Ed and I spent New Year’s in Moab Utah, exploring the majestic rock formations in the national parks and surrounding area. While we were there the temperatures were quite low and snow fell.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park hosts the densest collection of natural stone arches in the world. Rangers have counted over 2,000 arches in the park; we only had time to see a few of the major ones. But the ones we saw were spectacular.
We “assumed the position” at Turret Arch.
Double Arch beckoned us from both sides.
And Sand Dune Arch was tucked behind a narrow stone pathway.
We didn’t have time to hike to Delicate Arch, but viewed it from a distance. (It looks bigger on the Utah license plates!)
Moab Winter Weather
Winter weather accompanied us – one day was so snowy that we had to turn around and spend the day reading in our hotel! But, the other days were sunny and we enjoyed the magnificent sights.
What a difference a day makes:
The temperature hovered around 15 degrees, dipping even lower at night.
Red Cliffs Surround Moab
We celebrated New Year’s Eve at the Cowboy Grill at the Red Cliffs Lodge. It was festive and delicious.
The lodge is spectacularly located on the Colorado River, surrounded by 2,000-foot red cliffs.
In their Western film museum, we learned that over 50 movies have been made in this setting – including the final cliff scene in Thelma and Louise. Jan said hi to John Wayne – but she protected herself with her face mask rather than a revolver!
Since we visited for dinner and it was dark, we returned the next day to enjoy the setting.
We traveled off the beaten path on a route through the La Sal mountains.
Canyonlands National Park
Unfortunately due to the icy road conditions, this park was closed during our visit. The Rangers just did not want to deal with lots of tourists spinning out on the steep and winding roads. We saw several spinouts, but fortunately, everyone was ok. Ed used all of his East Coast driving experience and drove slowly so we had no problems.
We tried to visit Canyonlands three times, and we enjoyed the sites on the drive up to the park. The dramatic sky was constantly changing.
Here’s a professional photographer’s shot of the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. It’s on our Bucket List for next time!
If You Go
For sure-footed hiking, we relied on our new Yaktrax Pro Traction Cleats. These handy wire cleats fit over the soles of our hiking boots and prevented us from slipping on the snowy trails. (As an amusing note, each of us purchased two pairs of these cleats as Christmas gifts – one for ourself and one for our spouse! We unwrapped all four pairs on Christmas morning.)
And, to keep our extremities warm in the frigid weather, we used Grabber Hand Warmers and Grabber Foot Warmers.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Moab – a dog-friendly hotel. This patron especially liked the carts.
Since dogs are not allowed on the trails of the National Parks, Sydney spent two days at the creatively named Moab National Bark doggie daycare. She slept there on New Year’s Eve – thankfully far away from any fireworks. They updated us regularly with photos.
We relied on a post from a fellow travel blogger who outlined how to best spend our time in Moab.
Moab in Winter was a chilly delight. The snow made a dramatic contrast against the red rocky cliffs. Although we couldn’t hike as much as we planned, it was a peaceful and wonderful way to ring in 2022. Happy New Year to all.
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