The city of Moab is the gateway to these two parks: Arches and Canyonlands.
Moab has long been a taking-off point for Arches and Canyonlands National Park, but in the past few years it has become the mountain bike center of North America. Not only is its slick-rock bike trail a demanding, technically thrilling route, but it also runs through magnificent high desert country through canyons, unusual rock formations, and dramatic drop-offs. Its mountain bike competitions are world famous, and mountain bike enthusiasts from all over the world come to try this challenging trail.
activities and attractions in and near Moab:
Slam on the brakes! Now back up and get out of the car and pay to see the five-thousand-square-foot "tribute to Albert and Gladys Christen-son," carved and sculpted out of a rocky cliff outside of Moab. This World Famous Hole ‘N The Rock (fifteen miles south of Moab on La Sal Route on U.S. 191, 801—686—2250) was an intensive project of Albert's; he spent twelve years on these fourteen rooms, excavating 50,000 cubic feet of sandstone.
No bones about it: Vernal, a few hours' drive from Moab in the north-eastern part of the state is the dinosaur capital of the world. Dinosaur National Monument, twenty miles east of Vernal, has a fossil bone deposit in a sandbar of an ancient river. At the Dinosaur Quarry, you can see the fossilized remains of more than 2,000 bones in relief in the 200-foot-long wall. Other exhibits and displays help explain the life and times of the types of dinosaurs whose remains were preserved in the Quarry. Tours are available.
The Dinosaur Gardens in Vernal (801—789—3799) have life-size replicas of dinosaur superstars such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Brontosaurus, Stegasaurous, and "Dinah"—a twelve-foot-tall orange dinosaur that wanders around the grounds posing for pictures with children. Adjoining the gardens is the Utah Field House of Natural History, which offers a walking tour through re-created prehistoric and geologic time with Indian artifacts, fossils, rocks, and minerals. Kids will enjoy re-created dinosaurs "Big Tooth," "Thunder Lizard," and "Run Faster." Don't miss the museum's gift shop, where a machine will crush a fresh penny into a copper medal bearing a likeness of T. Rex. If you visit in the evening the statues are lit with colored lights; at Christmas they are draped with tiny Christmas lights.
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