Alan and I and two close friends, Dawn and Richard Ford, have just returned from our first — and likely last — visit to Utah. I wanted to see the proverbial dark skies there and we chose our timing to coincide with a new moon when we were told we would be able to see the most stars.
Richard, a huge fan of John Wayne and classic Western movies, wanted to see Monument Valley where many iconic scenes were filmed. All four of us had heard great things about Moab and we were fascinated by photos of Arches National Park. So, off we went. We flew into Salt Lake City and drove four hours to Moab for four nights at the highly rated Red Cliffs Lodge.
The trip was filled with absolutely breathtaking vistas. You can’t adequately describe the scenery, it’s so stunningly beautiful. Our star-gazing outing was canceled due to freezing temperatures and cloudy skies, but everything else from the natural world exceeded our high expectations.
The only downers — and the things that made us feel unwelcome and generally hassled — were the draconian liquor laws. Continue reading