My family loves visiting Moab. We always have fun when we go there, and this trip was not to be the exception. We left on Thursday and made our way south. Clear skies and great weather as we made our 3 1/2 hour journey south. The drive was just beautiful, fall colors and multicolored rock all the way there. As we got into Moab, we headed east on the 128 to Upper Big Bend. This has one of the best car camp sites in all of Moab. Complete with shaded tree, and a nice view of the Colorado River corridor. We set up shop and dusk was setting in. We made some food, then it was off to bed. Morning broke and breakfast was on! We decided to hike Negro Bill Canyon, as none of us had ever done this hike. This hike starts you off through a very beautiful gulch, full of trees and lots of things to see. You then come to the first of a series of water crossings, which meander up the canyon as you make your way. In summer this would be a dream, sandals and being able to stay cool in the hot weather. But this was fall, so we had to be careful not to get too wet, as the sunny areas were warm, but the shade was chilly. The sign said 2 1/4 to Morning Glory Arch, but my GPS counted it up as 3.5 to the base of the arch.
There is a lot, I mean a lot of Poison Ivy along the trail and at the arch, so beware if you head up there with pets and kids. We had a blast on this hike, and my family did great navigating all the obstacles. We returned to camp, and made dinner and settled in for the evening. the night was much warmer than the previous, and I stayed up to shoot some photos since it was not too cold. After a great sleep, and a nice breakfast and coffee, we packed it up and headed into our last camp spot for the weekend, Devils Garden in Arches National Park. We had a sweet site, with views and fins right near camp. We decided to go for a loop hike by Tapestry Arch, and Broken Arch and loop back through the fins to our camp. This was a great time, and very scenic. It think my favorite part was the traverse through the fins back to camp, which was an adventure for sure. Once we were back at camp, my wife and daughter headed over to the amphitheater for a program about all the creepy crawling insects and animals in Arches.
This was right on theme with Halloween being right around the corner. I stayed back at camp and got dinner ready and watched what was the best sunset of the whole weekend, followed by a great moonrise which was deep purple when it crested the horizon. The girls returned and the temps started dropping. We had dinner, and then the girls retired for the evening and I stay up for just a bit to coal out the fire. It was the coldest night of the trip, and we made it through. Sunday brought a cold morning, and some tired campers, but we rounded everything up and headed for Moab for some Jailhouse pancakes and coffee before we head back north. It was a great trip, full of everything I like about being with my family in the outdoors. This was the last camping trip of the season. Probably a couple of more walks in the woods before old man winter sets in and we will be sliding on the snow. Enjoy the slideshow, winter is coming!
