After having such a blast last year in Zion and Bryce national parks with our friends, Chad and Shannon, we planned another fun trip with them. This year, we’d be heading to Moab, UT, for a lot of hiking (40 miles’ worth) and a little bit of off-roading.

Day 1: Route to Salt Lake City

Friday morning, we woke up to a minor April snowstorm in Tahoe.

I wasn’t sad to leave it behind.

My husband and I loaded up the Land Cruiser and departed for the roughly 8-hour drive to Salt Lake City, UT. Driving across the desolate, remote desert of rural Northern Nevada, the landscape has never looked so green. We drove through off-and-on rain, ranging from light sprinkles to steady downpours, almost like a Midwest summertime shower. When we reached the Bonneville Salt Flats outside of Salt Lake City, you could hardly discern the sky from the salt flats.

After a few strategic stops, we arrived at our hotel near the SLC Airport, checked in and got settled for the evening.

Day 2: Route to Moab with Roadside Stops

The following morning, we woke up early, packed up, and had breakfast at the connected Perkins Cafe & Bakery, and then headed to the airport to retrieve our friends.

After a boisterous greeting, we hit the road for the roughly 4-hour trek to Moab, stopping in Helper, UT, to stretch our legs and grab lunch at Balance Rock. Once we reached I-70, we battled the light rain and visited a few of the beautiful roadside stops to take in the canyon views. My husband and I had done this same basic route on our road trip in 2022, but felt it was worth a repeat to show our friends.

The Spotted Wolf Canyon viewpoint is definitely one of the most standout of all these viewpoints.

Back at the parking lot for the Spotted Wolf Canyon viewpoint, I struck up a chat with a man traveling solo in a vehicle with Wisconsin license plates. He had embarked on a vast Southwest road trip and was thoroughly enjoying it. We asked if his route brought him to Tahoe. He said yes. We told him we live there and he asked us where. He chuckled and said just a few days ago, unbelievably, he’d stopped in our little town and bought cigars from a shop. I asked him where in Wisconsin he is from. He said Delavin. I laughed and told him I’d known people who lived there and had actually been there, myself, years ago. I always say this, but what a small world.

When we arrived in Moab, one of the first sights we saw downtown was Rory driving Trail Mater!

My husband regularly watches Rory’s recovery videos on YouTube, so it was fun to bump into his rig in person as soon as we arrived in Moab.

We located our vacation rental property and unloaded our belongings, then ventured out to the grocery store to stock up on provisions for the week. After a long day of travel, we decided to dine out at Trailhead Public House & Eatery in downtown Moab for dinner.

The downtown was lively and buzzing with people and vehicles. We learned that a car show event was taking place that weekend, so we enjoyed seeing the myriad of old and new cars and trucks cruising the strip all evening and were humored by some of the shenanigans that went along with it.

After dinner, we decided we would walk around downtown for a bit. Then it started raining, so we figured that was a good time to head back to the vacation rental and call it a night. Tomorrow would kick off our hiking, so we’d need to rest up.

Day 3: Corona Arch Hike

Corona Arch & Pinto Arch Hike

Sunday morning, we got an early start and headed out to Potash Road to get our first official hike on the books: Corona Arch, which is located outside of Arches National Park.

This was a really neat hike for a few reasons. First, the terrain and landscape were generally interesting.

Second, on the trail, we crossed over railroad tracks that were cut through the massive rock.

Third, we had to climb a ladder and use a chain “railing” to ascend a short, steep section of trail, which brought back fond memories of our Angels Landing hike with Chad and Shannon last year. (This wouldn’t be our only encounter with a ladder on a hike during this trip.)

Fourth, the arch was quite impressive with its 140-foot across by 105-foot high opening comprised of Navajo sandstone.

Fifth, we saw two low-flying airplanes swoop through the canyon, which reminded me of the fighter jets that banked through the canyon near us while hiking in Ouray, CO.

After seeing the Corona Arch, we ventured over to Pinto Arch before heading back to the trailhead.

Dinosaur Tracks & Petroglyphs

After returning to the trailhead, we drove a short distance and stopped to view some petroglyphs and, believe it or not, dinosaur tracks.

The drive on Potash Rd. is beautiful with the massively tall rock walls on one side and the Colorado River on the other.

We stopped for a quick and simple PB&J lunch along Potash Rd. and started discussing our next move. Shannon found a waterfall hike that was only about 40 minutes away by car, so we headed to Ken’s Lake next.

Corona Arch & Pinto Arch
Total Distance	3.73 mi
Toal Time	2:25:59
Total Ascent	712 ft
Max Elevation	4,471 ft

1