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By Richard, October 28, 2009 10:22 pm

Sandstone formation with La Sal Mountains in the background. The La Sals are a signature formation for the Moab, Utah, area.

Day 1: Driving from home in Ada to Farmington, New Mexico

A dark stretch of U.S. 550 between Albuquerque and Bloomfield, New Mexico

Abby on the road

My wife Abby and I find that this drive, which we have made many times both alone and together, is never boring. Among other things, it represents the path to adventure. The road itself is mostly interstate highway, one of the most traveled of all the routes connecting the wild west with the rest of America, Interstate 40. Over the years, we have learned the route well, including most of its photo opportunities. The red quonset hut, the leaning water tower, the giant cross, Tucumcari Mountain, and on and on. A few of the spots that once made photos are no more, like the “Plague Town,” a wayward rest stop near Newkirk, New Mexico, which has burned and fallen town in the years we’ve been watching and photographing it. Other places, like Cuervo, have plastered “No Trespassing” signs on each of their abandoned parcels of falling-down property. We respect that.

By the time we arrive in Farmington, after some 14 hours on the road, sleep comes easy.

Day 2: Farmington to Moab, Utah

There are several routes into southeastern Utah, and on this occasion, we decided to let the GPS suggest our route.

Shooting at the Anticline Overlook with Max's leash carabinered to my belt.

It took us through Four Corners, then up the Aneth highway, which is a neat little piece of scenery, then to Blanding, where we always stop at their clean, interesting visitor’s center. We usually buy maps there, and sometimes they have gift bags for us.

Abby and Kev at Moab Brewery

By midday we were at Hatch Point, which we like because it sports excellent overlooks, and we can hike a little with the Chihuahuas, Max and Sierra. Crews were working on the unpaved portion of the road, and had taken down the sign to the Canyonlands Overlook, which we took anyway, only to find that it had washed out. We continued on to the Anticline Overlook, where we hiked around the short trail with the dogs.

By late afternoon, we were in Moab, and settled in to our motel for the night. We got ahold of my Bogley.com friend Kev, who had met me last year for an excellent hike, and he met us for dinner at Moab Brewery, which was right next to our motel. We all had a terrific time, and it was such a pleasure to let Abby and Kev meet for the first time.

Day 3: Canyonlands

I planned to meet up with Kev and hike. With rain in the forecast, we got a before-daybreak start. We drove south to the Needles District at Canyonlands,

Kev inches down a slickrock slope of Cedar Mesa sandstone in The Needles

where I thought we could hike from the Elephant Hill access road to Chesler Park, then turn north and make the Devil’s Kitchen/Devil’s Pocket loop. It is the only trail in the Chesler Park area that can be day-hiked that I haven’t seen. The weather looked foreboding, so instead we struck out south from the Squaw Flat campground, to the bench at Wooden Shoe Butte. I felt that we could see some of the heart of

In my emergency poncho under a tree, hiding from small hail

The Needles, do a little exploring, and still be close enough to the trail head that if rain came and stayed, we wouldn’t be out in it for too long. Once we got to the butte, we broke from the trail and explored to the west though an exceptionally beautiful section of slickrock benches and buttes. Kev got his eye on a prominent hoodoo, and we made our way to it. We high-pointed it, and from there we could see dark clouds to the west and hear thunder, so we navigated back to the trail and headed back to the trail head. About a mile from cover, rain, with embedded hail, started, but was tolerable, and didn’t last long. It ended up being an easy hike for both of us, but he had never seen The Needles before, so it was a great, though interrupted, introduction.

Kev has a cordial chat with some horses grazing below Hatch Point

As we drove out on the main road, the rain began to pour, and at one point lightning struck about 300 yards from the car. Kev said it was the closest he’d ever been to a lightning strike, and we both felt adjudicated that we had gotten off the trail when we did. A little farther down the road, we stopped several times to attempt to photograph the amazing cottonwoods along Indian Creek. On one of our stops, we saw some beautiful horses that came up to us. We noticed that they grazed in an area with Cockleburs (Xanthium strumarium, Asteraceae), and their manes were full of them.

Benches and buttes typical of the landscape of The Needles District at Canyonlands

Day 4: Hidden Valley and Delicate Arch

Hidden Valley viewed from Petro Pass, with the La Sal Mountains in the distance

Abby felt like sleeping in with the dogs in the morning, so I headed a few miles south of Moab to a trail I had seen on the map for years, but never tried, the Hidden Valley trail. Almost immediately from the trail head, short, rocky switchbacks lead up the 680 feet that from the Spanish Valley appears to be a wall of rocks. Near the top is an inlet that opens into a wide, flat valley. The trail follows it another two miles northwest in the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Area to Petro Pass, where it joins the Moab Rim Jeep trail. I was fortunate to have a chilly breeze and clear, blue skies. I turned around at the pass and headed home.

