Moab-ulous Family Memories

From when I was a child, all the way into my mid-twenties, I visited Moab, Utah, USA on a fairly regular basis. So much time spent searching for lizards (my favorite!), hopping around on rocks, and camping in the desert. Moab is a magical wonderland for nature lovers. So when my family decided to have our family reunion there (and the timing worked out for me!), I was in. Screw you, tropic humid hot-hot! I’m heading to the desert dry hot-hot!

Shouldn’t it be room temp?

Late September is normally perfect weather in Moab, but we got a rare heat wave. So that happened. At least it’s a dry heat. While I was in Sámara, Costa Rica, I volunteered to make a schedule for the reunion (of course I did!). Planning and scheduling is some of what I used to do for work, which makes it kind of fun organizing everything. Plus, I learned more about the area than I already knew. So much has changed in 20 years!

My family is definitely my kind of people in that they love home-cooked meals. So much so, that a bunch of us (with my mom’s encouragement), put out a family cookbook with recipes and stories from most everyone in the family. It turned out so good! During the reunions, each household cooks one night and someone else cleans up. Saves on money and is wonderful for bonding and building memories.

Well, nobody volunteered for cooking the first night. Who wants to cook when you have been traveling all day? So I volunteered. Should be fine, right? Then there was this whole kerfuffle with my flight (that story is coming soon!), and now I’m worried I won’t have dinner ready in time. I have to feed 12 people and I don’t want any hangry family members running around!

Chili time!

Here’s the thing. I’m making both meat and vegan chilis. Prep takes about an hour and the chili takes two hours to cook, so I need to start by 3pm to have dinner ready by 6pm. Thankfully, my parents lent me a car and offered to get all the ingredients for me so I could hit the ground running right when I got into the lodge I’m renting with my cousin and her fiancé. I can do this!

As you can probably guess, I started late and prep took longer than anticipated. Stress! I sent someone off to get toppings and continued to freak out about timing. Then people started texting me, bowing out of dinner because they were arriving in Moab too late. Each time, I would text the person getting groceries to say fewer bags of chips, less cheese, not so many containers of sour cream!

My mom texts me to say that the tent for my other cousin was missing a pole and so my dad was out with him buying a new tent. They would be late. More people started texting that they would be late as they were just getting into town. Thank goodness because food would not be ready on time! So now, with all the delays, family members who had canceled could now make it. Crap! Do I have enough toppings?

Relax

Dinner turned out amazing and everyone got properly fed. I even had leftovers for a few lunches. With all the chaos of dinner and arrivals and seeing family who we haven’t seen in years, not much got planned for the next day. Fine with me as I had been traveling since 8am the previous day and I could use the sleeping in.

The next day, my uncle suggested a hike on Hidden Valley Trail, that he had done a few weeks prior during a run in the area. He said it crests this hill with an absolutely stunning view of a valley on the other side. I’m in! Here’s the problem. For some stupid reason, I left my tennis shoes in Seattle, as I had spent the year in tropical locations with no hiking. One of my cousins volunteered a pair of her shoes (even though she couldn’t make the trip this year) but her parents wouldn’t be in until this evening.

Luckily, my aunt had some hiking boots I could use for the hike. Off we went! Unfortunately, within a half mile or so, we discovered that the trail had been washed out by this crazy storm Moab got a couple of weeks ago. Some braver family members could make the climb across the washout, but not me nor my parents (new hips to protect!) and aunt.

Can we walk back?

A few of us decided that we should hike back to our residences because why not? Through my pop’s power of navigation, we did not get lost even a single time! However, you know what you need with hiking boots? Thick socks. You know what I also lack? Yup. I got this hellacious blister on my heel. It doesn’t help that I have been mostly barefoot (indoors and on the beach) for the last five months.

That evening, my cousin and her fiancé cooked up an amazing dinner from tons of items grown in their own garden. So good! Plus, lucky for me, my aunt and uncle arrived with a pair of fancy sneakers that they let me keep! They are even better than the pair I have back in Seattle. Plus, they are used, so I don’t have to go through the horrible process of breaking in new shoes. Win! They even brought me a pair of Birkenstocks. Love them! Thanks, Family!

The next day, we all piled into three different vehicles and headed up to Arches National Park. This adventure was planned months in advance because you have to reserve a time slot in order to enter (go early because it gets hot!). The older and/or disabled folks can get America the Beautiful Parks passes for relatively cheap which gets an entire car-load of people into the park for free. And that park is gorgeous and well worth the effort. Arches and limestone structures and hikes and vistas galore!

My parents stayed back at their camp with their older doggo in order to cook us all an amazing spread for dinner. We had a great time hanging out by the campfire, swapping stories and cooking up marshmallows. Our family reunions happen about every two years, so it’s great finding out what everyone has been up to. We also got to do a bit of star (and satellite) gazing!

What’s the name of the park?

