Another bright and early morning on the highway, and Normie gets to ride dashboard shotgun... but he's still too sleepy to care.
Moab, Utah:
There weren't a lot of spots to dry camp in Moab, Utah (pronounced moe - ab) so we stayed at a Passport America park.
The Moab OK RV Park was just that; okay. The PA rate was $18 plus tax with full hook ups (30 amp) but the back spots, where we were tucked in, were really tight. We couldn't put out our big slide and it was one of those parks where you feel right on top of your neighbours. Best thing about it was the rugged red rock surrounding the area.
Moab, Utah has a population somewhere between 5000 and 6000 folks, but it seems like more with the tourist traffic. Mountain biking, atv-ing and dirt biking are very popular in the area and the entire town really caters to tourists. From what we saw, the town was mostly restaurants, bike and ATV rental spots, gift stores, souvenir shops, motels, RV parks and horse stables.
The lady (mid 30's) working in the RV office mentioned to me that a lot of wealthy folks buy summer homes in Moab which has driven up real estate prices and the cost of living in the area. When her small family moved there for work two years ago they couldn't afford to buy a house - and they still can't, even though hubby makes good money.
Moab reminds me of Banff, Alberta - the only difference being the red rocks surrounding the area instead of the Rocky Mountains.
The best thing about Utah was definitely the scenery. Actually the entire drive from Utah, through SW Colorado and into New Mexico was very cool.
Money Stuff:
- including tonights casino stay, we've been on the road for 6 nights
- dry camped for 3 nights (at a truck stop, a sports store and a casino)
- spent $54 for RV parks the other 3 nights
Total spent on RV parking over 6 nights = $54 or $9/night (yay for boondocking and Passport America)
Oh neat! We went to Moab this summer. Must have been a mild summer since it wasn't excruciatingly hot. I was surprised at how many California RVers and cars there were.
The state camping near there is dry, but close to what you paid for your PA site.
Next time check out the BLM land around there if you're into that kind of thing:
http://www.freecampgrounds.com/detail.aspx?id=1595
We WAY overpaid for an RV site in Moab because I wanted wifi that night and it was late - it was something like $43/night. Not as bad as the KOA outside of Whitefish, but still crazy.
Posted by: Jacq | October 26, 2011 at 08:45 AM
jjolie - Yeah, we checked out the state parks but didn't want to pay for dry camping. And the BLM land was an option but because we got there on a Saturday afternoon, we were hard pressed to find a spot that wasn't already taken over by groups of ATV-ers. Loud ATV-ers.
Holy COW - $43 bucks a night??? You'd have to provide me with a free bar tab to see me pay that kind of cash for an RV site! But I'm waaaaaay cheaper than you are :)
I think Moab just wasn't our thing. We're on the Gulf Coast right now and so far we love it here; this area is definitely what we were looking for.
Posted by: kelsi | October 27, 2011 at 06:56 PM
No way - *I'm* the cheaper one. LOL
It didn't bug me (too much) since we'd had so many totally free and super cheap camping spots. I think we ran a bit under $10/day - maybe less - as our average on that trip so I figured it wouldn't kill me to spring for it for one day.
ATV-ers are a problem in AB too. The best boondocking I've seen so far has been in Idaho. We found lots of spots open even on weekends - and right beside some great fly-fishing rivers too. Seriously thinking about going back next summer. I sort of hate it when you find someplace you really love and just want to go back there and not explore more.
Posted by: Jacq | October 31, 2011 at 01:53 PM