We are staying at the Kokopelli Lodge, a cool, retro style, nicely refurbished motel just one block off the main street of Moab. I have never stayed or eaten in town here; every trip has been a dirt bagging sort of camping trip.
The room had plenty of space, and we sat in the hot tub every morning at sunrise, steaming in the sunlight as we walked back to our room in the 25 degree air.
This entire area, Central and Southern Utah, is one of my favorite places to hike. I have been on several trips here, most recently on a road trip with Dennis in April, 2013. I could spend weeks here.
But, with only two days, I decided to take Gail on a whirlwind tour of the best of Arches, hiking in to see Landscape Arch, at 306 feet across the largest in the US. and Delicate Arch, the famous “Utah License Plate” arch. We also climbed the fin between Navajo and Partition arches, walked under Double Arch by the Windows and Turret, and had Sand Dune Arch all to ourselves in the magical, late afternoon light.
We were lucky to see two coyotes, one of them named Wile E. Coyote (he looked the part, all long, thin and mangy) and a couple herds of deer.
Later, we made time to drive 14 miles out along the Colorado River to the Castle Creek Winery (Proudly rated “Utah’s most renowned wine!” and “Utah’s number one winery”… out of how many total in the state? Two?). We bought a couple bottles to support the good fight against the Mormons' anti-drinking policy.
We wrapped up with a drive out to Dead Horse Point State Park to hike in the chill wind at 7000 feet elevation near sunset, looking down over a horseshoe bend in the Colorado River.
Our meals were unremarkable; disappointing, really. I had the $5 burger special at the Moab Brewery. The beer was good, the food just OK at best. We ordered expensive pizza in, from Paradox Pizza. Over-hyped and underwhelming. The wine we brought from home was good, however. The last night we ate at Zax, which was obviously a popular place, but again the food was just fair; too much to eat, too expensive, too saucy and too salty.
Red Rock Bakery was our place for breakfast, with good coffee and so-so baked goods.
After just four days on the road, we are burned out on restaurant food... and we are the people who live in the cafes for two solid months in Europe.
There really is a difference in the quality of the food.
All in all, Moab is best done camping, cooking over an open fire.