be somewhere particularly scenic at those times at least once while you're there. Although the red rock in the area is spectacular all the time, it is most photogenic near dawn and dusk. Although I have no scientific evidence to support it, I always say that most of the jaw dropping scenic vistas in the area are at least 100 times more beautiful around dawn and dusk than at any other time of the day!!

IT IS NOT a time to be sleeping. Schedule a long nap in the afternoon if you desire, but you are really doing yourself and your children a great disservice if you sleep through these incredible opportunities.

We will be planning at least one early morning sunrise adventure (we plan on leaving camp at about 6:00am-ish) and at least one late evening sunset adventure (hopefully the Delicate Arch hike). For some of you, we realize that will mean a sleep-in day and that you will meet up with us later in the day after lunch. That's okay with us, we won't force you into it, but likewise, please don't whine about our plans and then expect us to wait around, missing our sunrise while you begrudgingly wake up and get ready.

As an aside, Saturday, October 3 is a full moon! Sounds like some well lit nighttime hiking or jeeping might be in order throughout the entire weekend! Also, if we do the Delicate Arch hike on Friday night, the nearly full moon is set to rise at exactly 6pm due East while the sun is scheduled to set at exactly 7pm due West! I'm not a photographer nor an astronomer. And I'm not very good at trigonometry, but my calculations suggest that, weather permitting, we should have about an hour of spectacular photographic opportunities. Something akin to this photograph comes to mind!!!

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Moab Jeeping Adventures '09

"Whatever it is that you like to do, try doing it in Moab, it's always funner there." - Ralph Waldo Emerson



The Moab BLM Field Office marks and maintains over 250 miles of dirt roads. The Jeep Safari Route System includes over 750 miles of off-road 4x4 trails; all are well-marked and documented in various guidebooks. In addition, there are another 5,000 miles of unpaved routes in the Moab area. In other words, there should be something for everybody!

We will only be bringing Jeep seating for 5, but we will be filling up 4 of those seats with us and the kids on many trips. However, Lori and Ron will be taking turns on a couple of jeep rides, so we will have a couple of empty seats now and again. Lori may be hosting a "girls only" trail run up Pritchett Canyon for a few hours one of the days - a liability waiver will be required for those interested - no pregnant women or persons with heart conditions allowed (...that's a big JK, unfortunately, perhaps another year, after some more upgrades to the Jeep!)!

If you don't have the patience to take turns on the jeep trails, bring your own 4x4 or consider renting one. Please be aware, that you should probably not take your own 4x4 unless you are willing to accept some amount of scraping, scratching, and denting on the undercarriage and lower body panels of your vehicle. The best Jeep rentals in town are at Cliffhanger Jeep Rental; they run as much as $195 per day (ouch!!). See Discover Moab's auto rental guide for additional Jeep rental businesses: but be forewarned, you may be able to save $20 per day by renting from one of "the other guys," but you might end up with a stock Jeep with bald street tires. Maybe if enough of you who always CLAIM you want to go to Moab with us actually show up, you can go in together on the cost of a Jeep for a day (no additional rental fee for additional drivers).

Past trips have included the following routes: Tower Arch, Fins N Things, Hells Revenge, Long Canyon, Gemini Bridges, Shafer Trail, Sevenmile Rim, Wipeout Hill, Tusher Tunnel, Hidden Canyon, Klondike Bluffs, Poison Spider Mesa, Dolores River Crossing, Elephant Hill, Eye of the Whale Arch, and CliffHanger.

Some top priorities for new trails to add to our repertoire include: Hidden Canyon Overlook, Bartlett Overlook, Flat Iron Mesa, Gold Bar Rim, Little Canyon, Metal Masher, Chicken Corners, Steel Bender, and the new Mashed Potato.

Read details about the 32 most popular jeep trails in the area at the Red Rock 4 Wheelers' website. They are the hosts of the annual Easter Jeep Safari, a 10 day jeeping event held in Moab every spring, widely considered to be the largest 4x4 event in the nation. Note- I am comfortable driving a group on any trail rated 5 or less and a couple of the 6 rated trails from this site.

Read even more details about the same trails, plus another 45 or so more trails at TrailDamage.com. Note- all of the "Utah" trails on this site are in the Moab area. I am comfortable driving a group on any trail rated 6 or less and a couple of the 7 rated trails from this site.

See also the Moab BLM Motorized Routes guide for more information on 4x4 routes.

Please feel free to make requests and suggestions.

