By Darron Thomas
Looking for a vacation with a little bit of everything? If you’re an early planner and find yourself searching for a destination for the whole family do a search on Moab, Utah! I knew nothing of Moab until May of 2007 when scanning through the travel atlas I stumbled upon Utah and began to scour the state from top to bottom in an attempt to find an interesting and new location to spend a vacation. Salt Lake City looked like fun but unless you really enjoy tours and picture taking it may not appeal to the whole family. Then I scanned on down the atlas to the southeastern part of Utah and saw Moab and decided to do some net surfing to find out what activities and sights were in that part of the state. Well it didn’t take long for Moab to get my interest up. Great information was readily available and before I knew it I was booking a flight and making hotel and car rental reservations. One thing that was clear from the start of my planning was that if the trip was a dud then it was me who would catch the wrath of the family. Anyway, plans were finalized and June was upon us quickly and the ritual of packing and repacking and going over every detail from proper identification for security at the airport to where’s the itinerary and did I leave anyone off? As most everyone knows one of the most stressful parts of a vacation post 911 is security at airports and long lines not to mention the what seems like miles of walking to find your gate for boarding. Being a habitual worrier that never sleeps the night before a trip adds to the stress but with Gods guidance we had no trouble and made our destination to Salt Lake City full of excitement. A smooth transition from airplane to rental car at the airport went off without a hitch and we were on our way to Moab. To all the guys out there…if your wife suggests paying a few extra bucks for the navigational system to go along with the rental car just swallow your pride and say “yes dear”, because you’ll need it! The drive from Salt Lake City to Moab is a short four hours, by short I mean time goes by quickly because you don’t know what you’ll see after every turn and it’s a two lane highway most of the way. One thing that’s obvious during the drive is the vast change of the terrain from mountainous wooded areas to huge rock formations as we got closer to Moab. We made the drive with ease and checked into our hotel and began planning the next four days in an attempt to cram as much in as possible and that we did! Moab is just on the outskirts of Arches National Park which is one of the most incredible experiences we’ve ever enjoyed. Thousands of natural arches, hiking trails and rock formations that grabs the interest of everyone. It would have been easy to spend our four days just inside of Arches National Park. We did see and do almost everything we wanted to during the four days……ATV riding in sand dunes, horseback riding, Hummer tour, whitewater rafting in the Colorado River, and one of the “must do” activities in Moab…the "Canyonlands by Night" tour. The tour actually begins with a dutch-oven buffet late in the evening and ends with a night-time boat trip up the Colorado. This was one of our most enjoyable things to do in Moab. Within 25 miles or so of Moab is Canyonlands National Park which is another mystical park and Deadhorse Point State Park is in the area as well. Although it was June and in the low 90's during the peak of day the humidity is so low that we never broke a sweat the whole time. After our time was up in Moab we made the drive back to beautiful Salt Lake City and spent the next two days there before heading back home. As most know, Utah is Mormon country and Salt Lake City is full of history of the church. Temple Square engulfs alot of downtown and has great architecture and greenery. Our last tourist location was the short trip north of the city to visit Salt Lake and Antelope Island. The only inland salt lake in the country is amazing and it’s easy to walk a hundred yards without the water getting above your knees. This area of Utah contrasts greatly to the Moab region but is worth the visit. We had so much fun during our May 2007 trip that we went back with more family members in September. Moab is definitely a vacation for the whole family.
Looking for a vacation with a little bit of everything? If you’re an early planner and find yourself searching for a destination for the whole family do a search on Moab, Utah! I knew nothing of Moab until May of 2007 when scanning through the travel atlas I stumbled upon Utah and began to scour the state from top to bottom in an attempt to find an interesting and new location to spend a vacation. Salt Lake City looked like fun but unless you really enjoy tours and picture taking it may not appeal to the whole family. Then I scanned on down the atlas to the southeastern part of Utah and saw Moab and decided to do some net surfing to find out what activities and sights were in that part of the state. Well it didn’t take long for Moab to get my interest up. Great information was readily available and before I knew it I was booking a flight and making hotel and car rental reservations. One thing that was clear from the start of my planning was that if the trip was a dud then it was me who would catch the wrath of the family. Anyway, plans were finalized and June was upon us quickly and the ritual of packing and repacking and going over every detail from proper identification for security at the airport to where’s the itinerary and did I leave anyone off? As most everyone knows one of the most stressful parts of a vacation post 911 is security at airports and long lines not to mention the what seems like miles of walking to find your gate for boarding. Being a habitual worrier that never sleeps the night before a trip adds to the stress but with Gods guidance we had no trouble and made our destination to Salt Lake City full of excitement. A smooth transition from airplane to rental car at the airport went off without a hitch and we were on our way to Moab. To all the guys out there…if your wife suggests paying a few extra bucks for the navigational system to go along with the rental car just swallow your pride and say “yes dear”, because you’ll need it! The drive from Salt Lake City to Moab is a short four hours, by short I mean time goes by quickly because you don’t know what you’ll see after every turn and it’s a two lane highway most of the way. One thing that’s obvious during the drive is the vast change of the terrain from mountainous wooded areas to huge rock formations as we got closer to Moab. We made the drive with ease and checked into our hotel and began planning the next four days in an attempt to cram as much in as possible and that we did! Moab is just on the outskirts of Arches National Park which is one of the most incredible experiences we’ve ever enjoyed. Thousands of natural arches, hiking trails and rock formations that grabs the interest of everyone. It would have been easy to spend our four days just inside of Arches National Park. We did see and do almost everything we wanted to during the four days……ATV riding in sand dunes, horseback riding, Hummer tour, whitewater rafting in the Colorado River, and one of the “must do” activities in Moab…the "Canyonlands by Night" tour. The tour actually begins with a dutch-oven buffet late in the evening and ends with a night-time boat trip up the Colorado. This was one of our most enjoyable things to do in Moab. Within 25 miles or so of Moab is Canyonlands National Park which is another mystical park and Deadhorse Point State Park is in the area as well. Although it was June and in the low 90's during the peak of day the humidity is so low that we never broke a sweat the whole time. After our time was up in Moab we made the drive back to beautiful Salt Lake City and spent the next two days there before heading back home. As most know, Utah is Mormon country and Salt Lake City is full of history of the church. Temple Square engulfs alot of downtown and has great architecture and greenery. Our last tourist location was the short trip north of the city to visit Salt Lake and Antelope Island. The only inland salt lake in the country is amazing and it’s easy to walk a hundred yards without the water getting above your knees. This area of Utah contrasts greatly to the Moab region but is worth the visit. We had so much fun during our May 2007 trip that we went back with more family members in September. Moab is definitely a vacation for the whole family.
