Moab Weekend with Kids

Old Feb 19th, 2017, 05:23 PM
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Moab Weekend with Kids

The kids and I (14 and 11) drove from SLC to Moab for Presidents Day Weekend for an escape. It has been raining all over the west so we brought rain gear and made do!

We stayed at the Mariott Fairfiled Inn, one of our favorites here. Love the outdoor heated pool. Turns out they are building a Springfield Suites next door to open in fall 2017. And there is a new Hilton Home Suites downtown. The Bestwesterns in town are now "BW Plus" properties. That's all I have seen new in the lodging market.

We ate dinner out 2x. We finally got to Blu Pig BBQ--yummy! Forget trying to get anything like a big salad etc. But the BBQ is great. Then the next night at Zax. That place is great for a great variety. And our favorite breakfast place--Red Rock Bakery. There is always a line and it is always worth it!!!!

We were going to hike Hunter Canyon but with all the rain I didn't want to do a low-lying canyon. So we hiked Negro Bill/Granstaff. It has been years since I have done that hike. It was fun. Lots of green grass and new things to see around each corner. The next day we hiked to the end of the Fisher Towers trail. I had never been past the Titan because I have only hiked it with kids and we usually spend tons of time playing on that trail. But with the rain, the kids zipped along and we did the whole trail-fun! It was muddy but quite doable. I enjoy doing hikes that aren't in the park--different terrain, parking lots that are not too crowded, and my kids loooovvvvee the dogs that you see hiking on BLM trails.

So it was a good weekend escape!
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 12:16 AM
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Sounds like a fun weekend. Thanks for sharing!
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 01:20 AM
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I love that you and the kids visit some of the off the beaten track places on your NP visits. Thanks for the report.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 02:17 AM
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Sounds like a good time. We'll be there in a couple of days for DH's 70th birthday, looking forward to it.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 12:38 PM
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sludnick--The weather showed that you should have some nice sunny days. I admit that I do like the rain--it's interesting to see all the flowing water that creates all of those pour-offs. And it's a good visual lesson for the kids on what happens in flash flood time. In all my years in the back country, I have only seen one flash flood and it was memorable!! I had never even imagined the amount of water that could flow off the top of those cliffs. And then to see a small stream become a raging torrent. wow.

emalloy--I make it a point to visit the "off the beaten track" places. We have been to all of the "famous" places, so I have to come up with something new within a certain driving radius that is suitable for the time of year we visit. I think it's fun to find something different. I wanted to go to Zion this weekend and had reservations but with all the rain, they have had roads and trails washed out so I didn't want to risk it.

But you do bring up a good point-it has been over 5+ years since they have seen Delicate Arch. Next time we go to Moab in the off season, we will need to make that trek again. I never get tired of coming around that last wall and seeing it pop into view. Truly spectacular. I wanted to see the dinosaur bones north of Moab--it has been a long time since we have been there-- but that road is a sandy one and I wasn't about to risk it in the rain.

And some places beg to be hiked over and over. Fisher Towers is just such a cool landscape...
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 12:41 PM
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I forgot to give a shout out to Back of Beyond Books. I love that store. We all bought several books-they have all the usual best sellers but then they have an excellent assortment of area guide books, maps, naturalist books, and some of the best selection ever on the Anasazi culture. Then there are all the river books and general western history books. Fascinating stuff. I get into wayyy too much trouble there ;-)
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 02:09 PM
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Stanton Hyde - we had a narrow escape from flash flood in Sedona in Sept. 2009. We made it out from a hiking site as the road washed out behind us. Then, as we were pulling into out condo once we got free of that, the waters roared in in front of us. We were staying at Tlaquepaque, and were one car back from being swept away. I have the greatest respect for the power of these events now.

Having said that, we do hope to safely see some water and/or snow interacting with this spectacular landscape.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 01:28 AM
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StantonHyde, If the kids are into dinosaurs, I'm guessing that you've been to Dinosaur NP. The dinosaur part was smaller than I expected, but there are great pictographs and petroglyphs in the area.

If you go to the VC on the Vernal, UT side, you can find some nice lizard pictographs if you continue past the VC. If you go up to the McKee spring area of the park there are very nice ones a bit of a scramble up the hillside. Also near by is McKonkie Ranch which is on private land but asks a small donation (honor system when we were there).

There are also a couple of museums in Vernal that are worth a visit. Might make a nice long weekend for you and the kids.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 08:20 AM
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emalloy--yes, we have been to Vernal twice and have seen all of those amazing rock sites. McKonkie Ranch was my favorite.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 09:33 AM
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If you like that sort of thing, a bit east of 191 north of I 70 is Thompson Wash aka Sego Canyon which is neat. Parowan Gap and Buckhorn Wash are also good sites.
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