Moab Adventure Day 4:

Thurs, Oct 24, 2019:

We started the morning off with a scrambled egg breakfast and then plotted out our day. We decided to explore Arches National Park, go out to lunch, tinker on the Jeep a bit, and the head over to the Jeep Jamboree check-in & trail selection.

It was a really cold and windy day here. We bundled up before we left.

Downtown Moab was already a bustling place.

We went straight to Arches National Park to try and squeeze the most amount of exploration into the morning. It was amazing. There is not a bad direction to look. The wind was icy cold but we still it in some light hiking.

Mike and I hiked down these steep steps to get a better view of the amazing rock features surrounding us.

The cold air made me have to use the bathroom.🥶 I’m always blown away when places have to provide instructions for the proper use of a toilet.

We explored Wolfe Ranch, an old settlement that belonged to a father and son pair. We marveled at how primitively they lived in the one bedroom cabin. We laughed at how bachelor pads haven’t changed much in 200 years.

We found a dirt road near the cabin and decided to explore it … Because you have to in a Jeep. I think it was the Cache Valley Wash. It gave us a great view of the Delicate Arch.

We saw a few other Jeeps that took the same trail.

We found this crooked, giant rock that had rolled down the mountain side. It was held in place by two much smaller rocks and looked like it could fall at any moment. So we thought it would make a great photo opportunity and parked the Jeep directly beneath it.

It was getting to be lunch time so we decided to head back out and stop at the visitor center.

It was worth the trip. It’s beautiful inside and very informative. Mike learned a lot about mouse poop.

We stopped for lunch at the Moab Brewery and had burgers. Their burgers are huge and juicy! And they make their own gelato too.

After lunch, Fred and Mike tackled a little project on the Jeep. They put a thimble on the winch line. They had to splice it onto the end of the synthetic rope. It looked like an awkward, manly version of giant sewing. The thimble end makes a more secure way to attach things to the winch (versus the regular hook end.)

Fred had wanted to squeeze a little nap in afterwards, but we ran out of time and had to go right to that Jamboree check-in.

There were tons of Jeeps already lined up when we arrived. We were 20 minutes early and nearly the last ones to arrive. Everyone wanted to check-in first to get in line for the best trail sign ups.

The check-in location was different from the trail sign up location so everyone raced across town to try and secure the best trails. The line to sign up for trails was loooooooooooooong, and wrapped around the hotel.

They posted the trail selections on hallway walls so we could study the selections while we waited.

We signed up for the “Top of the World” on Friday’s run and the “Moab Rim” on Saturday. Moab Rim is supposed to be very challenging. Fred is pretty excited he was able to claim a spot for it.

Dennis Wood from Teraflex was at the sign ups. Teraflex is a company that sells very cool aftermarket Jeep parts. Dennis signed up for his trails after everyone else was done so hopefully we get to run a trail with him.