Magical Mystery Moab

This post is a little picture heavy. I couldn't help myself. My time in Moab, UT was one of the most amazing times in my life. There was something magical there in that valley, those mountains.. the national parks. The terrain is so strange and wonderful, you can't help but stand still and marvel.

I went to Utah with one of my best friends in the universe, Alexi. Her friend Eric was our host and he showed us all around Moab. He took us hiking, camping, and then drove us back up to Salt Lake City for some snowboarding.

We spent 2 days in and around Moab. We hiked Negro Bill Canyon then Bootlegger Canyon, camped on the Colorado River (in a tiny tent while it rained), woke up and hiked Arches National Park. We barely slept, woke up covered in sand, wore the same clothes 2 days in a row and loved every minute of it.

Delicate Arch is in in the background of the picture above. It's the arch you'll see on Utah's license plates! (Side note- One of my biggest fears is hiking across smooth rock at a severe angle. Look at the angle of that surface Alexi and I are balancing on. I was freaking out. A lot of the hiking out there involved surfaces like that.. definitely tested my limits.)

In the picture below (left) Eric and I are literally jumping for joy. We had just signed into our first trail and we were pretty excited. Or maybe I was the one jumping for joy and he was making fun of me. Either way, I was happy.

That picture above here makes me laugh. We all squeezed into one of the little tunnels in the rock. At one point we were each sitting in our own tunnel.

Hiking through Bootlegger's Canyon (below) reminded me of my favorite movie growing up, "the Land Before Time." I almost wouldn't have been surprised to see a dinosaur roaming around in the distance. Well, maybe a little surprised since no one else was around for miles. It was surreal.

When I travel my heart is so happy. I often find myself looking around at the locals wondering how they can be so calm and "used" to the beauty that surrounds them while I'm bouncing around like a little kid on a sugar high. I wonder if this is what visitors think about me when I'm flying down the streets of Manhattan not thinking twice about the architecture or latest display in Times Square.

I can't offer much advice on food or shopping in Moab. We just stopped at a grocery store to pick up snacks and some burgers to cook over the fire. I did find my all time favorite beaded bracelet in one of the shops in town. It features the three wise monkeys- hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.

There is plenty to do though. If you love being outside Moab is for you.

Do:                                                Where:

Hike                                               Arches National Park
Bike                                               Canyonlands National Park
Climb                                             Negro Bill Canyon
Raft                                                Bootlegger's Canyon
Camp