A Hot Meal and Shower

Friday, May 13th – Moab, Utah to Cortez, Colorado – Day 92 

 We were leaving Moab after two intense days of hiking, climbing and sight seeing. I wanted to get a meal in Moab to see what the town was like. Everyone you see walking on the streets seems to be coming from hiking, biking, climbing or ATV’ing. It’s a quiet little town with an interesting atmosphere. 

 Our next step was to head back to Colorado to see Mesa Verde, Indigenous cliff dwellings. We wanted to go for a swim and shower after having no water for several days. We tried the Moab Recreation Complex to see if the swimming pool was available but no luck. The kids played on the park outside for a bit. We decided to drive through town and find a restaurant. While driving around, we found out that the Cortez swimming pool was open to 4:30 so we had to make a choice, eat in Moab or swim in Cortez. Swimming won out. 

A short two-hour drive later, we arrived in Cortez. We stopped briefly at the Canyons of the Ancients visitor centre. I thought it would be more about Canyons, but it was more about Ancients. Specifically, the Pueblos and the Indigenous communities that were built in the area. We received a map of some of the Pueblos in the area and some advice on where to find free camping for tonight and tomorrow. We need to ask more Rangers about free camping, they know the good roads and quiet spots. 

 The swimming pool was great. It cost $20 for us all to swim. There was a play structure in a shallow pool for John, a lazy river and a big water slide for Aisling and Charlotte. No place to really swim but it was nice to be in the water. Just when we got there, they implemented a 10-minute swim break which the kids weren’t fond of. We ended up swimming for about 40 minutes. 

Next were the showers. They were hot, clean and beautiful. Our last shower was in Denver five or six days ago, so it was about time and we all took our time cleaning up. Gen read that our natural oils provide a degree of sun block; unfortunately we were now oil free. 

As an extra special bonus, the climbing wall in the centre was included so we each had a turn except John, he didn’t want to climb. Aisling was awesome, she made it to the top both times. 

 We took a restaurant recommendation from a worker at the pool and went to Blondie’s Trophy Room. We were clean, the food was great and there was a buck’s head hanging above us. A helpful worker at the pool provided us with a $25 off coupon if we spend $50. We got appetizers which we don’t normally get and are one of my favourites. The chicken wings were delicious. 

 We picked up supplies and started towards our free camp destination. The drive was about 20 minutes and we ended up finding a campsite along a canyon. There was a van already at the campsite but there were multiple fire pits and enough area for multiple vehicles to park. Unfortunately, our neighbour didn’t feel the same way. It didn’t help that the first thing Aisling did when we arrived around 9pm was run directly towards their van waving her hands above her head and yelling. Soon after, we heard them blasting trance music while we were getting the kids ready for bed. After a while I went out and the guy told me “F*** off, we’ve been hear since Wednesday and you come in at bedtime and make all this noise. This is one spot. F*** you.”, turned off his music and went into the trailer with his partner. I guess dispersed camping has its downfalls. 

The canyon was nice to sit besides and relax before bed.