Moab, Utah, the home of Arches National Park, is awesome. Granted, it has a bro-ey exterior, replete with Land Cruiser tours, mountain biking lodges, and restaurants like Eddie McStiff's. But it also has a delightful underbelly of natural beauty, which we got to explore, at the crack of dawn, in quiet solitude.
January, while warm according to Chicago standards, is still winter in Utah, and very much the off-season for Moab. Everything was closed, including the Pancake Haus and the KOA we tried to pull into after a long day of driving. We opted for 4 walls and an indoor bathroom at the Hotel Moab Downtown. No complaints.
Our almost-sunrise hike into Arches National Park was about 3 miles round trip, ending at the Delicate Arch. It was chilly, and a bit icy, and beautiful.
Next up? Grand Canyon.