Moab, toy town

We spent the last three days in Moab, southern Utah, a remarkable little town. Situated four hour drive from Park City, on the Colorado River, it was discovered by the Spaniards in the mid 1700s, settled by the Mormons a century later and became famous for uranium mining in the 1950s. Today, it’s become a “toy town” with crowds of all-terrain vehicle riders. It’s also a great place for river running and it has become the de-factor mountain bike capital of North America - if not the world (Moab is famous for its “slick-rock” riding). To top it off, Moab is adjacent to two National Parks, Arches and Canyonland, and we just visited the latter Monday and Tuesday. Tourist season runs pretty much from spring to fall, even though temperatures can get very, very hot in summer. There are basically three types of visitors who come to that desert wonderland: Rednecks that ride motorized vehicles on dirt roads and slick rock (Jeeps, four-wheelers and dirt bikes), adrenaline junkies that raft, kayak and mountain bike, and pseudo-intellectuals like us – with many foreigners among them – who just visit the Parks…