Magnus Goes to the Red Rock Country, Day 12

 Saturday, September 21

It was a pretty short drive to the next campground, Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway. Which is good, because we had a timed entrance permit to Arches for 2pm, which was the earliest I could get at the time I reserved it a month or so earlier. But it turned out that 3pm might have been better.  By the time we arrived and had lunch and Ed did his exercise and Molly got her walk, it was time to book it over to the park.

The line to get in was horrendous. We probably left the RV park at 2-ish, but by the time we were inside Arches it was nearer to 2:45. And then we hit a road construction one-lane road with a pilot car delay to get up the first big hill inside the park.  That took another 10-15 minutes or so.  

 

But little matter--the place is so gorgeous that there is no bad place inside  to be at.  No arches up there in the front, but rocks and slopes and views and...pretty much everything you could want except birds. Ah, well, I knew I was taking a chance when we came here in September. By the time I get home, fall migration will be about over. 

And then back to the campground.

Review: Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway
All about the location

It's a nice, family run place, but very, very crowded.  We were squashed in like sardines in a spot only barely long enough for our 35-foot motorhome and toad.  The hookups and all worked fine, and I even think we had a little picnic table squeezed between our side door and the next neighbor's sewer line.

I noticed that back away from the road there were some sites for larger RVs that were much more spacious. I should ask for one of those next time.

The place was set up nicely for dogs, and when we went for a walk the maintenance man (maybe owner?) stopped to warn us about the goat's head stickers around the sides of the park. They weren't as bad as he said, but we did pick up a couple.  The dog park--a double one--was big and dusty but more than adequate. And there were baggie stands here and there.

All that said, it's in a prime location to access both Arches and Canyonlands.  You can go to either one without encountering Moab traffic.  So I'd recommend it--just don't expect peace and quiet or starry night views.

We ate supper that night at The Broken Oar. Even though we arrived just as they opened (at 5pm), the food took a long time to come. My food was okay, but the French Dip Sandwich was excellent.