Stargazing in Utah

From Luxury to Primative
Moab UT

The sun was shining, the sky a beautiful cloudless bright blue as we pulled out of our luxury accomodations in Avon, Co. The front that had caused the snow showers had finally pulled out of the area, temperatures were raising and clear weather was predicted for the next few days. We headed to Moab, Utah to camp in the desert area of Arches National Park.

Expecting chilly evening’s we made one more stop for camping equipment. In the camping section at a convenient WalMart we pondered over our choices. Should we get the really cool bedding set designed and prepackaged just for our air mattress or should we go for the fleece inserts for our sleeping bags. We choose the inserts avoiding a wrestling match for the covers.

We drove out of “Colorful Colorado” and into beautiful Utah departing I-70 heading south on Hwy 191. As we got closer to our destination the traffic picked up. Unusual for a Thursday, we thought. And then we got the bad news. It was a school holiday weekend in Utah. Who would have though all the campgrounds would be full this time of the year!

At Arches National Park we picked up an information sheet that listed the National Forest campgrounds located in the area and began to search for any available spot. We got lucky and found a site along the Colorado River on Hwy 128. We quickly set up our camp.

Next on the list was relaxing with a cup of freshly pressed Starbuck’s coffee while gazing at the beautiful scenery that surrounded us.

I was struck by one scene in particular. At the top of the mesa, the play of light from the setting sun on the tall spires made it appear as if frozen in stone; an Indian Maiden sat before a fire, relating a tale of long ago to a young child. From a nearby cliff face a grandfatherly figure looked at the scene fondly.

The scene was even more fantastic the following morning. With the angle of the sun just right, the rock cast a shadow that looked just like a motherly figure on the nearby cliff. I had to get out my sketching pad and paints. What do you think?

The only drawback of our site was that during the heat of the day there was little shade. We solved this problem by driving down to the next camping area where there was easy access to the river and several large shade trees.

The evenings were breathtaking. The imposing cliffs turned from a dull red-brown to a bright red-orange, only to be swallowed in shadow and disappear as the sun set. We cuddled up in front of a blazing fire. Overhead we watched the twinkling stars of the Milky Way waiting for the thrill of a shooting star in the black nighttime sky. Occasionally we spotted rapidly orbiting satellites before they faded into nothing.

Slowly the awesome cliffs became more visible as the evening lengthened. The stars began to fade and suddenly over the edge of the mesa a nearly full moon appeared flooding the area with light.

We slept with the rain cover off the top of the tent allowing us to view the sky. With the bright moonlight the shadows from the nearby bushes seemed to dance on the dome of the tent. We snuggled up in our warm bags with the fleece liners and slept comfortable even when the temperatures dropped into the low 30’s overnight.

To Busy Traveling to Write

I love to write about our adventures on the road. However, sometimes we are to busy traveling and living life to take the time to put it all on paper or launch it into cyberspace, as the case may be. To create, I need to be fresh (not exhausted from traveling) and I need a quiet environment.


That said, we have been having a wonderful, awe-inspiring summer, traversing the country with our grandchildren. When we settle down for a few weeks the end of August I'll get into the details. For now, if you have been wondering what we have been doing, it goes something like this:


Upon returning from our trip to Seattle and an Alaskan Inside Passage cruise aboard the Golden Princess, we spent a week resting in Las Vegas, yeah right. Then we flew to Lafayette, LA via Houston for our youngest grandson's birthday party.


Then, it was back to Houston to house-sit while our daughter and granddaughter cruised to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. While settled for the week, I wrote and published the summer convention issue of our newsletter.


Finally, it was time for our summer adventures to commence. We decided to spend some one-on-one time with each grandchild. It may seem crazy to some but the plan couldn't have worked out better. Here's how we did it.


We took a rental car to Lafayette, LA to pick up our nine year old grandson, then returned to Houston where we turned in the car. Our daughter graciously dropped us off at the Houston Amtrak station to catch a train to Los Angeles. (His first train ride, first trip out west, wow!)


We rented a car at the station for a month. We drove to Anaheim where we stayed long enough to visit Disneyland, Hollywood and Huntington Beach. Then we headed to Las Vegas for two days, drove over Hoover Dam and stopped in Williams, AZ.


The next day we drove out to the Grand Canyon. Then it was on to Meteor Crater for a quick stop before heading to Albuquerque where we visited Old Town. Next came the White Sands, voted best stop by the grandchildren, Fort Stockton, San Antonio, Houston and back to Lafayette. The trip lasted about 16 days. Time spent with grandchild -priceless.


OK, we are in Lafayette with a rental car that needs to go back to Los Angeles. No problem.


We travel to Houston pick up our eleven year old granddaughter and head back to California. (Her first trip out west, first train ride, double wow!) Our first stop, San Antonio (visiting our other daughter and enjoying her hot tub), then it's on to Sonora, TX to visit the caverns. (Our granddaughter was named after them and the movie, "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken").


Next is an overnight stop at Fort Stockton, swimming pool, entertainment center (Hulk movie, and bowling) then on to Carlsbad Caverns to see the bats. Next, White Sands then on to the Albuquerque Petroglyphs and Sandia Tram, more miles traveled to Williams for the shoot out in the street and a day at the Grand Canyon.


Yup, then it was back over the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas (our favorite stop) to see the Blue Man Group. Then it was on to our final destination, Disneyland and Huntington Beach via Twentynine Palms with a stop to write her name in rocks in the desert, climb rocks and star gaze in Joshua Tree. (Side note: She was born in Twentynine Palms).

Eventual we turned in the rental car at the Los Angeles Amtrak station where while waiting we discovered a historic district that looks like old Mexico across the street. To bad we didn't have more time to explore before boarding the train.


The trip was not effected by Hurricane Dolly and our daughter picked us up at the station in San Antonio at the expected arrival time. The following day we picked up a one-way rental car, dropped our granddaughter in Houston (20 days of quality time on the road) and traveled on to Lafayette to dog-sit.

We turned in the rental car at the airport and are patiently waiting for our youngest grandchild to return from a convention/vacation in Destin, Fla. It's his turn next and time is running out, as school begins on Aug. 8th in Louisiana.


Hmm, you see why I don't have time to expound on the details. All I can say is we are having a wonderful time getting to know our grand kids. If you have an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with your grandchildren don't let the opportunity pass you by. It's a wonderful experience.


PS Did you know the latest craze for pre-teens is the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers?

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/eclipse.html