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Old 07-30-2019, 07:57 PM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
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The wife and I are planning a trip to Moab in early October. We have never been to Utah. We are both in our early 70's. Wife had a knee replacement this year and I have a back injury so hiking is out of the question. I did notice on the Moab site that some of the arches are only a .2 of a mile round trip which is great. Looking forward to star gazing as we live in the city and you can not see stars at night even on a clear night, too many lights. We will be coming up from Durango, Co. I hate lonely roads. How are the roads from Durango? Well traveled? Good roads? Is there anything to see along the way? We plan on stopping in Delores, Co. just to pass in the small town. We love small towns. Is there anything else to see in Moab besides the arches - like museums and such? What is the weather like in early October? Any info will help. Thanks in advance.
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Old 07-31-2019, 05:30 PM
 
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Haven't lived there for over four years now but there is plenty to see. You also have Canyonlands NP with some great overlooks that are very short distance from the parking area. Mesa arch is a great view (noted more for a sunrise shot) and only about a half mile(?). There is also some dinosaur exhibit there that appeared in the past few years out near Hwy 191 and 313.

As for walks in Arches, the windows arch walk is easy and short, across from windows arch is double arch. Also the view of the rock formations around Park Avenue and Courthouse are great.
You can also drive past the Delicate arch parking lot and head out to the Delicate Arch viewpoint to get a decent view of Delicate arch with a short walk.
South of Moab you also have Natural Bridges and Hovenweep national monuments.

And can't forget deadhorse point state park.

The road from Durango, through Delores is a heavily traveled road and along the way you have Mesa Verde national park, a great place to visit with short walks to see some of the cliff dwellings.

I can suggest some great places to stargaze and get some great shots of the Milky Way, but most will require a 4x4 to get too. If no 4x4 and not adventurous, head out hwy 128 (aka the river road) that runs along side the Colorado river, and go to Fisher Towers. Just park in the lot and stargaze for hours and usually no one else around unless there are other stargazers hitting the Moab area.

Another great area is Kane Creek. It starts out paved, turns to a descent dirt road, but if you are worried about heights, be careful, there is a long stretch with a deep canyon to the rigth, cliff wall to the left.

As for the month of October, for those who used to live in Moab or are very familiar with the Moab area, October might be the best month to visit the area. Decent temps with cool downs at night, less tourism (but still busy) and it is after the noted rainy season.

October is also a great month to head up into the Lasal mountains and do the loop road. Great shot of the aspens....



Star from Dome plateau off Hwy 128




Mesa Arch sunrise


Park Avenue, just inside Arches at top of entrance....




Deadhorse point state park off Hwy 313...




Hope this helps.....

All photos were taken by me in a time span from Oct 2001 through Oct 2014.
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Old 07-31-2019, 05:38 PM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
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Thanks for the info. I really appreciate that. Love the photos.
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Old 08-18-2019, 05:40 PM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
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Any one else have info?
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Old 08-18-2019, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
28,090 posts, read 29,934,993 times
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You might want to check into going on a guided Hummer tour. All you have to do is just sit there and have the time of your life. My favorite of the numerous outfits in Moab that do such tours is High Point Hummer. Their "Hell's Revenge at Sunset" tour is absolutely one of the funnest things my husband and I (also in our 70s) have ever done on a trip to any of Utah's National Parks. Like I said, you're just sitting the entire time (about 2 hours), but you go over some positively amazing terrain -- safely but with a little bit of a thrill-factor thrown in for fun. The only problem for you might be that the ride is a bit bumpy at times. Give them a call in advance and ask them what they think. Other than that, I can promise you that it will be the most memorable thing you do while in the Moab area. I'd also drive over to Dead Horse Point (about 45 minutes away) if I were you. Have fun! You definitely picked the best month for visiting Arches.
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Old 08-18-2019, 07:34 PM
 
18,208 posts, read 25,840,395 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tramp View Post
The wife and I are planning a trip to Moab in early October. We have never been to Utah. We are both in our early 70's. Wife had a knee replacement this year and I have a back injury so hiking is out of the question. I did notice on the Moab site that some of the arches are only a .2 of a mile round trip which is great. Looking forward to star gazing as we live in the city and you can not see stars at night even on a clear night, too many lights. We will be coming up from Durango, Co. I hate lonely roads. How are the roads from Durango? Well traveled? Good roads? Is there anything to see along the way? We plan on stopping in Dolores, Co. just to pass in the small town. We love small towns. Is there anything else to see in Moab besides the arches - like museums and such? What is the weather like in early October? Any info will help. Thanks in advance.
Western Colorado guy checking in!

You'll be fine. You'll like Dolores, I go through there every other month on my Albuquerque trips. Hwy. 491 is a safe road from the Durango/Cortez area. The mountain views aren't what you would expect once you get to Cahone/Pleasant View--we're talking high plateau here. But at that time of the year traffic will be lighter, from Cahone/Dove Creek all the way to Monticello Utah we're not talking much on tourism with the exception of Hovenweep Natl. Monument (which I recommend)This part of Colorado is heavily agriculture, especially pinto beans. Lots of friendly folks in those small towns.

There are several passing lanes on the route, a fair amount of truck traffic but a pretty safe road nonetheless (IMO of course.)I've always found the Utah DOT road guys to stay on top of road maintenance, roads are in good shape AFAIC. The Utah DOT work yard is close to the Utah/Colorado Port of Entry, just east of Monticello. Monticello to Moab is 55 miles or so, a little more traffic but lots of passing lanes there as well. I've done this route a couple dozen times, haven't had trouble.

BTW, there is an Anazasi museum in Dolores that is well worth your time, been there once. As you're coming in to Moab from Durango, I assume you are doing Mesa Verde National Park and the Durango/Silverton train ride. Done it several times myself, you'll love it! I know the area well, worked for the Forest Service as a road crew laborer in the late 1960's.

Be safe and enjoy!
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Old 08-19-2019, 06:16 AM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
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I was thinking on the way back from Moab, for a different view, taking 145 out of Dolores and passing through Placerville, Ouray and Silverton and back to Durango. How is hwy 145 out of Dolores (safe, lonely -- I hate roads with no traffic)? Is the Anazasi museum the same as Canyon of the Ancients? I was planning to stopping there.


We did Mesa Verde twice.
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Old 08-22-2019, 06:32 AM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
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Any info on hwy 145 out of Dolores?
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Old 08-25-2019, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Connectucut shore but on a hill
2,619 posts, read 7,027,576 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tramp View Post
I was thinking on the way back from Moab, for a different view, taking 145 out of Dolores and passing through Placerville, Ouray and Silverton and back to Durango. How is hwy 145 out of Dolores (safe, lonely -- I hate roads with no traffic)? Is the Anazasi museum the same as Canyon of the Ancients? I was planning to stopping there.


We did Mesa Verde twice.
Your roads-with-no-traffic thing seems to be concern. It depends on what you mean by ''no traffic.'' These areas have very few people and traffic is quite sparse. It is lonely. You can go some time without seeing another car. How long? Well, not hours. But 30 minutes is very possible.
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Old 08-27-2019, 05:12 AM
 
Location: South Louisiana
701 posts, read 693,405 times
Reputation: 1632
Quote:
Originally Posted by kletter1mann View Post
Your roads-with-no-traffic thing seems to be concern. It depends on what you mean by ''no traffic.'' These areas have very few people and traffic is quite sparse. It is lonely. You can go some time without seeing another car. How long? Well, not hours. But 30 minutes is very possible.



Have you ever been stranded on a no traffic road?
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