IMPORTANT NOTE - This info is in the "Costs" section (see "Costs" for more details), but it bears repeating here. To be fair, there will be NO FREE JEEP RIDES! Unless you have your own four-wheel-drive vehicle (that you don't mind putting through some significant abuse), please plan on either renting your own Jeep (as much as $195 per day) or plan on pitching in YOUR FAIR SHARE toward somebody else's vehicle costs. Something like $1.50ish per seat, per half-day ride for owner-operated vehicles or around $35.00ish per seat, per half-day ride for rented vehicles: is probably reasonable. DO NOT ASSUME that someone will magically have an empty seat available whenever you want to go on a ride. We will personally do our best to try and make sure everyone who is interested gets as many rides as is possible, but ultimately, it is up to you to communicate with us and to make all of your own arrangements in advance. Just showing up the day of and expecting somebody to fit you in without notice is simply unreasonable.

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Moab Weather '09

"It's not THAT hot." – Dante



We know that most of you don't really care enough about what about the weather MIGHT be like to bother reading a whole page about it. After all, it's Fall, it's Southern Utah, it's NICE!!! That's all you care about.

So this section is dedicated to those of you who are convinced that good camping and outdoor recreation is ONLY to be had in heavily forested mountainous areas. Those of you who have expressed reluctancy toward camping or any other outdoor activity in the "hot, dry, barren desert." You know who you are. We don't have to point fingers (uh-hmph-Ryan & Summer ... ker-choo-Nate & Heather).

Here are the facts. Every year, we get at least one day that is absolutely perfect. Every year we get at least one day with rain. Also, nearly every year we get at least one hour or two of high winds that ends up blowing down a tent or two. So, bring your shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses, and sunscreen, but also bring a hat, a poncho, and a light jacket. And keep it all with you ALL day EVERY day. See! We're having fun already!

Please note the following Moab weather statistics and topographical profile:

• October is Moab's wettest month of the year (so you are not going to shrivel up into a dustball and blow away)
  
• Daytime highs average 75* - 85* (so you are not going to roast in the sun)
  
• Nighttime lows average 40* - 50* (so you WILL need a blanket, but you WILL NOT (likely) freeze to death)
  
• The Moab area is a spider web of 1,000 foot + deep canyons that provide plenty of shade and protection from the elements (so IF IT IS sunny and hot, you will find plenty of shade and respite from the heat)
• The sandstone in the area can absorb a tremendous amount of heat; the rock dissipates most of the heat deep down (so even on a hot day the rock surface is generally cool to the touch: in October)
  
• The foothills of the La Sal Mountains are less than 20 miles from the center of town (in case you need your fix of mountains and forests)
  
• October daytime highs comparison? 10* warmer than Salt Lake, 5* cooler than Las Vegas or St. George
• October nighttime lows comparison? 5* cooler than Salt Lake, 15* cooler than Las Vegas or St. George
  
• As a matter of fact, the Moonflower campground (our new favorite if you haven't heard) is in a small side canyon across the street from the Colorado River. It is extremely well shaded from the sun. It is boxed in on 3 sides to protect from wind. It has lots of cottonwood trees and rock overhangs to duck under if it starts to rain. It is the best of all worlds when it comes to protection from the elements!!
  

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Moab Itinerary '09

"Friends and family are like goats, and the best laid plans are like a carefully engineered, premium feeding grass. Sometimes the goats will eat it up and sometime they will $#!@ all over it, but the effort is always worthwhile as it provides nourishment, purpose, and even entertainment for the goats" - Stephen R. Covey

Remember, this IS NOT a family reunion. Therefore, none of you are obligated to spend any time doing anything that you don't want just because everyone else is doing it!

As our group size increases every year, it is becoming necessary to implement some sort of a formal itinerary. We've found that having more than two families, or groups, or carloads of people negates the effectiveness of on site scheduling via the "So, what do you want to do?" ... "I don't know, what do you want to do?" planning method. In past years we've simply brought along a giant library of guidebooks, website printouts, and mental notes about potential activities. Then we've planned each excursion on the spur of the moment according to the desires and fancies of those gathered at the time.

What has become the problem is that with a larger group, it takes a lot longer to get everyone awake, fueled up, fed, snacks amassed, bladders drained, and everyone gathered together from whatever campground or motel they might be staying at. There seems to be no urgency in preparing for the day, meeting up, and getting moving when there's no specific activity pre-planned.

This year, we're going to put together a formal itinerary for ourselves only (Ron, Lori, Lacey, and Riley). We will actually have two separate options on occasion as we will be splitting up to do different things from time to time (during the Priesthood Session of conference, for example). We'll provide each potential attendee with a copy.

