Moab

Moab, Utah holds a special place in our hearts.  I've been visiting the area for more than twenty years, and introduced Nicole soon after we started seeing each other.  In 2007 Nicole and I were married there, and we made a return trip the next April for our first anniversary.  Since that visit we've concentrated our travels to sailing trips and haven't made it back to Moab.  Now it's 2013 and we are driving aimlessly around the country, a good reason to go spend some time in one of our favorite places.
A stay in Moab wouldn't be the same if we didn't spend time at the Virginian Motel, so we splurged for a room thinking it would also be a more convenient location for trick or treating.  We were planning on spending a few days in the area with our friends Adam and Ellen from Colorado, so once they got into town we made a plan to meet up with them the next day and then went out to find a candy-rich environment.  After a quick bit of trick or treating we headed to the Moab Brewery for dinner, where once again Madeline got lots of compliments on her costume.

The next morning started with the mandatory stop at the Moab Diner for breakfast, after which we checked out of the motel and headed south to Indian Creek and the Needles area in Canyonlands.  Adam and Ellen were rock climbing in Indian Creek so we tracked them down and spent a nice afternoon together.  Later in the afternoon we headed back to the campground they were using, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure getting to with a rough, high clearance vehicle entrance road.  I'm used to driving a variety of very capable 4x4 vehicles when I'm in Utah so I had to actually remember some off road driving skills to get the Roadtrek to the campsite without losing too many pieces.
The next day we all piled in the van to head into Canyonlands for a day of hiking.  We checked out several areas we had not explored in past visits and Madeline got some time in her pack for an enjoyable hike.  On our way out of the park we stopped by the Needles Outpost, a small store/gas station/campground and had a surreal meeting with the very odd woman working there in order to get some ice cream.  After another exciting trip on the road to the same campsite, we shared a bottle of mystery wine we had been hauling around for years.  One of the years Nicole and I did our Valentines Day wine tasting we got an unmarked bottle of wine as a gift from one of the wine makers.  He told us what it was at the time, but if you've heard the stories of our wine tasting you would understand why we couldn't seem to remember what the stuff was.  I thought it was suppose to be a cream sherry and after all of us sampled it we agreed that was as good a description as any.  Regardless it was very good and quite strong, so we each had a couple small glasses and called it a night.

Adam climbing "Supercrack"

Our last day in the area we were back at Indian Creek for another day of rock climbing.  The great weather continued to hold although the wind was a bit cold until the sun got up a bit.  We all had fun climbing and hanging out in the stunning surroundings.  Unfortunately Ellen hurt her leg on the last climb of the day, but thankfully it seems to be relatively minor and healing up well.

The same patch of rock
 where we stood to get married

At the end of the day Adam and Ellen headed back to Boulder and we went back up to Moab for a couple more days of enjoying the area.  We made the drive out to the Red Cliffs Lodge where we had our wedding reception, where the same woman was still running the tasting room at the adjoining winery.  We felt it necessary to stop in and sample their wines to make sure the quality had not suffered in our absence, and to pick up a replacement glass for one of the wine glasses we got for a wedding gift and had since dropped.  We also visited the site where we had our wedding ceremony near Gemini Bridges.  The whole area around the natural bridges has changed since 2007, with fencing to keep vehicles out of the area and touristy signs for visitors.  Thankfully the natural bridges are still there and stunning as ever, and the views are as magnificent as always.
After one last trip through town for groceries and gas, another stop at the library, and one last stop at the Moab Diner we were off and heading for Colorado.