By late morning, Abby was up and feeling like a hike, and when we are in Moab,

Abby pauses to make a photo at the top of "The Dome," a long expanse of steepish slickrock in the middle section of the Delicate Arch trail.

we like to hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, where we got married in 2004. We left the dogs in the room (since they are not allowed on National Parks trails), and made the hike. It was breezy and cool, the sky was a perfect pearl blue like the day we got married, and it was simply great to have Abby with me on “our” trail. Her knees were bothering her, so we took it slow, but that didn’t matter.

At Delicate Arch I observed something new: no one was posing under the arch. In the past, particularly in the evening, the “photographers” and the “tourists” can get into arguments about who has the right to do what there. The photographers think they are making some important images (and of course think that they themselves are important),

Photographers lined up on the approach to Delicate Arch

while the tourists just want to have fun. This time, however, was oddly different. There were more photographers than I have ever seen at the arch (in six visits), and most of them had tripods. Most of the cameras were very expensive digital Nikons and Canons. All but a few had set up on the approach to the arch, the ridge to the north one encounters as you first see the arch. Oddly, this spot yields the most predictable image, almost a “mug shot” of this Entrada sandstone miracle. I have this shot; I make it every time I visit, since it’s so easy. But all these people were all making this same photo. Odd.

In the midst of all this, Abby and I relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon. We didn’t come to make amazing photos. We came to celebrate five years of happy marriage after our wedding at this wonderful place.

A nice German couple asked if we would take a picture of them with their camera, and they did the same for us.

The hike down was fun, too, and we both were tremendously happy to be there together.

With my wonderful wife in the spot where our marriage began

Day 5: Meeting Some Friends and Shopping

Abby and I took it slow on this day, including sleeping late, and meeting some friends for lunch.

Joe and Heather Gardner, a young couple of free spirits who enjoy biking and exploring the wilderness

It was our pleasure to meet and visit with more Bogley.com friends, Joe and Heather Gardner. I have been following their exploits on their mutual blog, as well as Heather’s blog, and our visit today did not leave us wanting. Their wedding anniversary is this month also, and like us, they like to spend at least part of it in the Moab area, mostly mountain biking. Aside from some rock rash on Heather’s elbow from a crash on a ride yesterday, both seemed to be in excellent spirits, and they seemed to be having a terrific time. They even got to meet our dogs.

In the afternoon, Abby and I shopped Moab, mostly looking for souvenirs, and enjoying being in a town where most of the people are fit and adventurous. We walked from shop to shop, holding hands most of the time. It was a beautiful day and a fun time together.

Day 6: Sand Flats and Hunter Canyon

At "Diving Board Rock"

For our last day in Moab, we wanted to explore a few spots that we’d never seen, and where we could take the dogs.

Our first venue was the legendary Sand Flats Recreation Area,

Max on the trail at Sand Flats

a world-renowned Jeep and mountain bike paradise just east of Moab on the Porcupine Ridge. We drove around and saw dozens of tricked-out Jeeps, some dirt bikes, some ATVs (in southeastern Utah they are abbreviated OHVs), and of course lots of mountain bikes. We hiked for a mile or so down a Jeep road, letting the dogs play and taking a few pictures. We were passed by several dirt bikes, and a couple who had two West Highland Terriers.

Abby finds shade in an alcove in Hunter Canyon

Later in the morning, we drove to Hunter Canyon, a deep and impressive formation in the midst of dozens of towering sandstone canyons. With the dogs in tow, Abby and I hiked some of the way down the canyon, far enough to see and photograph Hunter Arch.

Hunter Arch on the left, with a small unnamed natural arch on the right

Finally, we drove the Kane Creek road to the intersection with the Chicken Corners road, and photographed an odd formation called the “Devil’s Golf Ball.” It was also neat to see the Anticline Overlook from the spot it over looks.

Days 6 and 7: On the Road Again, Moab to Tucumcari, then Home

Our Nissan Rogue at the Ouray, Colorado overlook

Abby and I decided to take a longer route home than usual, since we had the whole weekend for travel. From Moab, we turned immediately east at La Sal Junction, crossing into Colorado near the Paradox Valley. We stopped at a charming general store in Bedrock, Colorado, then made our way through the Dallas Divide, Ouray, Red Mountain Pass, Silverton, and Durango before joining our more familiar route south into New Mexico. The mountain scenery and high country snows were inspirational.

Stopped to photograph the sunset near Cabezon Peak in northwestern New Mexico

This trip was our first in my new Nissan Rogue, and Abby and I were both very pleased with its qualities. It got excellent fuel mileage, had plenty of space for us, our stuff, and our dogs, and was comfortable over the many hours on the road. There were several occasions when the all-wheel drive was a factor, and several more where its excellent ground clearance took it places my Grand Am could never have gone.

Our dogs travel well and are little trouble. They seem to enjoy being with us no matter what, and take in the trail like they were born to do it.

Abby and I had an excellent fifth anniversary vacation.

Making pictures in Arches National Park

Abby smiles in the warm autumn sunshine at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

See the Scent of the Desert gallery at richardbarron.net here.