Our hope is that each of you will find at least one time slot where you like what we are doing and that fits your sleep/eat/entertainment schedule and that you will join us on that particular adventure. Likewise, we hope that you take some stewardship in satisfying your own personal pleasures and that you will go off and do your own thing whenever a planned activity is too boring, or too early, or too strenuous (or if you are just simply too much of a wimp). If you want to spend a whole day sitting at the campground listening to General Conference, or if you want to go on a private hike, or if you want to sit at a coffee shop in town for several hours doing homework: don't let our "schedule" stop you. This is going to be an "informal" formal itinerary.

In general, we will have a morning activity, then meet back at camp (or some other convenient location) around lunchtime, then have an afternoon activity, then return to camp for the evening.

Please feel free to contribute ideas for specific activities prior to the finalization of the itinerary. Also, please feel free to complain about the final itinerary to your hearts content, then go and do something else during the offending time slot.

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Moab Meals '09

"The most lasting travel souvenir is the memory of a good meal." – Ghandi



WARNING: The views expressed on this page run belligerently contrary to many widely accepted family reunion, scout camp, and combined family vacation meal planning protocol.

Please forgive me for a moment as I climb aboard my anti-meal-planning soapbox (you may want to ask the children to look the other way for a minute, this could get ugly)...

Since joint meal planning ALWAYS ends up costing EVERYBODY twice as much money ... And since planned group meals ALWAYS seem to waste 3 to 5 hours to setup, prepare, eat, and cleanup (precious hours we might otherwise prefer to waste in funner ways) ... And since planning coordination ALWAYS quadruples the quantity and duration of grocery store visits ... We would really rather keep all meals and dining to the highly controversial "your on your own" system.

So please just plan your own meals! Please just bring your own food! Please bring your own cooking gear. Please bring your own dishes. Please bring your own money for dining out (there is fast food as close as 1 mile from the campground). Please be prepared to take care of your own trash (ESPECIALLY if you use paper and plastic dinnerware, I don't, so I never have a large enough garbage bag for all of YOUR disposable plates and cups and such).

That way, if your dinner takes too long to cook, or is too complicated to prepare without your kitchen appliances, or gets soggy because all the ice in your cooler melted, or gets burned because you decided to do a souffle over a campfire, or if you forget to pack a lunch that is appropriate for eating off the side of a hiking trail, or if you get frustrated because you're stuck cleaning up dinner when it's dark out, or if you end up not liking what you brought and end up going to town for McDonald's every day, or if you forget to bring milk for your baby, or if your kids don't like your snacks: you'll have nobody to blame but yourself. And then nobody else has to feel any guilt about your self-induced misery.

Oh, I'm not saying I won't eat next to you, or that I won't share my campstove and dishes at dinnertime, or that I won't ask if I can have one of your sodapops, or that your kids aren't welcome to graze on my food if they don't like what you planned, or that my kids won't beg for your food if they don't like what I brought, or that I won't eat some of your brownies when you're not looking, or that I won't share my beef jerky when we're hiking, or that I won't give your kid a juicebox if they ask nicely and say please. I'm just saying that none of us should feel like we're responsible for thinking all those things through on behalf of everybody else.

I can't afford the cost (or the stress) of feeling like I HAVE to pack enough of EVERYTHING to feed 20 - 30 people at each meal. So I won't. Nor should you.

So if your family-reunion/scout-camp instincts force you, go ahead and bring a one-month supply of unprepared, perishable food. BUT...PLEASE don't be offended if we decide to microwave some EasyMac, or boil a hot dog, or eat a prepackaged WalMart sandwich, or stop at McDonald's for $5 worth of $1 menu items. Then excuse ourselves to go get in one last Jeep run before dark, while you slave away for hours attempting to cook a frozen roast over a campfire.

... soapbox dismounted.

Our campsite and fire ring will be available to any of you motel stayers that might wish to experience an outdoor meal in a camp-like atmosphere, but we can't guarantee that we will be available to sit around and watch you prepare and eat it, especially not during daylight hours.

We will bring a cooler and an igloo full of ice water on all Jeep outings and any passengers are welcome to use it and/or bring along their own cooler.

If dining out is more your fancy, Moab has MANY excellent restaurants. A lot more than you would think for a small town of 5,000 people. Our current budget constraints will probably limit our personal dining out to 2, maybe 3 meals for the 4 days. Saturday will probably be the most likely evening for a full out night on the town, since some of us plan to be in town for the Priesthood session of General Conference anyway. See Moab Happenings' Menu Guide to download an excellent menu guide for nearly all of Moab's restaurants.

