More in Moab, Utah

This is part fourteen in a series of posts about my visit through parts of Arizona and Utah in September 2019.
​(Click words that are bolded for more information.)

After our bus drive through Arches National Park, which you can read about here, we spent the rest of the day exploring Moab on our own. People come to Moab, Utah to visit the nearby National Parks, and they come for biking, hiking, driving jeeps, boating and rafting. Some come to ride in hot air balloons. No wonder Moab is called the "Adventure Capital!"

A colorful wall mural

We enjoyed a quiet stroll along the Colorado River. Moab is just one town that the river meanders  through, ever southward, on its way to the Grand Canyon and beyond. Here its banks are lined with invasive tamarisk trees and other plants, a ribbon of green ​beneath the towering red hills.

Tamarisk lined Colorado River

The Colorado River in Moab, Utah

We crossed over the river on a foot bridge to get a closer look at the red rocks. Was there a peek hole in the rocks, an unnamed arch high in the varnished cliffs? Yes, there is. Can you see it, too?

Another arch

A view from under the highway

Red and yellow wasps were buzzing in the heady fragrance of these flowering plants. And the milky white trumpet shaped flowers of Datura plants were open to the sun. Their unpleasant odor is a warning that although beautiful, ingestion of the plant is toxic.

Red and yellow wasp

Datura flower, also known as Jimson Weed

Earlier, we had a chance to see petroglyphs from the bus.These intriguing symbols left by an ancient people remain, mysterious messages carved into the rock varnish of the sheer rock face.

Petroglyphs in Moab

Rock varnish

I spy a bighorn sheep

Humanoid figures carved in stone

Dancing figures all in a row, Barrier Canyon style

More bighorn sheep, top right

This petroglyph panel can been seen on Kane Creek Blvd. There are many other places to see petroglyphs around Moab. Most involve a hike.

​In this area centuries ago, people left pictures for others to see, pictures captured in rock. Today, people like me capture pictures with a ... 

I spy a wrench and a screw driver

... camera.
​
Well, not with this metal camera sculpture made of hand tools and other odds and ends. But this unique camera certainly captured my attention, so I captured it with my camera!

There is much more to Moab, and we hope to see more of this area some day. Our next stop is Monument Valley, so come along for the ride!

​~ Debbie

If you missed the earlier stops, follow the links and enjoy the view. 

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 
Ninth stop - Bryce Canyon here.
Tenth stop - Utah's Scenic Byway 12 here.
Eleventh stop - Ancient Petroglyphs here. 
Twelfth stop - Goblin Valley State Park here. 
Thirteenth stop - Arches National Park here.
Fourteenth stop - Moab, Utah here.
Fifteenth stop - Monument Valley here. ​