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Published: June 21st 2013
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Be sure to see the panoramas on the last three blog entries. The one on this blog is of our campground taken from the roof. Head out for the little town of Moab today. Lots of neat shops and restaurants. What friendly people too, we really enjoyed the day. Had fun going in the different Trading Posts and had lunch at Zax’s, a really cool place with an enormous Moose head on the wall! Marge wanted to take it home! Saw a guy on the street in a Georgia Tech T-shirt, but turns out he was from Colorado. Maybe he went to G.T. It was a beautiful, mid-80 degree day, but by the time we left it was 97. When we returned to the campground, and a bit more elevation, it was only 85. Much nicer.
When we returned we got our credit cards at last, so we’re all set now.
A Little about Moab The Biblical name
Moab refers to an area of land located on the eastern side of the
Jordan River. Some historians believe the city in Utah came to use this name because of William Pierce, the first postmaster, believing that the biblical
Moab and this part of Utah were both "the far country".
However, others believe the name has
Paiute origins, referring to the word "moapa" meaning mosquito.
Some of the area's early residents attempted to change the city's name because in the Christian Bible, Moabites are demeaned as incestuous and idolatrous. One petition in 1890 had 59 signatures and requested a name change to Vina.
Another effort attempted to change the name to Uvadalia.
Both attempts failed.
During the 1800s the area around what is now Moab served as the
Colorado River crossing along the
Old Spanish Trail.
Mormon settlers attempted to establish a trading fort at the river crossing called "Elk Mountain Mission" in April of 1855 to trade with travellers attempting to cross the river. Forty men were called on this mission. There were repeated Indian attacks, including one on September 23, 1855 in which James Hunt, companion to Peter Stubbs, was shot and killed by a Native American.
After this last attack, the fort was abandoned.
A new round of settlers established a permanent settlement in 1878. Moab was incorporated as a town on December 20, 1902.
In 1883 the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad main line was constructed across eastern Utah. The rail
line did not pass through Moab, instead passing through the towns of
Thompson Springs and
Cisco, forty miles to the north.
Later, other places to cross the Colorado were constructed, such as
Lee's Ferry,
Navajo Bridge and
Boulder Dam. These changes shifted the trade routes away from Moab. Moab farmers and merchants had to adapt from trading with passing travelers to shipping their goods to distant markets. Soon Moab's origins as one of the few natural crossings of the Colorado River were forgotten. Nevertheless, the U.S. military deemed the bridge over the Colorado River at Moab important enough to place it under guard as late as
World War II.
Moab's economy was originally based on agriculture, but gradually shifted to mining.
Uranium and
vanadium were discovered in the area in the 1910s and 1920s.
Potash and
manganese came next, and then oil and gas were discovered. In the 1950s Moab became the so-called "Uranium Capital of the World" after geologist
Charles Steen found a rich deposit of uranium ore south of the city.
This discovery coincided with the advent of the era of
nuclear weapons and
nuclear power in the United States, and Moab's boom years began.
The city population grew nearly 500%!o(MISSING)ver the next few years,
bringing the population to near 6,000 people. The explosion in population caused much construction of houses and schools. Charles Steen donated a great deal of money and land to create new houses and churches in Moab.
With the winding down of the
Cold War, Moab's uranium boom was over, and the city's population drastically declined. By the early 1980s a number of homes stood empty and nearly all of the uranium mines had closed.
County-sponsored sign promoting manufacturing in Moab during the early 1970s.
In 1949,
Western movie director
John Ford was persuaded to use the area for the movie
Wagon Master. Ford had been using the area in
Monument Valleyaround
Mexican Hat, Utah, south of Moab, since he filmed
Stagecoach there 10 years earlier in 1939. A local Moab rancher (George White)found Ford and persuaded him to come take a look at Moab.
There have been numerous movies filmed in the area since then, using
Arches National Park and
Canyonlands National Park as backdrops.
Since the 1970s, tourism has played an increasing role in the local economy. Partly due to the John Ford movies, partly due to magazine articles, the area has become a favorite of photographers,
rafters, hikers,
rock climbers, and most recently
mountain bikers.
Moab is also an increasingly popular destination for
four-wheelers as well as for
BASE jumpers and those rigging
highlining, who are allowed to practice their sport in the area. Moab is also home to the
Hole N' The Rock, a 5,000 square foot 14 room home carved into a rock wall which
National Geographic has ranked as one of the top 10
roadside attractions in the United States.
Moab's population swells temporarily in the spring and summer months with the arrival of numerous people employed seasonally in the outdoor recreation and tourism industries
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What is it with you guys and high places? That is so not what I pictured when you mentioned "town!" Cool!