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Moab Lodging '09

"Spend $200 per night or spend $5 per night, just spend the night sleeping so you have enough energy for the next day's challenges." - Martin Luther King Jr.



First of all, you are each welcome to make your own lodging arrangements, independent of the group. However, we are willing facilitate and organize a group reservation in order to keep as many people together as is possible.

As a family, we are a little more open to a wider variety of lodging options than the past two years. In other words, if some of you HAVE to have your showers, or HAVE to have your RV hookups, etc. we are willing to pony up for a commercial campground so that the majority of us can stay in the same place... Mostly, that's for you mom ;) We still haven't given up on getting you out here for the Fall Moab Trip one of these years and we hope that throwing in a private cabin with a tv and private bath, while the rest of us can still tent camp, might get us one step closer to getting you out here!!

Please RSVP by 9/15/09 to let us know (1) if you're coming, (2) your lodging budget, and (3) your amenities requirements (i.e. - "I must have..." flush toilets, RV hookups, private cabin only, etc...). We will then choose a campground option that will best fit the majority of those who are committed.

If the majority of you are like us and are up for DIRT CHEAP and are willing to camp without running water, without electricity, and with outdoor pit toilets, we will choose a cheap BLM campground. Something like the Moonflower Campground ($8 per vehicle per night, but no picnic tables and no trailers or RVs allowed) or the Sand Flats Recreation Area ($10 per vehicle per night, includes picnic tables and some sites can accommodate large trailers or RVs).

On the other hand, if the majority of you require one or more of the following amenities: running water, electricity, covered tent pads, WiFi, flush toilets, showers, cable tv hookups, swimming pool, hot tub, heat, A/C, microwave, refrigerator, private bathroom, bicycle wash, small camp supply store, and/or a children's playground, then we will probably choose the Moab Valley RV Resort. Fee structure is as follows (all fees are for 2 guests, additional guests over 5 yrs old are $5 per night, tax rate is 13%):

• Tent site = $22 per night
• RV site = $30 per night for a basic site (add $7 more for cable tv hookups, add as much as $5 more for rigs between 35 and 60 feet long)
• Economy cabin = $50 per night (includes electricity, heat, A/C, and beds, but bring your own bedding - i.e. sleeping bag to lay out on top of the bare mattress)
• Standard cabin = $60-$65 per night (includes all economy cabin amenities plus bedding, television, and fridge)
• Cottage cabin = $75 per night (includes all standard cabin amenities plus microwave, private bathroom, and private shower)
  

We will be making our final decision on 9/15/09 in order to have time to make a group reservation. So please RSVP any lodging needs by then. If we go to a commercial campground, we will need to collect the funds for the first night's fees from each of you prior to that date. Then, you will need to get us the rest of your fee by Monday, September 28 or we will cancel your reservation. $10 will be withheld from your refund as a cancellation fee.

If, however, we go with a BLM campground, the campsites are not reservable. They are available only on a first come, first served basis. If we know for certain you are coming, we can "squat" on your campsite for a short time until you arrive, at which time you can pay your own fees.

We will do everything in our effort to mix and match individuals from the various groups in order to maximize the occupancy of each site: to keep the costs as low as possible. In other words, if you want a cabin, but only have 2 people in your group, we will try and bunk you up with another group in order to maximize cost savings. If you desire. Although you are welcome to spend a little more for privacy if you choose.

For other lodging options...

Motels - Our favorite is the Moab Landmark Inn. It's right in the middle of all the downtown restaurants and shops and has the best kid-friendly swimming pool in town. They even have a couple of "Triple Queen" rooms: for extra large families! There are also plenty of other places to fit just about any budget. Check out Discover Moab's "Where to Stay" for the most comprehensive list of Moab lodging options that I know of. Also check out IHS Advantage - Moab for the most complete online central reservation system for the Moab area.

Modern camping - There are more than a dozen private campgrounds in town with tent and RV sites, rental cabins, hot showers, swimming pools, hot tubs, WiFi, and the like. Unfortunately, some of these campgrounds are quite trashy and not worth the $20+ ($40+ for a cabin) that they often cost, so choose your campground carefully. Our favorite, if you want to be within walking distance to downtown is Canyonlands Campground. We've never stayed at Moab Valley Campground, Spanish Trails Campground, or Riverside Oasis, but Trailer Life Magazine
rates each of the 4 campgrounds listed above with a 9 out of 10 or higher on bathroom/shower cleanliness and 8.5 out of 10 or above on visual appeal.

