Camping in Moab, Utah - Indian Summer Vacation Video Series

I'm roughing it in my next Indian Summer Vacation Video. My intrepid vacation-planning wife found a campsite in the small town of Moab, Utah -- just 5 miles from Arches National Park. This video covers our camping time, then it's on to eye-popping Arches. You will not believe the next video I have in store for you, this one is just a warm-up.

The campsite is called Up The Creek and is located a few blocks from the center of downtown. Click here to see the website.

 Downtown Moab, Utah

Moab is small, with a few thousand residents, so the campsite was quiet, especially with a small creek rushing by.

 It's a little high-end at $32 a night for two people, but a good deal when you include: shower stalls, restrooms, an outdoor sink, charging station for electronics, gas grills, and even wheelbarrows to roll in your camping equipment.(Of course, always best to check on their website to see latest daily rates and all the campsite details.) Click here for a link to more campsites, cabins, and RV parks.

The campsite takes up about half a city block - not huge, but spacious enough. You park in a car lot by the entrance and carry, or wheelbarrow-in, all the camping stuff.

It's tent only, no RV's or car camping here. I saw about a dozen tents setup when we were there. And there are plenty of cottonwood trees, so you keep cool in the shade.

We stayed two days and nights and have no complaints. Although, we found out it was the hottest it's been all year (end of May.) While mostly sunny, but with those giant puffy white clouds you see in all the Western movies, the clouds were welcome shade providers -- however brief (pack plenty of sunblock.) And at night it cooled down comfortably. There are insects, but not biting ones (at least no bites on me.)

We had a neighbor who brought his dog - it costs another $5 per day. The animal was well behaved, friendly but quiet.

Having free access to showering was especially welcome after a sweltering day of sightseeing in Arches National Park. And right around the corner of the shower/restrooms is an outdoor kitchen sink, with fresh water for water bottle refills.

Since I was documenting stuff with my digital cameras, the charging station by the kitchen sink got a lot of use. There is no WiFi in the camp, but a couple blocks away are cafes and a visitors center for free online access.

They have a couple gas grills on a picnic table for public use, since no camp fires are allowed. If you don't like cooking and the cleanup, there are plenty of dining options in Moab.

The first night we had a tasty Happy Hour pizza, all-you-can-eat salad, and draft beer at Zax Restaurant & Watering Hole (click here to read all about them.) There are at least a dozen more dining and fast food destinations and a large grocery store, along the main street.

The main attraction was the short drive to Arches National Park - barely 5 minutes away. So it's easy to do a morning hike, take a break at camp, and return to the park later in the day when it has cooled down. Of course you can camp in the park itself, but good luck getting a spot (go ahead and read about it here.)

My Camping in Moab, Utah is a short video and I think you will enjoy it. It's just an appetizer - my next video on Arches National Park is a feast for the eyes, so do check back next week, too.

Camping in Moab, Utah - Video #7

Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 31 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Indian Summer Vacation Series (click on any title below to see the blog post).

1. Introduction

2. Driving to Monument Valley

3. Monument Valley Tour + a Vision Quest

4. Frybread Recipe

5. Spirit Guide & Medicine Man - Don Mose

6. Indian Clan Names

7. Camping in Moab, Utah

8. Arches National Park

9. Frybread Taco Recipe

10. Canyon de Chelly Tour

Driving to Monument Valley Video - Indian Summer Vacation Series

Sometimes the journey is as interesting as the destination. Come along on the road to Monument Valley for a cheap$kate junket in my latest Indian Summer Vacation Video. I'll be riffing on Hollywood cowboy John Wayne and stirring up the pot about the Washington Redskins football name controversy. Plus, you'll get Cheap$kate Tips and a fun point-of-view travelogue experience filmed in majestic Chefscope!

If you are traveling from California, make sure to get just enough gas to cross the Arizona state line. We stopped off the 10 Freeway in Blyth, California - right on the border. It was a lunch break at Carl's Jr. for burgers. (Oh, how I miss the days when their flame-broiled burgers were cooked to order - no longer, as the beef patty I had was as dry as Styrofoam between 2 slabs of cardboard.)

I had the presence of mind to ask the burger joint manager if I should fill up my gas tank here, or continue driving into Arizona for gasoline. He said: My wife always points me to the border, since it's only 5 minutes away, for gas that's 50 cents cheaper than here in California.

