Wednesday, December 16, 2015

2016 National Park Service Centennial - Celebrate with a Motorcoach Tour

Get a combination of National Parks in 2016 to really celebrate the 50th Birthday of National Park Service. All of the following tours will include a stop in Moab. See Arches, Canyonlands, possibly, Dead Horse Point State Park too.
Great sightseeing, leave the driving to someone else.

Grand Circle Tours – Canyonlands
15 day round trip Las Vegas Nevada
January 30 – February 13 2016, February 13 – 27 2016, March 5 – 19 2016, March 20 – April 3 2016, April 3-17 2016, Mary 15-29 2016, August 28 – September 11 2016, October 9 – 23 2016

California
15 day Las Vegas to Minnesota
March 5-19 2016

Sedona & Moab
6 day Pheonix Arizona to Salt Lake City Utah
April 5 2016

Best of the West
8 day round trip Salt Lake City Utah
April departures
Best of the National Parks
14 day round trip Salt Lake City Utah
June departures
Grand Canyon and the Wild West
8 day round trip Salt Lake City Utah
June 18- 25 2016

Utah National Parks Tour – Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands
6 day round trip Tucson Arizona
April 25-30 2016

Canyonlands Visit 10 National Parks and Monuments!
10 day round trip Wichita Kansas
April 29 – May 8 2016

Gad – About Tour California Here We Come
26 day round trip Ohio
April 30 – May 25 2016



National Parks Walk
11 days round trip Las Vegas
Many departures April through November

http://www.grandamericanadventures.com/tours/america-adventures.html
Best of the West 
18 days round trip San Francisco
Many departures May - August

Spirit of the Desert: The National Parks of the Southwest
10 day Grand Junction Colorado to Las Vegas Nevada
Many departures May through September 2016

Canyonlands
6 day round trip Albuquerque New Mexico
May 22-27 2016

Colorado & Utah National Park Tour
10 day round trip Missouri
May 24- June 3 2016
September 6 16 2016

Southwest USA national park private van tour
7 day round trip out of either city: Phoenix Arizona, Las Vegas Nevada, Los Angeles California, Denver Colorado and more.
Departures by reservation May 2016

Best of Canyonlands
8 days Denver Colorado to Las Vegas New Mexico
Many departures May through October 2016

Enchanting Canyons
11 days round trip Las Vegas
Many departures May through October 2016

National Parks of the Golden West
14 day round trip Las Vegas Nevada
Many departures May through September 2016

American the Beautiful: From Moab to Mount Rushmore
13 day round trip Denver Colorado
Many departures May through September 2016

Circle the American West
15 day round trip Denver Colorado
May 27 – June 10 2016, June 3-17 2016, June 17 – July 1 2016, July 8- 22 2016, August 5 – 19 2016, August 26 – September 9 2016, September 2 – 16 2016, September 16 – 30 2016, September 23 – October 7 2016

Grand Canyon, Canyonlands and Other National Parks
18 day round trip Columbus Ohio
June 8-25 2016

National Parks 100th Anniversary Tour
13 day round trip Nebraska
June 4-16 2016 or September 17-29 2016

Great American National Parks
11 day round trip Springfield Missouri
June 12-22 2016

Southwest Trains & Canyons
8 day round trip Salt Lake City Utah
June 16 – 23 2016, July 7 –14 2016, and August 25- September 1 2016

http://www.greentortoise.com/adventures/national-parks-grand-canyon-yellowstone.phpNorthern Dream Westbound 
National Parks Loop
16 day San Francisco California loop
Four departures June – August 2016
http://www.greentortoise.com/adventures/best-west-grand-canyon-zion.php
Best of the West
14 day San Francisco California Loop
Five departures June – September 2016
http://www.greentortoise.com/adventures/canyon-west-grand-zion.php
Canyons of the West
9 day San Francisco loop
May 13- 22 2016 and September 16 – 25 2016
Canyons of the West – LA
11 day Los Angeles loop
Five departures June – September 2016

National Parks Loop
14 day round trip Chicago Illinois
June 10- june 26 2016,  July 1-17 2016, July 22 - August 7 2016,  and August 12-28 2016

Great Western Adventure III Canyonlands
20 day round trip Hagerstown Maryland
July 21 – August 8 2016

Canyonlands & National Parks
14 day round trip Indianapolis Indiana
August 1-14 2016 and August 8-30 2016

The Colorado Rockies
9 days Denver Colorado to Colorado Springs Colorado
August 12 – 20 2016

Grand Circle Caravan for Winnebago owners driving their own RV
28 day Moab Utah to Durango Colorado
August 31 – September 27 2016

The Colorado Rockies
9 day round trip Harrisburg Airport Pennsylvania
August 26 – September 3 2016

America’s Canyons
10 day round trip Salt Lake City Utah
May 7-16 2016

Southern National Parks
9 day Salt Lake City Utah to Las Vegas Nevada
September 2016 departure

Canyonlands & National Parks
10 day round trip Nebraska
September 7-16 2016

America’s Favorite parks in the Grand Circle
9 day round trip Phoenix Arizona
September 21 – 29 2016

Canyon Country
7 day round trip Las Vegas Nevada
October 11-17 2016

Go for it, book a motorcoach tour and feel cared for by the staff of these assorted group tour companies. If you decide to tour on your own, http://www.discovermoab.com will be essential for organizing a stay to enable your visits to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Please also pay close attention to the many local businesses ready to offer tours on the Colorado River, the dirt trails or in the skies. Be sure to visit the museums of Moab too.


