Storms pass through the desert paradise again interrupting fun and leaving muddy trails and overturned tents.

We went hiking again yesterday, but we had some stuff to do first so we got a late start. Along the road to the trailhead we saw a small trailer city set up for a Kevin Costner movie crew that is filming on location. Here are the movie details.

The Canyonlands area seems to be stuck in an afternoon storm weather cycle. When we started our hike we were begging for shade and drinking lots of water.

After about a mile and a quarter we saw the storm on the horizon and on the radar we made the wise decision to turn around and head back to the trailhead. The previous day’s storm was full of lightning and we didn’t want to be exposed to danger on the rock.

As we approached the parking lot the weather alerts started. Flash flood and severe thunderstorm warning ⚠️. It was still sunny at that point, but as we drive towards Moab the wind began to pick up. We met the pouring rain at the highway intersection. We keep going and eventually drove out of it. The town of Moab took the brunt of the rain and hail. My nephew was out on his bike when it hit. He was not harmed.

By the time we returned to the campground on the mesa the temperature had dropped to 50 degrees. Our friend’s tent had collapsed in the storm. Parts of the road edges were washed away. We saw lots of standing water and drove through a large puddle.

After the rain passed we put on jeans and long sleeve shirts and met my nephew and his girlfriend at a pho restaurant in Moab called 98 Center. It was small and packed, but one of our group knew the owners so we got seated. The food was delicious. I had a huge fresh salad and my sister had yummy pork pho which I sampled.

Today we will go look at more rock art panels in the Moab area. The Southwest is a treasure trove of ancient ruins and artifacts. I will add some links to books that my sister has on the subject when I get home. One is called Ancient Ruins and Rock Art of the Southwest 4th edition by David Grant Noble. Another is a book called Indian Rock Art of the Southwest by Polly Schaafsma published in 1980.

I am going home tomorrow so pray for sunny skies while flying ! My first leg will be a small plane, then I have a four hour layover in Denver before arriving home near midnight in Houston. Then I have a 1.5 hour drive to my home. By the way, I’m typing this on my phone so forgive the poor quality.