Last week, Jeremy and I were mapping out our drive to St. George, Utah to visit his brother and family. The entire drive takes about 9 hours, so we decided to break it up. Conveniently, the halfway point was Moab, somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a very long time.

We pulled into town in the dark, but I could see the shadows of the red rocks looming in the distance. The next morning, I got exactly what I was hoping for: stunning views.

 

The town of Moab is tiny, but with just enough kitsch to mean I instantly liked it. The nearby national parks (Arches and Canyonlands) make the town very popular in the summer, but quite quiet in winter. We got lucky enough to have the benefits of both, with excellent sunny weather but zero crowds.

We have an annual National Park pass (called the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re interested in getting one, which I’d HIGHLY recommend), so we’re always on the lookout for ways to incorporate a park visit into our lives.

And well, Arches just might be my favorite (so far!).

I don’t feel I really have the words to describe the park, it is just a masterpiece of nature and incredibly stunning.

The park gets its name from the arches cut into the red rocks over millions of years. They take various amounts of time and hiking skill to reach.

My favorite was Double Arch, it was easy to reach and very cool.

Since this part of Utah is a desert landscape, I’m sure you can imagine my excitement over every little cacti.

We stayed for hours, until the sun dipped down and the rocks turned from red to purple.

I wanted to stay in the park until it was pitch black and stargaze, but we weren’t exactly prepared, and well, I’m about 100 years old and like to go to bed early.

We didn’t spend a huge amount of time in the actual town of Moab, but here’s some things we found and really liked:

Eklectica Café – Super cute little cafe on North Main Street, with organic coffee, desserts, and the most delish curry tofu wrap. And if you’re looking for a place with good wifi to get a couple of work hours in, Eklectica or Love Muffin down the street would be good spots.

Twisted Sista – Excellent vegan curry and Greek salad, plus open in winter (which isn’t always the case in Moab).

Wicked Brew – Drive thru espresso stop. Enough said.

Moab Made – Exactly like the name says, the place to buy all sorts of beautiful items made in the area.

Lin Ottinger’s Rock Shop – This place was my favorite in all of Moab. I saw their sign on the side of the road and was instantly interested. (I mean fossils and rocks and minerals, YES PLZ.)

We stayed in an Airbnb in the middle of town, because we had Lilly with us and you know I like to have my own kitchen to store snacks, but next time I’ll be making a trip out without my little angel so I can stay in 2 different (non pet-friendly) places. The first is Moab Under Canvas, the site of glamping perfection. The second is a far flung yurt in Goblin Valley State Park. Jeremy, are you listening?! Back to Utah ASAP!