Primitive camping - If you want dirt cheap, don't mind a short drive into town, don't mind outdoor pit toilets, and no running water or electricity, we recommend the Sand Flats Recreation Area (9 campgrounds between 2 – 10 miles from town, $10 per night per vehicle). Or any of the many BLM campgrounds (16 campgrounds between 3 – 10 miles from town, $8 - $12 per night per vehicle). Sites are not reservable. They are available only on a first come, first served basis. See the Moab BLM campground guide or Discover Moab's Sand Flats Recreation Area guide for more details.

As an aside, our VERY favorite so far has been the "Moonflower Canyon" campground. Only 3.5 miles from the center of town. It is contained within the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area. There is a very small creek that meanders through the campground. There is a ton of shade from gigantic cottonwood trees as well as from towering cliff walls on 3 sides. There is a nice 1/4 mile walk up the canyon to a small, tranquil pool. It's definitely one of the best options around for scenery and serenity alike. It is a "walk-in campground," which means that you must leave your vehicle in a parking lot and carry your camping gear at least 30 yards (and up to 150 yards) to your actual campsite. So it is not an option for those with trailers or RVs of any kind, and not really ideal for those who have extremely large, heavy tents or other heavy camping gear that they don't wish to leave in the car. rates all four campgrounds above with a 9 out of 10 or higher on bathroom/shower completeness and cleanliness and 8.5 out of 10 or higher on visual and environmental appeal.

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Moab Costs '09

"It doesn't need to cost much to have a good time. If we all pinch our pennies, then nobody will feel like a cheapskate." - Benjamin Franklin

This year is going to be a "budget conscious" trip (unlike last year's "super-budget-economy" trip). Basically, we are allowing for 2, or maybe 3, meals out to eat and are willing to put up coin for a plush commercial campground (the kind with showers and such): IF there is universal interest. Obviously, you can spend what you want, but just so you have a slightly lower end benchmark to start from, OUR budget is as follows:

• Lodging = $66 ($22 per night at a luxury campground for 3 nights)
• Traveling fuel = $69 (240 miles each way, to and from Moab)
• Adventure fuel = $49 ($7 fuel per jeep excursion - potential of 7 total half-day trips - less reimbursements from passengers, SEE BELOW)
• Food = $50 (Basically, this is our dining out budget, the excess food cost over that which we would have otherwise eaten, had we been at home)
• Other = $20 (Entrance fees, firewood, other miscellaneous incidentals)
• Total = $254 (That's $16 per person per day for our family! Not bad)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

MANY of you will probably want to go on AT LEAST ONE jeep ride. SOME of you will probably want to go on MANY jeep rides. Yet, not all of you will be bringing a 4x4 that is appropriate for the terrain. Which means you'll be bumming a ride from somebody else.

For those of us bringing our own 4x4, there are significant costs as far as fuel usage. Normally, in Moab, we average about 8 miles per gallon out on the trail! Pretty expensive. As a matter of fact, the last jeep ride we took was up American Fork Canyon, our Jeep averaged 4.2 miles per gallon over 2 days! Also, there are significant costs related to wear and tear. We always need an alignment, various filters replaced, various oil and other fluids replaced, and sometimes multiple vehicle parts replaced after (or during) our Moab trips. Plus there is the fact that many parts that do survive the trip have their useful lives greatly diminished because of the abuse they are put through on the trail (tires and steering components come to mind).

For those who will be renting a 4x4, rental costs are as high as $195 per day, plus as much as $65 in optional add ons and taxes, plus another $20 or so per day in fuel. Yea, I know, that's a lot of money. It's worth it at least one time though, if necessary, to convince your wife that you need to own a Jeep.

Therefore, to be fair to everybody attending, there will be NO FREE JEEP RIDES! Unless you have your own four-wheel-drive vehicle (that you don't mind putting through some significant abuse), please plan on either renting your own Jeep (as much as $195 per day) or plan on pitching in YOUR FAIR SHARE toward somebody else's vehicle costs. Something like $1.50ish per seat, per half-day ride for owner-operated vehicles or around $35.00ish per seat, per half-day ride for rented vehicles: is probably reasonable. DO NOT ASSUME that someone will magically have an empty seat available whenever you want to go on a ride. We will personally do our best to try and make sure everyone who is interested gets as many rides as is possible, but ultimately, it is up to you to communicate with us and to make all of your own arrangements in advance. Just showing up the day of and expecting somebody to fit you in without notice is simply unreasonable.

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