The Mill Creek Trail on the south side of Moab is a popular hike for tourists and locals alike. Longtime Moab local, 92-year-old Jean McDowell, has regularly hiked this trail for the past 30 years. Just above the trail, McDowell lives in a house with a façade of river rocks the size of cinder blocks. There are no river rocks this size anywhere near Moab. When Jean built her h … [Read more...]
Moab, Utah on the Rise
Two Local Businessmen Discuss the Growth of Utah's Popular Small Town Should Moab grow or should it remain a quaint small town? Many people believe that this is truly an either/or question. The editor of Moab’s Zephyr newspaper decided to leave Moab for Montecello because he determined the city had already been overdeveloped and overpopulated. There are hundreds of Utah towns t … [Read more...]
Moab Brewery: A Small-Town Experience with Big Taste
Moab Brewery's head brewer Jeff Van Horn quietly goes about his business brewing fantastic beers in Utah's most alluring small town. In Moab, the Green and Colorado rivers invite tourists to kayak, river raft and surf. Van Horn watches all the fun on the his drive to work each day, while he and his assistant brewers satisfy the demands of thirsty tourists. Moab Brewery's … [Read more...]
Castle Creek Winery and Wine Making in Utah
"Move Over Napa Valley!" recalls lifelong Moab resident Arlis Roberts. “You couldn’t believe the excitement.” It was the early 1980s and the first four years of the Four-Corners Agricultural Development Agency of Moab. Vineyards sprouted up all over Grand County. The agency hoped to soften the blow of the uranium mill closure on the 1,500-resident town. Ken and Arlis Roberts we … [Read more...]
Why the World Comes to Moab
If you are a lizard, who likes anything outdoors, this is the place for you. “A conflict in vision” is how you would describe most Utah small and medium-sized towns. Visions of Mormon temples and chain stores conflict with visions of a great nightlife and local art scene. They don’t have this problem in Moab. Nature constructed the Fisher Towers a zillion or so years ago. The C … [Read more...]
Moab Brewery
<h3>Cody Carter and Jeff Van Horn raise a glass of Moab Brewery beer.</h3> "As a brewer, it’s your job to be a dishwasher and a zookeeper-- if you aren't a good dishwasher and you can’t take care of the yeast-- you’re not going to have a lot of success,” said brewer Jeff Van Horn of the Moab Brewing Company. Following Van Horn around his brewery one sees what … [Read more...]
Utah’s Canyonlands: Moab & Public Land Policy
One of the most hot-button issues in Utah politics is land use. Conservatives believe Utah should own and control more of its own land, while preservation groups believe this is the worst possible thing that could happen towards keeping public lands pristine. Who is right? Both and neither because they are completely divided between partisan lines. Without question most … [Read more...]
Utah’s Five Wackiest Summer Destinations
by Paige Wirren Yes, they’re wacky in that whodathunkit kind of way, and wacky by increasingly modern, homogenized standards of zoning laws, building code requirements, restrictive covenants and utilitarian laws, but the Utah sights noted here are bona fide, idiosyncratic expressions of the unconventional, extraordinary places of interest worthy of visiting and experiencing f … [Read more...]