"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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