Sat, 8/1/09

Singletree Na Forest CG to Slick Rock CG,Moab, UT: Left this morning at about 9:45 with me driving. Drove north on Rt. 12 back to Torrey and then east on SR 24 which goes right through Capital Reef National Park. So we got to see it once more before leaving. A few miles after leaving the park we traveled through an area of drab grey sandstone hills and buttes. Looked like a nuclear winter. Stopped in Hanksville, got something to drink and switched drivers. Continued on Rt. 24 through an arid desert landscape. Eventually came to a bunch of sandstone formations on our left called the San Rafael Swell which looked like this whole ridge had been pushed up at an odd angle thousands of years ago. On our right was the San Rafael Valley—desert and sage. About 24 miles north of Hanksville we hit Rt. 70 and headed east on that for about 30 miles. This 30 miles was a real moonscape. Didn’t see a living thing. Got off Rt. 70 on Rt. 191 south to Moab. Just outside of Moab we started down into a beautiful red sandstone canyon. We’re staying at the Slick Rock RV Park 2 miles north of Moab. We pulled into our site and tore up our roof and one of the vents on a tree branch. Jeeze! We wanted a site with some shade and we got it—but at a price. Not sure what the roof will cost to fix. After we got set up we watched Tiger play golf for a while. Then drove into Moab to see what’s what. This is the biggest town we’ve been in since Tucson—and it’s a lot smaller than Tucson. The older part of Main Street is cute, but very touristy. Came back and the temperature outside was 100. The air conditioner is going to get a workout. Salads for dinner tonight.