JACT 2021 Road Trip part 1 of 3 - Arches Ntl Park

Welcome to Part One of our 3,500-mile 2-week road trip adventure with our new Momentum 36' travel trailer & my 70-year-old parents! We were all desperate to get the hell out of the house after a year of Covid & so after getting vaccinated, we loaded the dogs & hit the road! Our three top destinations for the trip included Arches National Park in Utah, Spring Training MLB in Arizona, & Yosemite National Park in California. Here in Part One, we travel to Moab & explore Arches Ntl Park; click the video link below to watch the adventure, then continue reading.

Anxious for warmer weather, we left Granite Falls, WA on Friday afternoon, March 19th, 2021. Our first leg was a 6-hour drive to Wildhorse RV Park & Casino in Pendleton, OR. We arrived at 7pm, & James set up camp while I walked the dogs. The shuttle drove right to our door & we all piled in. The driver mentioned it was the busiest night since the pandemic began & we were in for a shock.

Cara, Gary, James & Connie stop for a night in Pendleton, OR

Every machine was occupied & we couldn’t even get into the restaurant, so we grabbed dinner at a concession. We gave mom & dad a key to the trailer & we separated to try to gamble a little. None of us had any luck, & my parents returned to camp about 10 minutes before us. We found them outside freezing their asses off! We didn’t think to show them how to unlock the doors, which have two locks on each handle. They were trying to open the wrong one & they were extremely frustrated! It was a good thing we arrived when we did because they forget to carry their cell phone to call us, LOL. Overall, the resort was an excellent option for our journey & would be a fun place to stay in the future.

Our next leg was a doozy with a goal of driving from Pendleton to Salt Lake City, then boondocking somewhere for the night like a Costco or Cabela’s. However, after 9 hours of driving which we severely underestimated, we decided to spend the night at Juniper Rest Area, short of our goal. James was tired, but more important, the Zags were playing in the NCAA basketball tournament, & we wanted to catch the game. But when we pulled in, there were no spots left, so we drove a little behind the rest stop to park. It was great! We cooked dinner, poured our drinks & watched the Zags beat Norfolk 98-55. We crashed early & were all sound asleep at midnight when a car pulled up, shining their lights right into our bedroom window.

Parked at a gravel pit behind the Juniper Rest Area in Idaho.

Lincoln started barking & there was a knock at the door. I had to shake James awake, turn on the light, then dressed quickly. I was worried about our safety & wondering how I could see who was outside. James had his jeans on & kept saying over & over, "where are my socks? I just had them." I finally replied, "Just get another pair!". He then cracked the door & peeked outside. He spoke to someone, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

He closed the door & said, “we have to move.”

"Why? Who was it? What did they say?" I asked. James replied, still groggy, "I don't know, but I wasn't going to argue with him." We then made our plan. There was space back at the rest area, basically along the highway entry ramp. We told mom & dad to stay in bed while we moved about 200 feet. We then tried to slide in the tip-outs. Dead battery! James started the generator for quick power, & we moved into our new spot. However, we couldn't get the generator going again & went to bed without any heat. We woke at 6am & it was 28 degrees. The funny thing was, I discovered I had on James's missing socks! This time the generator started, along with the heater & our coffee pot. Oh, the joys of learning about our new trailer.

Parked along the entry ramp on I-84 at milepost 269

We made it to Moab UT on Sunday & checked into the KOA. It was not 70 degrees like we promised mom, so we bought some firewood for the next few nights. Turns out you have to rent a fire pit, too… thought that was weird. On Monday, I cooked up a breakfast for the family then James & I left for day one in Arches Ntl Park, while my parents chose to relax at camp. We pulled up to the entrance at 10:00am only to discover they had met their max visitors for the morning & we'd have to try again later at 1pm. TIP - Check for alerts on the National Parks websites!

We opted to explore Moab while we waited & enjoyed walking through the shops. Found a few good deals on souvenirs & really enjoyed lunch & a beverage at the Moab Brewery. We headed back to the park entrance and got right in. The formations were absolutely massive & awe inspiring. We enjoyed a walk thru Park Ave, then continued on our way to Delicate Arch. I had high hopes of watching the sun set & taking photos of the famous land mark but as we drove into the parking lot with Big Blue, my hopes were crushed. Not a single parking spot open anywhere! So we drove on to the secondary look out to zoom in on the Arch from miles away. Someday we will have all the time in the world to explore, & we will visit again!

Delicate Arch behind us on the right.

Believe me, there is so much more to see & we made the most of our day there together. While hiking around searching for other arches, James spotted two deer bedded down. They were so camouflaged I couldn't believe we saw them! We pointed them out to a family passing by & they were just as excited as us to see them. After that, we called it a day & headed back to camp to cook dinner. The following day we went again; this time, my parents joined us to view the park.

Gary, Cara & Connie at Arches Ntl Park.

It was too cold & windy for them to get out of the truck much, but this park is remarkable just to drive through. It was even more exceptional because we purchased & downloaded the Google Gypsy Guide for Arches, which narrated the trip using GPS as we traveled. We learned so much this second time around! The entire day was memorable for mom & dad, who had never visited this part of the country.

Three nights total in Moab, all at the KOA where we enjoyed our rented fire pit & even did some hot-tubbing. The sunsets were spectacular & there were many options for exploring with the park close by, as well as Jeep & mountain biking trails. We still hadn't hit warm weather, but we felt sure it was waiting for us to make our way to Arizona. Getting there from Moab was quite the adventure itself… stay tuned for our next blog to read all about it in JACT 2021 Road Trip Part 2! Until then, plan your own adventure soon & GO DO IT! # JACTventures

JACT at Arches National Park!