Spring has arrived early at the Moab vacation rental condo. Temperatures in the 60s and beautiful sunny skies are making the first part of March absolutely delightful. There are still a few open dates in March, April and May. But the condo is getting booked up so we recommend that you make reservations now if you are planning to come any time before July.
Our neighbors to the northeast in Colorado have enjoyed a phenomenal ski season this winter. It was my good fortune to have flown here in July and found a nice condo to rent in Dillon for ski season. You never know when you book a ski vacation far in advance if mother nature will cooperate. But everything has worked out great with fresh snow several times a week.
Using the Epic Pass I skied at Keystone, Breckenridge and Vail. After spending the last few decades skiing primarily at Lake Tahoe with occasional adventures elsewhere it was quite a treat to have all new terrain for the past couple of months.
Speaking of all new terrain, one of the great things about staying at the Moab vacation rental condo is the proximity to many parts of the red rock country. It’s about 15 minutes north to the entrance to Arches National Park. Roughly 30 minutes gets you to Canyonlands National Park. And about one hour to the south brings you into a completely different section of Canyonlands.
One of our favorite trips that can be done either in a long day or as a one night overnight takes you from the condo in Moab initially to Natural Bridges National Monument. This place is pretty compact so you can go to the overlooks and even walk under one of the bridges before noon. Enjoy a picnic lunch before heading down to the Valley of the Gods.
This is very much like Monument Valley only the rock formations are spaced farther apart. It gets very few visitors primarily due to the rough road. Make sure it has not rained recently or you will find a couple of the normally dry creek beds to be difficult or impossible to cross.
A leisurely four hours will get you from Natural Bridges down through the Valley of the Gods and pretty close to Monument Valley. We recommend staying overnight at the lodging closest to Monument Valley (make sure you book months in advance) and enjoying dinner at the hotel called The View. The 17 mile drive through Monument Valley takes 2 to 3 hours, longer if you plan to linger or hike around one of the Mittens.