Go to the Annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival in Moab, Utah. Why? Because it benefits the Youth Garden Project and because it’s absolute hoot!

Each year around harvest time, locals and visitors gather on the runway at the old airport to see who can hit targets with flying pumpkins launched from all kinds of weird contraptions - giant sling shots, home made catapults, air cannons and things I can’t even name. These folks put some serious time and effort into it, too. Just wait until you see the size of these things!

Since it’s also near Halloween, paricipants and spectators parade around in their best costumes for the event. There’s live music, pie eating contests (pumpkin pie, of course), crafts vendors, game booths and yummy eats.

People from all over the world visit Moab for all kinds of activities - touring the geological wonders, viewing the incredible scenery, rockhounding, hiking, biking, jeeping, rafting and rock climbing to name a few. Maybe someday they’ll realize how much fun celebrating harvest and Halloween in the red rock desert can be, too.

 All photos from the Americorps Youth Garden Project.

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The annual joke in Moab is “How do you know when Spring is here?” The answer is “When all the license plates turn green.”

Yep, it’s that time of year again in Colorado. Most of our ski areas have shut down for the season. The still-cold nights are balanced by some lusciously warm afternoons. It’s the beginning of Mud Season - ur, I mean Springtime - and all us mountain folk are jonesing for the dry, warm, welcoming desert. For many of us, that means just one thing - a road trip to Moab, Utah.

Fisher Towers Hike

I declared my own personal Spring last weekend with a camping and hiking expedition to the Fisher Towers area near Castle Valley, about 20 miles east of Moab proper. Where stunning red rock formations stand majestically against the deep blue sky, you can immerse yourself in scenery that’s truly straight out of several classic westerns. This alone is worth the trip.

The hike is a moderate out and back trail with a enough rock scrambling thrown in to keep it very interesting. You may travel about 4 miles until the trail peters out on a ridge overlooking the amphitheater that contains the towers. The highlight of my trip was keeping an eye on the progress of a dozen people completing a rock climbing rite of passage by standing atop a precarious looking red tower at least 1000 feet above where I walked.

You may camp at the very base of Fisher Towers or about a mile away along the river at Lower Onion Creek. There’s shade and the Colorado River at Onion Creek, but the scenery at Fisher Towers is unparalleled. There are perhaps a dozen other campgrounds along the Colorado River Scenic Byway, as well. At the other end of the spectrum is a luxury resort. There are also numerous options for less primitive camping and hotel and motel lodging within Moab.

The National Parks in the area, Arches and Canyonlands, rightfully attract visitors from around the globe, but don’t let the apparent crowds keep you away. Everyone’s happy to be in the warm sunshine in an incredible place and they disperse quickly when they leave town and head out on hikes of their own.

This historic ranch has been transformed into the only AAA 4 star lodging in all of Moab. Everywhere you look in this area presents you with an amazing view, but this serene Moab luxury resort enjoys a particularly stunning setting beneath the red rock monoliths of Professor Valley along scenic River Road.

Horseback ride or hike surrounded by classic cowboy scenery. Raft the just-wild-enough Colorado River. Relax by the sparking pool only steps from the river. Enjoy fine dining at the River Grill, which not only offers the best food and service in the Moab area, but the most scenic setting, as well.

This unique dude ranch resort combines an understated old west ambiance with the best in personal luxury. It has over 10,000 square feet of meeting space and is an absolutely perfect place for your wedding, anniversary or other luxurious romantic getaway. Once you’ve been charmed by Sorrel River Ranch, you’ll never want to leave.

One of the toughest things about visiting Moab is deciding how and where to stay. While the burg often seems like a ghost town during the day, don’t let it fool you into thinking there are a lot of vacancies. It’s only because all the visitors are out exploring. By sundown, all the restaurants are packed and it’ll be hard to find a place to sleep if you don’t have advanced reservations.

In Town

Do not believe everything you see or read on the internet, because unfortunately, a lot of the motels in downtown Moab are pretty much dumps. This does serve a demand by low budget travelers, but not everyone wants to pay $100 or more a night for a shabby room, even if they can cram 4-6 people into it. If you’re looking for a decent room, try one of the newer hotels along 191 north of town. They only cost a little more and you’ll be much happier with the facilities.

Luxury Lodging

The Gonzo Inn, just a block off of Main Street. is about your only choice for anything approaching luxury in Moab proper. It’s an oasis of style, yet has a personality that compliments the activities and attractions that brought you to the area.

Just a scenic 20 mile drive along the Colorado River Road (Highway 128) will bring you to another oasis, Sorrel River Ranch. If you’re looking for true luxury lodging in Moab, this stunning guest ranch is the place for you.

Camping

There are several absolutely huge commercial campgrounds in Moab and boy do they pack ‘em in! But if you’re an afficionado of the RV lifestyle, I guess that’s not much different than what you’d expect in any popular destination. Choose one of the several well-kept campground “resorts” with treed settings right along the river.

The spectacular Devil’s Garden campground in Arches National Park is where I take first time visitors. The setting is stunning and peaceful. Trails branch out right from the camp area and you can keep yourself busy for days without ever venturing out of it. Although you might occasionally get lucky, if you have your heart set on camping here, make a reservation well in advance.

The BLM campgrounds dispersed along the Colorado River northwest of town are another personal favorite, especially while river running. Big Bend and Hittle Bottom are the largest and busiest. There are 6-7 others that are more intimate and worth your consideration. These are a good choice if you enjoy camping, but don’t really want to be out in the wilderness or if you arrive in Moab without a reservation.

Moab, Utah is the kind of place that attracts outdoor adventurers from all around the globe. Long before it became a modern day mecca for mountain bikers, back country hikers, canyoneers, rock climbers, dirt bikers, off road jeepers, river runners and rock hounds all found the best of what they enjoyed in the canyons and on the mesas surrounding this unique desert outpost.

Americans and foreigners alike are drawn to it’s two enormously popular National Parks, Canyonlands and Arches. These parks preserve and celebrate the geological history of the American West. Every twist and turn surprises you with yet another strange rock formation. Not just arches, but hoodoos and goblins and fins and needles and mazes and many other things only geologists can name.

Moab isn’t really on the way to anywhere else, but it does lie only 45 scenic miles along Highway 128 from Interstate 70, which is a main east-west path through the Rockies from Denver. If you’re in the neighborhood, don’t miss Moab!