After School one rider per horse, and we always match our riders’ personalities with our horses’ personalities,” explained Jill, our lead wrangler. My daughter was given a young, spirited horse named Slim Jim. My son was paired with SJ’s big brother, Daybreak, who was very curious about his surroundings. My boyfriend was given Clarence, a calm-spirited go-with-theflow horse. Me? I got the stubborn petulant teenager, Alex. “We love horses with spirit!” was the reply given when I asked how Alex ranked in horse-pitality. Hmmmmm. Jill told me how much she loves every minute of her job. “I love the smile on people’s faces after their first horse ride!” She went on to explain that every horse at the Red Cliffs Lodge is specially trained for this trip and they’re loved and spoiled for it. My allergies can attest to the truth in that statement: I’m quite allergic to horses and my allergies thanked whomever brushed my horse down before I rode him (nary a sniffle from me). Jill and three other wranglers took twelve of us on the trails that John Wayne himself rode with views of Castle Rock and a dip (for the lucky horses anyway) into Castle Creek. Jill pointed out all the places John Wayne and the Marlboro Man had traversed – with the gusto of a schoolgirl despite her age – and the younger wranglers piped up and pointed out where Johnny Depp would ride in his new movie, The Lone Ranger, amongst other famous actors like Tom Cruise and Will Smith. They even pointed out where the pioneers first went over the rocky cliffs to get into Moab on their pack mules. My level of appreciation for pioneers rose even more that day. Pretending to be a cowboy is hard work, you know. And being a cowboy for a day isn’t complete without a hearty steak for dinner. Fortunately we went to the Moab Grill for dinner and they did not disappoint! Succulent steaks served with a smile is what you can expect from them. The wait staff was friendly and accommodating too – when we asked them to change the channel on their TV, they obliged without question (a murder trial on CNN doesn’t bode well for children’s appetites). Their prices were reasonable and although the restaurant isn’t large there was no wait for our table.
Day 3: Slickrocks and Dino-Tracks It was my son’s turn for his day in heaven! My future paleontologist had been told (twice!) that there were petrified dinosaur tracks out in the desert and he couldn’t wait to see them. Once again the MAC gave us an excellent suggestion of going on one of their Hummer Rides. Zipping up 40-degree slick rocks – barely wide enough to fit our vehicle – our professional driver, DeVon, casually discussed the scenery as if he were doing nothing more than walking through the park. The Hummer is modified for maximum viewing (the very back seats are raised – and super bumpy) and it often felt more like a roller coaster ride than a car ride. If you have a severe fear of heights or are prone to motion sickness you should definitely ride shotgun with the driver. And close your eyes. And maybe pray. Just tell the others you’re graciously giving up the “primeseating” in the back. The views at the top are spectacular. We stopped at the vantage called On Top of the World to see a sweeping view of Moab’s red rocky hills and plateaus. We skimmed up and over sand, and perched on the edge of cliffs overlooking yet another view of the Colorado River. And yes, as promised, our guides stopped to show my son the petrified dinosaur tracks and explain their possible origins.
Day 4: All Day River Rafting In all my years going to Moab, we never once went river rafting down the Colorado River. In fact, in years past we would go just for the fun of camping and hiking and not much else. How foolish we were. This was our last day of adventure in Moab and I couldn’t believe how much fun we’d had thus far. If you can only afford one ‘extracurricular’ activity on your stay, I highly recommend the all-day river rafting with MAC. This adventure combines all the reasons people love the river: the swimming, the lazy drifting, with intermittent rafting through rapids and – of course – having fun. Carefully matched with others for skill/ age/ability, we were paired with another family to enjoy our trip down the river. Our
licensed guide, Mackay, declared our raft “the fun boat!” Much of the first hour of our trip was dedicated to getting all of us as wet as possible. Mackay let us jump off the nose of the raft, swim and float alongside the raft, and we even engaged in ‘splash-battles’ with other boats from the MAC. He also taught the kids rafting lingo (like the difference between a rapid and a riffle). There were other rafting companies along the river – youth groups and other families just like ours were partaking of the same river, but they were NOT getting the same experience. I noticed many of their boats were crammed full of people – almost twice as many as we had – and their version of ‘lunch’ seemed to be ham sandwiches at the shore. Remember the Red Cliffs Lodge I boasted about earlier? That was our lunch: a full BBQ buffet (included in the trip’s price) set up under cool, airy patios against a gorgeous backdrop of grass, red rocks, cabins and teepees. (Tip: save room for their cookies. Seriously. I don’t even like cookies and I had two of them.) After lunch we hopped back in our “fun boat” and declared war on our fellow travelers. We had a plan: steal their buckets and use them as weapons of mass watery warfare against all others! Our guide was careful to mix fun with safety and I never felt as though the “fun” got out of hand. If we had a man (mostly a child, okay, okay, mostly me) overboard, our guide was good to keep an eye on everyone. “I’ve never tipped a boat and I’ve never lost a passenger” reassured our guide – addressing mostly the moms on board. The only drawback to the all-day river rafting adventure? It came to an end. Next time our family goes to Moab not only will we be sure to call the Moab Adventure Center first, but we’ll also be booking the 2-day rafting tour! And the ropes course. And the hot air balloon rides. And, and, and… Good thing Moab is just a few hours away!
Moab Adventure Center 225 S. Main St. Moab, UT 84532 866-904-1163 www.moabadventurecenter.com
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