Moab, Utah

Scenery on our drive from Canyon de Chelly to Moab, Utah

Ben in front of a teepee at Bluff Fort in Utah

Adam tearing the cabin down at Bluff Fort

View from the Sorrel River Ranch

Outside view of our room at the Ranch

Part of our room at the Ranch

The kitchen and dining area of our room

Enjoying the spa

Ben enjoying the pool

Our Sunset Hummer excursion

"Hell's Revenge"

Believe it or not, this is really us in the Hummer. One of the other drivers took the picture as we came down the rock face. I'm glad I didn't see this picture until after the ride was over!

Rafting down the Colorado River

Window Arch at Arches National Park

This is Double Arch at Arches National Park which can be seen at the beginning of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

I wasn’t sure where to go after Canyon de Chelly. The original plan was to go through Santa Fe to Loveland, Colorado, but it just didn’t feel right. The suggestions to go to Mesa Verde and Albuquerque just didn’t seem to fit. While we were on the tour of Canyon de Chelly, a woman approached me and said she had overheard me speaking of our trip. She suggested we go to Sorrel River Ranch in Moab, Utah. That sounded like just the spot and I was able to get a 5 night reservation. Little did I know that while it is a working ranch, it is also the only 4 star resort in Utah. I had hoped that we could spend some time on a ranch during our travels and this was the perfect spot. The drive from Canyon de Chelly to Moab was spectacular. With all the red rock monuments, I felt as if we were in a John Wayne Western. We even had to stop for horses and sheep to cross the highway! The area around Moab is stunning and includes access to Arches and Canyonland National Parks and is right along the Colorado River.

The boys and I had a wonderful room at the Ranch complete with a front porch and our own kitchenette and breakfast nook. The staff took to the boys from the minute we arrived. One of them even watched the boys for a few hours so Mom could take advantage of the Spa. On our first day we did the Sunset Hummer Tour out of Moab. Ben decided that it was second in excitement only to California Screamin’ at Disneyland. We went forward (and backward) up sheer rock faces and even sideways at times. As you can see from the picture, we did not always have four wheels on the ground. The name of the trail was “Hell’s Revenge” which was aptly named. The next day we went rafting on the Colorado River and even went through a Level 3 rapid that had tipped two boats the week before. We got totally drenched as we went through but everyone managed to stay on the raft. Part of the time we were able to float in the river alongside the raft. We even had a little excitement as Mom and the boys drifted a little faster than anticipated ahead of the boat. There went another few gray hairs. The boys also managed to fit in a pony ride, some tennis and lots of swimming. It was definitely worth the 5 night stay.