Crossing into Colorado via back roads
We arrived in Moab two days ago, having had a blessedly eventfree journey across the country. We were really fortunate with the weather, it sounds like we dodged a bunch of storms moving across the country. We had some
Our final destination
chilly weather at night, but that just made for better sleeping.
After being in mostly isolated areas on our trip across, Moab is a beehive of activity. May is the busiest month here and every outdoor enthusiast in the world seems to be here. There are Jeep rallys, Bronco rallys, Toyota rallys, ATV’s, redrock bicyclists, dirt bikers, cliff rappellers, freeclimbers, RV’s and tenters everywhere. Everyone is covered in red dust with big smiles on their faces. What fun!
Leonard and Laia on the slickrock
We decided to set out on a hike yesterday afternoon. One that we thought would be relatively easy and allow us to test out our legs, camelbacks and was dog friendly – Corona Arch. Wow, it was a bit more than we expected for our first hike. Only 3 miles total, but it involved hiking up slickrock, holding onto cables, climbing moki steps (steps that have been carved into the slickrock) and climbing a ladder.
Her Indian name is now “Red Paws”
We saw many dogs on the trail but they were all big dogs, none the size of Laia. She was amazing, scrabbling up the rocks. The only thing she couldn’t do was climb the moki steps, so Leonard had to carry her up. They didn’t climb the ladder either but went a longer way around, over the slickrock. Since we’re in Indian territory we decided Laia’s Indian name should be “Red Paws”.
Wedding ceremony at Bow Tie Arch
At one point we were sitting in the shade taking a break and a very large, happy group of people came past us. There was a woman wearing a white sundress?, someone had a ukulele in their backpack and someone else was carrying flowers. It was a wedding party! They headed up to Bow Tie Arch, which was adjacent to Corona Arch. It had amazing acoustics with echos that reverberated across the canyon. A woman sang, they had the ceremony and then we heard champagne corks and firecrackers. How lucky we were to witness that.
Corona Arch
Amazingly, while all that was going on at nearby Corona Arch, there were guys jumping off the Arch. We don’t really know what to call what they were doing, it wasn’t a bungee cord, but a rope and they would jump off the top and swing through the Arch. We have video that we hope to have a link to eventually. It was a great day. We made it down intact with Leonard’s running shoes being the only thing that suffered from the hike. Not bad.
My first moki steps
Today we have reservations at Arches National Park for 3 days and I don’t know if we will have cell reception. More adventures to follow.
Desert beauty
My supervisor
Sun and Sand Travelers 
Yay! More welcome signs. You should have a sidebar gallery of them. Your walk in the wild looks wonderful; I hope you were wearing plenty of sunscreen. I’m not fashion-saavy, but could the dress have been an Edwardian summerdress? (There’s one at the Leu House). As to the other beauty: it looks like Indian Paintbrush; you should carry a wildflower guide – they couldn’t weigh much. Savor your desert port. Pat Red Paws for me.
Pooneekay vat soom ahdtah
Which Indian language do I need to translate? I think every tribe is represented somewhere in these parts.
I don’t think the wedding dress the woman was wear was Edwardian, it appeared to be a gauzy fabric – short and sleeveless. Very contemporary and she was wearing leggings under it for hiking. We saw them coming back down and at some point near the end she had taken off the leggings and had on cowboy boots. It looked like there was a big party set up for them at the bottom. What a great idea.
“Pooneekay vay soom ahdtah”: “see you later” in Ute (Ute… Utah)
Sounds like “Red Paws” was a real trooper!
Rob would love to be there with his Cruiser.
You wouldn’t want to be here in the Cruiser with him? LOL!
You guys are living IT!!!! I love the Southwest. I am so happy that all is going good with the weather and that the dear old RV not breaking down requiring a $28900 gas tank!!!! Someone better pinch you–you are actually dreaming all of that awesomeness.