Okay....that's your first Cheap$kate Tip.

Most unleaded prices were from $3.50 to $3.60 per gallon. The above prices are on the high-end for Arizona.

We continued on. Once we were a few hours into Nevada, heading to Flagstaff for our first overnight stay, we began to see signs of Indian life - towns with Native names and market/gas stations selling Frybread and cool trucker hats and t-shirts.

It was hot and dry the whole way, so make sure your car air-conditioner is working. My wife and I were tempted to stop many times for roadside stands selling Indian jewelry and other items but figured there would be plenty of opportunities further down the road. But the most difficult sights to pass were the frequent highway landscape viewpoints, although I managed to camera-grab as much as I could through the driver or passenger windows, as you will see in my video at the end of this post. Although there were miles of barren road, we always managed to find convenient places to stretch and fill up.

At the end of our first travel day we spent the night in a cheap motel on the edge of town in Flagstaff, Arizona. We stopped for breakfast the next morning at a boisterous Route 66 diner called Mike & Ronda's The Place (click here for Yelp reviews and the address.) Nothing fancy, just huge plates of food priced reasonably. I had a tasty breakfast of two eggs, and hash browns with two giant biscuits smothered in gravy for the incredibly cheap price of five dollars! Whew, I managed to finish it, but just barely. I recorded it for posterity and it's in the video - seeing is believing!

 Breakfast in Flagstaff, Arizona at Mike & Ronda's The Place.

After a couple of hours on the road, the earth soon turned deep red from the erosion of sandstone. Iconic western movie vistas began to appear around turns and topping hills. 

Pulling over one last time into a gas station/market, before we crossed into Utah and onto the Indian reservation surrounding Monument Valley, I noticed the cold cases lacked beer and wine. I soon found out why, or at least the law - no alcohol sold or allowed on Indian Reservations. I had a cooler with a couple of 24-ouncers and my wife had box wine. I figured as long as we keep it low-key and out of sight we would not have any problems. So this is another tip for you, be cool and don't flaunt it - be respectful of local customs and laws. 

We arrived in Monument Valley around noon and checked into Goulding's Lodge and Campground (click here to see all they have to offer.). There is a large gift shop where you check in and just down the road is a well-stocked grocery store. Plus there was a screening room that was showing later that night, John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" with, of course, John Wayne, and shot on location in Monument Valley. I'll never watch an old Western movie the same way again after this trip. Check out the movie trailer below.

             

I thought it interesting how John Ford and his old Western movies are celebrated here -- as the portrayals of Indians are often as bad guys, stilted and lacking subtlety of character. But the director put Monument Valley on the map, at least to the general public. And he insisted on shooting several films here - long before there were paved roads and common conveniences. Now the place is hopping with tourists from all over the world (especially Germans!) 

It was a pleasant stay at Goulding's Lodge, about $92 dollars a night for a nice cabin. There would have been enough room for at least five. Along with a double bed, there were bunk beds and a loft space with one more mattress. Again check out my video to see what it looks like inside. There are slots for RV's and grounds for tent camping, too. This would be our last night for the rest of the week with a comfy bed. For the next few nights we'll be in a tent or Navajo Hogan. You'll soon see what I mean in later blog posts.

We had enough time to unpack and eat a quick deli meal before heading out on our Monument Valley tour at 3pm. Well, you'll have to come back to see that part, and believe me, it's a doozy of a video - probably the wildest one I've made yet! So hit the play button below and take a front-seat ride with the Cheap$kate Excursionist, and it won't cost you a cent.

Driving to Monument Valley - Video #2

Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

99 thanks to Amy for all the hard work planning and reserving hotels and camping slots for us, and everyone who put up with me waving my camera in their faces! Special gratitude to Mike & Ronda's The Place and Goulding's Lodge and Campground.

Indian Summer Vacation Series (click on any title below to see the blog post).

1. Introduction

2. Driving to Monument Valley

3. Monument Valley Tour + a Vision Quest

4. Frybread Recipe

5. Spirit Guide & Medicine Man - Don Mose

6. Indian Clan Names

7. Camping in Moab, Utah

8. Arches National Park

9. Frybread Taco Recipe

10. Canyon de Chelly Tour