Friday, June 12, 2015

Dinosaur Sites of Moab


Open Air Museums, Treat with Care

Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracksite

The Copper Ridge site, north of Moab, features the tracks of a sauropod (long-necked dinosaur) and the theropod (meat eating dinosaur). The many different kinds and sizes of dinosaur tracks make Copper Ridge unique. The preservation of the tracks is fantastic, and this site is well worth a visit. There are tracks made by a sauropod (probably a Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, or Diplodicus), as well as Allosaurus and small mammal tracks, all dating back to the Jurassic period. The BLM has placed interpretive signs in the area, and parking is less than 100 yards from the site.

How to get there: From Moab, go north on US Hwy 191 for 23 miles. Turn right ¾ miles past milepost 148. Cross the railroad tracks and follow signs south on the dirt road. It is 2 miles to the tracks from the highway. If coming from the north, (I-70), turn left ¼ miles past milepost 149 and continue south on the dirt road.


 

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds

A gradual up-hill 1.5 mile hike is required, 3 miles round trip. The pedestrian trail parallels a mountain bike trail then branches off, follow rock cairns to the Jurassic age tracksite.

How to get there: From Moab, go north on US 191 for 23 miles. Turn right 3/4 mile past milepost 148. Cross the railroad tracks and follow the main road for 1 mile. Take the right fork (left fork goes to the Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracksite) and continue for just over half a mile to the North Klondike Mountain Biking Trailhead parking area. Trail departs from here. http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/moab/recreation/hiking_trails/dinosaur_stomping_ground.html

 

Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone Trail

Get a glimpse of an era when huge creatures roamed the earth. Dinosaur bone still encased in rock may be viewed in Mill Canyon by following a short nature trail near the Monitor and Merrimac trails. This is a short self-guided interpretive trail. There are signs along the way. Free pamphlets from the Dogwood BLM office, Moab information center and on http://www.discovermoab.com/pdf/Mill%20Canyon%20Dinosaur%20Trail.pdf

How to get there: Drive 15 miles north of Moab on Hwy 191, turn left onto a dirt road marked Mill Canyon. This road is just north of milepost 141. Cross railroad tracks. Proceed 0.6 miles on this dirt toad to a “Y” intersection. Keep left for 0.5 more miles to reach the intersection to the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Bone Trail. The trailhead will be 0.6 miles farther. The dirt road crosses a short sandy wash.


 

Poison Spider Dinosaur Tracksite

Two rock slabs with footprints of meat-eating dinosaurs are visible from the pull-out on Hwy 279 or the parking lot of the Poison Spider trailhead. One slab is at the base of the cliffs, a second slab is halfway down the slope, just above the cliff that drops down to the road. The lower slab contains the tracks of at least 10 different meat-eating dinosaurs, ranging in size from 17 inches to 5 feet at the hips. All of the animals appear to have been walking at speeds of 3 miles per hour.

How to get there: From the center of Moab, travel north on Hwy 191 for 5.9 miles and turn left on Hwy 279. Continue 6 miles to the Poison Spider trailhead. Parking lot is up on the top of the hill.


 

Willow Springs Dinosaur Tracksite

The Willow Springs stie features the tracks of theropods and ornithopods (three-toed dinosaur) and those from sauropods (long-necked dinosaur). The numerous tracks at this site were made about 165 million years ago by dinosaurs waling in the tide-lands of an inland sea that lay to the east of this area. The tracks are preserved in the hard sandstone of the Entrada Formation. Theses tracks have been exposed for numerous years, and the tracks are beginning to erode. The sauropod tracks may appear as only potholes to the general viewer, with the three-toed tracks being easier to see. The BLM has placed interpretive signs in the area.

How to get there: From Moab, go north on Hwy 191 for 12 miles. If coming from I-70, go south on Hwy 191 for 18.7 miles. The tracksite is 3.4 miles off of Hwy 191, on the Willow Springs Road. A wide loose sand wash will have to be crossed.




Localities like these are rare and need to be preserved for generations to come. Please be cautious and considerate when observing these dinosaur Bones and tracks. Do not walk on the actual fossils. Collecting vertebrate fossils from Public Lands is illegal and violators will be prosecuted. Any disturbing, casting, rubbing or pouring anything into the fossils, including tracks, is expressly forbidden under federal regulations [43 CFR 8365.1-59a0 910].
 

Help the BLM preserve these paleontological resources for future generations by treating them with respect and reporting looting or vandalism to a Bureau of Land Management ranger or other local authority. Contact BLM –Utah Moab Field Office at (435) 259-2100, 82 East Dogwood, Moab; US Forest Service Office at (435)259-7155, 755 N Main St., Moab.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Horsethief Campground is Hub of a few new Moab Mountain Bike Trails

Moab Trail Mix has added another trail series.
For tent camping and biking the Horsethief, Bureau of Land Management first come -first served, campsite is perfectly positioned for mountain biking in Dead Horse Point State Park on the Intrepid Trails, the Navajo Rocks network (new to Moab last year) and access to Gemini Bridges and the Magnificent 7. Crazy bounty of single track. Solid lines are finished trails. Dotted lines are in the works. Stay tuned!

Trail Mix Crew Advises: We are currently working on the Mustang Loop (yellow) headed toward the future Getaway Extension. This trail will only get you to a maze of road crossings, so ride the trail out and back, or get your bearings when traveling the roads.  We don't want any searching work for Search and Rescue.


The Campground Loops are open; Rowdy is low intermediate, Wrangler is for beginners.  These trails are intended for the Campers, but if you want to try the trails from the camp, park at the big dumpster before you enter the camp.  Or note the Chisholm Trail connector, (green) off of Hwy 313.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Navajo Rocks - Moab's Newest Mountain Bike Trail Network


The Moab Chapter of IMBA had a spring ride on Moab's newest trail network: Navajo Rocks.
Thanks Moab Trail Mix for all you do building and maintaining Moab's Trails.