We visited Moab last fall after being absent from its vermillion curves for a year. I’m sorry Moab! We still love you. I hate to offer excuses, but there’s been this whole COVID thing…

This trip was all about showing off some of Moab’s standards to my sister’s family, none of whom had been to Moab before. Amazing newcomers in Moab is as simple as walking them outside, so Jason and I can’t take much credit for our inevitable impress success.

With the world warming up, November didn’t feel like November in Moab. The only giveaway of the season was the lack of light. How are you supposed to see everything you want to with a 5:30 cutoff? Come on Mother Nature, let’s be reasonable.

We spent our first day in Arches National Park. After completing the hike to Delicate Arch, a Moab essential, we covered about three miles in the Devils Garden to see Landscape, Navajo, Tunnel, Pine Tree, and Partition Arch. We navigated most of our return route in darkness, including a tricky fin. Despite our vision deficiency, the adventure was well received by our juvenile companions.

Some of the kids requested a ramble on the Fisher Towers Trail, a wish we happily accommodated the next day. The Fisher Towers are a collection of channeled sandstone spires frosted by layers of burgundy mud. The largest of these, The Titan, is believed to be the tallest free-standing natural tower in the United States at 900 feet. Those pillars aren’t the only fascinating rock formations along this 4.5-mile route though. Bulbous hoodoos seem to mushroom out of the sand, and the final viewpoint overlooks a valley inhabited by a jumble of warped stone figures. Although the weather was more pleasant than we had a right to expect, the wind began accelerating in a chaotic manner near the end of our journey. Outbursts sent fistfuls of dirt into our faces and down our shirts. Our ears and pockets were full of grit by the time we reached the trailhead.

The following day, we visited Moab Giants, a fun dinosaur park and museum near town. Moab Giants focuses on the ancient creatures who once roamed the area with an emphasis on their tracks. On Moab Giant’s Dinosaur Trail, over 100 full-sized replicas can be viewed along with footprint information. The educational and photographical opportunities are plentiful, and we enjoyed both equally.

Before heading home, we detoured to the Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands National Park. Between the relentless wind and 45 degrees, Canyonlands was barely tolerable with abundant jackets. Yup, just like that, late fall was back. We hiked to Mesa Arch, a trail short enough to be doable in the cold, and stopped at overlooks of Shafer Canyon and the Grand View Point.

Although we hiked about 12 miles during our stay, fitness did not follow. The food available in Moab makes the exercise attained inconsequential. Between South African fare from Hidden Cuisine, drunken noodles from Thai Bella, donuts from Doughbird, breakfast delights from Love Muffin, and quesadillas from the Quesadilla Mobilla, we were well fed. We’ll just leave it at that.

How did our young cohorts do with all this adventuring? It took our group much longer to finish each undertaking than expected, but our sluggish spirits remained exuberant. If something takes twice as long, it means you enjoyed it twice as much, right? How did Moab do? It seemed more crowded than normal for November. Maybe others have discovered my November trick. (Dang it!) Or maybe COVID has altered vacation habits.

Moab, I swear I’ll not stay away so long again… unless another pandemic hits, and I have to survive on pickles and pecans while only communicating with the outside world through toilet paper signals. I guarantee nothing in that case. After all, I wouldn’t want to make any two-ply promises.