In September 2006 my husband, Randy, and I took a trip with our RV on a 15 day trip from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, through Colorado, over to Arches National Park in Utah. I had read a book about Arches and when we decided to go, Arches was number one on the list. I just felt like I had to go, I had to see it. We made all the preparations: planned the map, packed appropriately for weather changes, bought groceries, made sure the camper and truck were safe, had enough cash and credit cards. This trip was really an important step for us, especially Randy. His idea of traveling has always been driving 45 miles to the nearest recreational area and camping for the weekend. He would never have embarked on such a journey had I not been so adamant. He is content here in Mississippi and it is a very nice place to live but there is so much more and I want to see it all. So..he has to go with me. The good thing is that he is game for just about anything. And so, the big morning finally came.
The first leg of out trip took us to Tyler, Texas. We found a nice spot for the camper on the lake at Tyler State Park. Throughout the entire trip, we never had any difficulty finding a place to camp even though we had not made any reservations anywhere. We decided this was because school was back in session. Early the next morning we were back on the road. Our route took us through Oklahoma, Kansas and into Colorado. On the third night we stayed in an RV park just off the highway in Breckenridge. I will never forget the sunset that night. The clouds were a deep red as they disappeared behind the mountains. During the night there was a light snow and we awakened to a wonderland.
Camper trouble: We have a Prowler 5Th wheel camper and it has a kitchen/living room slide out on one side. At Breckenridge we got it out but it wouldn't go back in. It wouldn't do anything. That was our biggest fear..to have some sort of breakdown so far from home. There's some sort of do-hickey under there so you can manually roll the slide out back in but if you have ever tried to actually do it you will find out that it is nearly impossible, especially when the person trying to roll it in is mad, upset and throwing a hissy-fit. Luckily I had all the paperwork with me and I called the dealership with my cell phone. The guy I talked to wasn't a mechanic but he did know enough to help us locate the fuses. Once replaced the slide out returned to working order and there were no more problems.
The ride between Breckenridge, Colorado and Moab, Utah is spectacular. There are quaint little towns, gold mines, snow covered mountains and crystal clear lakes. Wild mountain goats graze just off the highway and eagles soaring high above. The golden colors of the trees..the Aspens and their whisper. Arts & Crafts were everywhere. There are also several rather long tunnels through the mountains. Us flatlanders don't see much of this sort of thing so it was all pretty awesome. As you descend into the desert from the mountains there is a noticeable change in the colors of the landscape, it changes to red, tan and brown.
The closer we got to Arches National Park the more excited I got. I'm not really sure why except that one day I was garage sailing and found a book called Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. It was very inspirational and an account of Mr. Abbeys experiences at Arches many years earlier. All I wanted to do was see some of the things he described and of course it is a tourist attraction but since we went in September there were no crowds. Arches sits just north of Moab, Utah and preserves the most beautiful and unusual sandstone rock formations. These formations have been created over millions of years through wind and water. Arches is a magical place that everyone should try to visit at least once. We loved it and have planned to return. We found great accommodations at http://www.go-utah.com/Moab-Valley-RV-Resort/ and they are located on Hwy 191 just as you enter Moab. It's a gated resort so we felt safe, and it was clean and well cared for. Check out their website for more details.
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