Many years ago, visits to Arches National Park and the Moab area left us wanting to return. Moreover, Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Escalente National Monument, Canyonlands National Park beckoned. Utah here we come!
Soon after arriving at a campsite just outside Moab on the Colorado Rivers, future Sportsmobile owners stopped by to check out the van. Lucky for us, they invited us to join them for a couple of adventures. One of the reasons we fell in love with Utah is the seemingly infinite 4 wheel drive opportunities.
First, we followed their Jeep on a road near Castle Rock.
Next up, we rode in our new friends Jeep on the famous Top Of The World trail.
Deciding to take the scenic route via Long Canyon Road to check out Dead Horse Point State Park proved to be an uninformed choice.
The Funtreks 4WD Moab guide showed a photo of a car navigating underneath a rock leaning up against the cliff. From the photo, clearance for the van looked possible. Check out the video to see what happened.The videos are sped up a bit. We don’t drive that fast on 4WD roads. Really.
Layers of La Sal and Henry mountains, various sandstones, shales, and formations of slick rock reveal millions of years of the earth’s evolution.
The road in Arches National Park across Willow Flats proved to be fun and challenging (for a 4WD van) in a couple of areas.
The level of pain and instability felt like more than a sprain. After visiting my doctor in San Francisco and an MRI, we learned the actual diagnosis of a torn ACL, torn medial meniscus and a sprained MCL. Ugh.
Have cane, will travel. After the torn ligaments diagnosis, I ended up in a brace as well.
Capitol Reef National Park is the answer most folks give when asked “What is your favorite park?”.
Whether we “Loop The Fold”, drive the Burr Trail switchbacks or explore the village of Fruita, Capitol Reef did not disappoint.
The Waterpocket Fold is a 100 mile long geologic formation where the earth appears to buckle.
Canyonlands National Park is distinguished by the Colorado and Green Rivers along with the canyons and buttes carved by rivers. Peering from plateaus into deep canyons carved by rivers leaves us awestruck at the power of water and time.
The remote area of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is distinguished by three regions – the staircase, the plateau and the canyons.
With the Overland Expo in Flagstaff on the calendar for mid-May, we headed south to Arizona. Albeit quick, we camped on the beach at Lake Powell and hung out at Lee’s Ferry en route to Flagstaff.
And now, a few random updates. Ooo, we procured a Cook Partner stove. I love it!
We ran into the in-laws of one of Duncan’s colleagues from Amsterdam. Small world.
Nice truck and branding.
Well, you both made quite a journey! I enjoyed every photo.
And we’re in it😅😇.
Very nice to have met you and again, feel welcome when you visit Europe.
Frits
Great to hear from you. Very glad we met you in Utah. We will definitely connect when we get to Europe.