Moab has been on my bucket list for a while now. Arches National Park is a "must do" place to ride for me. It just looks so amazing in all the photos and videos I have seen.
I had tried to book the OK RV Park (which allows horses), but they are fully and completely booked until the end of October. So, we ended up at our second choice - the Old Spanish Trail Arena, which is just a fancy name for the rodeo grounds. Hilariously, the OK RV Park is right next door.
We arrived on a weekend when a barrel racing competition was going on, so the place was pretty packed. We ended up staying in Barn E on the south side of the property. We didn't really mind because it was quieter and less people.
Our horses are in tiny tiny stalls - with just enough room to turn around and lie down, but the ground is soft, soft sand. They have shade and it is pretty cool where they are...which is important because the temperatures have been in the mid-80s. I did not think it would be this hot at the end of September.
Our LQ has a nice flat area and we have water and electricity. Cell service is not that great, but we were able to play Zoom Bridge AKA Trickstercards with two of our favorite people and we are expecting the connection to be good enough for us to virtually attend Yom Kippor services with our congregation in Santa Cruz.
When I had planned this trip, I had worried about how we might find High Holy Day services on the road - especially since we are probably the only Jews in just about any small town we find ourselves in. With COVID-19, our congregation is hosting virtual services on Zoom, so we are able to pray and join in from wherever we are. It feels like a little bit of visiting home, so it is really nice.
There were three things that were stressing me out once we arrived in Moab. One, we are running low on hay and we needed to replenish our stores. Two, I wanted to rent a small trailer like we did in Jackson, so we could trailer out to Arches National Park and maybe one or two other rides. Three, the transmission on our truck makes a terrible sound whenever we go in reverse and the truck is struggling to change gears when we go up and down mountains. We are pretty sure that the transmission is slipping and needs to be replaced.
We are hoping it will hang in there until we get to St George, Utah in mid-October. We are planning to spend at least two weeks in St George because it has been recommended as a great place to winter. We are hoping that we can put the truck in for repairs and just chill at the Reinmakers Stables where we will be staying with our LQ and horses. Hopefully, the local dealership will give us a loaner vehicle while the truck is in the shop. My big nightmare is for the truck to break down when we are going up or down a mountain on a narrow road with the horses in the back. We have US Rider (this is like AAA for horse trailers), but I am hearing that the company is not as good at service as it used to be.
I asked Angie Book, the arena manager, for recommendations on how to locate a small trailer to rent. She recommended that I join a Facebook group that is local to Moab. So, I joined the group and posted asking if anybody would be willing to rent me a trailer. Two women responded. The first woman had a four horse gooseneck stock trailer that appeared almost as big as our LQ. The second woman, Tammy Tucker, had the perfect trailer - a three horse, slant load bumper pull Charmac. It is almost identical to our stock trailer that we left at home.
Tammy was really wonderful and we went to her home to pick up the trailer.
She moved her tack out of the trailer and into her truck. Her little goat wanted to help, so jumped into the back of the truck to inspect what was going on.
The goat was absolutely charming!
I have never been a fan of goats, but Tammy's goat is wonderful.
Some people have been leaving their horses at the rodeo grounds and staying elsewhere. They come in the morning and evening to feed and water and then take off again. The horses are not happy in the heat.
Tammy recommended several places to ride that are south of Moab. They are doing roadwork on the northside of Moab - an hour delay going through the north side of town. It is legendary among locals. So, we drove to the trailhead for Picture Frame Arch. The parking area is HUGE. We went super early to avoid the heat and the lot was empty.
From the lot, there is the trailhead to get you started, but no signage to point you the direction of the arch
The scenery is very different from what we have seen previously, but it is beautiful.
If you look very closely at the picture, you will see the Picture Frame Arch above Ari's head near the top of the mountain above him. Finding the arch was like looking for a puzzle. When I finally spotted it, I was greatly relieved - mission accomplished!
Camping is free in this area and there were dozens of campers in the camping area - many with large RVs. The road is gravel and pretty rutted, so it wouldn't be a great drive to get in there and camp, but you could come in and camp with horses - if you have a high line or portable corral. You are basically boondocking.
This is a popular place for off-road vehicles or OHVs. We were worried about OHVs on the trail spooking the horses, but we were riding early enough people were still having breakfast and figuring out their days. One group of campers offered Ari some bacon. He graciously refused. We had already eaten breakfast, plus we only eat Turkey Bacon.
So, we got a small trailer to use to visit trails (one problem resolved), but we still needed to round up food for our horses. We were down to a couple of bales. We kept asking local equestrians about a source. We heard horror stories about driving two hours to Colorado to get bales of alfalfa. I called the local feed stores and the only thing available was cubes or pellets. The last time we fed Lennox alfalfa cubes, he urinated over them and then stomped them into mush to show his utter hatred of what was being offered.
Someone mentioned that there was an alfalfa farmer who lived next to the rodeo grounds, but didn't recall the name or how to contact him. So, we decided to drive around looking for an alfalfa farm. We would drive up to small houses and Ari would knock on the door. "Excuse me, I don't want to bother you, but we are looking for some alfalfa for our horses." The second house we got our best lead..."We don't sell alfalfa, but we buy from Gary Wilson. He lives right down the road there." I phoned Gary Wilson - he was listed as Wilson Farms. His wife answered the phone and said they would sell us the bales we wanted.
We drove in and bought eight bales for eight bucks each and paid cash. So far on this trip we have paid as much as $15 a bale, so we considered it a bargain. The alfalfa had just been baled, so it was fresh and clean. The horses love it. Problem Two solved.
Then, Sunday afternoon when I was making dinner our microwave died. I was cooking potatoes in the microwave, planning to serve them with the left over BBQ brisket I had made the day before. The AC was working, lights were on, circuit breakers in the correct position, but the microwave was dead. Then ten minutes later - while Ari and I were still discussing what to do about dinner - the microwave pulled a Lazarus and revived itself. I was able to continue cooking the potatoes and dinner went forward as planned. Apparently, this is a known issue where the microwave will overheat and turn itself off as a safety feature. SMC offered to replace the microwave, but I am not sure whether to accept the offer if it will not resolve the problem of overheating. Some people suggest running the stove exhaust or putting in a better vent to the outside as better solutions. Since this is the first time it has happened, I may backburner this issue (there is a pun in there) and wait and see.
So two of our three problems are solved. As for the truck, Ari and I are hoping that the transmission will hang in there until we get to St George.
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