There was much debate about going to Canyonlands National Park or Dead Horse Point State Park for some hiking the next day. We settled on Dead Horse because my parents can hike around with their pup. How did the state park get such an unfortunate name? Well, way back when, some cowboys corralled a bunch of wild horses and left them there to die. You can see the Colorado River from the point, but the sheer cliffs prevented access to the precious water. Jerks.

The sordid history notwithstanding, the park is absolutely gorgeous! The vistas are spectacular and the hiking is plentiful and for all different fitness levels. This park is not for those with a fear of heights. I did fine, but kept mostly away from the edges. No dying! There are also tons of interesting desert plants and critters to look out for. I’m a big fan of the chipmunks. So cute! Don’t feed them, though. They get aggressive.

That evening (before a wonderful dinner of Taco Tuesday at my aunt and uncle’s camp), a few of us headed over to Ken’s Lake because the manager of my lodge suggested that it was a great place to cool off. Cool off indeed! That water is cold! Maybe because it is late September? We got in anyway, with much hooping and hollering and whinging! So cold.

The next morning, we headed to Scott and Norma Matheson Wetlands Preserve for a bit of birdwatching. Here’s the problem. Moab got a crap ton of rain a couple years back, and more early this year, and the Colorado River flooded, taking out a huge section of the wetlands including a walking bridge to get into the preserve. The only way in now is a hunting access point in the back. Bummer.

The birds!

With all the organizing and figuring out where to go, it was late in the morning by the time we made it to the parking spots for the preserve… and hot. We quickly found out that dogs are not allowed… so my parents stayed behind. Sigh. The backcountry hike was not that great, and we lost a couple more people to the heat. Not my best planning moment. At least my aunt spotted a wild turkey!

Once we finally made it to the actual wetlands with its wonderful boardwalks, we started to see some birds. Woodpeckers and such. The flood damage was quite impressive. Half the bridge is just missing! It’s amazing how much power water can have. You can see how high the river got. It sounds like it happened pretty fast.

We learned more about the flood that evening during a Colorado Riverboat Cruise we booked to celebrate my cousin’s birthday and her and her fiancé’s recent engagement. The cruise is really cool because they take you up the river at dusk to show you all these really cool limestone rock formations and distinctive watermarks. Then you float downriver in the dark while a vehicle on the road along the river uses a spotlight to help illustrate stories on the cliff walls (some history with a bit of Mormon thrown in because, you know, Utah).

What the crap is that in the sky!?!

I forgot to tell you all about the safety talk we got after getting on the boat! There are enough life vests for everyone just in case we start to sink. The guide let us know that if that happens, he will hand us each a vest, have us jump into the water… and stand up to walk to shore! Are you drowning? Just stand up! The river is only about two feet deep this time of year. No diving!

While floating back in the dark, someone spotted a weird object in the starry sky. It was like a line of lights heading into space. Definitely aliens! Turns out it was a Starlink satellite train. My phone does not take those kinds of pictures, but you should definitely look that up. It’s pretty freaky to watch. Definitely otherworldly.

For the last full day of my time in Moab, got to head back to Seattle tomorrow!, I decided to join my mom, her doggo, and a couple others on a hike of the Mill Creek Waterfall Trail. We only had a brief window, as my mom volunteered to bring a picnic lunch to everyone else who was currently biking the Colorado River Bike Trail. We got a bit lost in the beginning, as it really looked like you had to forge the tiny river to get to the next section of the trail. You didn’t, but we spent some time trying to go around.

This is gorgeous

The hike was absolutely beautiful. And there was a ton of shade so it wasn’t very hot. The trail winds its way along the shallow creek through a sheer cliff valley. You ultimately end up at a waterfall where you can swim. There are rumors that some other swimming holes exist that may or may not be clothing optional! Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the waterfall as we had to turn around to make the lunch meetup. We did make it to the petroglyphs, though. I tell you what, if I come back to Moab again, this is definitely the first hike I will take! Especially if it is hot.

Let me tell you about Pickleball! It’s the fastest growing sport in the US, and quite popular internationally. I spent hours watching folks play in the park across the street from my house in Mazatlán, México. It looks like loads of fun and I want to learn to play. My parents picked up a set that included the net, balls, and four rackets. There’s a Pickleball court in Rotary Park. My aunt and uncle said they would teach us. It’s on!

After packing up mostly everything I own and checking out of the lodge, I met up with my family for some Pickleball lessons. So much fun! I’m like a pro now. Just kidding. Thanks, peeps for teaching us! Time to head to Grand Junction, CO, to catch a plane. I also loaded up my aunt as she needed a ride for her flight the following day.

The drive was beautiful, and it was great to catch up one-on-one with my aunt. I dropped her off at her hotel, stopped by a restaurant for food for in the airport (it’s really small!), and headed to the airport (stories to follow!). It was so nice of my parents to lend me a vehicle for the week. That saved me loads of moneys. Miss you already, Family.