How the uranium boom went bust but still led to one of the most vibrant towns in Utah Charlie Steen’s rags-to-riches story has been told so many times it’s reached legend status: how he prospected unsuccessfully for two years in the Moab area before deciding to call it quits, and in testing his very last core sample, he discovered the high-grade uranium ore that made him … [Read more...]
The Evolution of Main Street in Moab, Utah
Barreling south on Highway 191, following the Old Spanish Trail, drivers cross the Colorado River to arrive in Moab, a town made up almost entirely of hotels and tourist traps, T-shirt shops, and eclectic cafes, all surrounded by stunning natural beauty. In the days of horse-drawn carriages, there was a precipitous 25-foot drop that required skillful maneuvering to gain … [Read more...]
Helping Ghosts Move On in Moab, Utah
Moab-Based Fiona Raison Helps Ghosts to Move On. Fiona Raison has been a healer for 30 years, helping both the living and the dead. She can help living people find the roots of physical and emotional pain, resolve internal dilemmas or get in touch with lost loved ones. She can help ghosts — “trapped souls” — get unstuck from the “in-between.” Raison explained that ghosts … [Read more...]
Westwater Canyon: A Utah River Rafting Trip to Put on Your Bucket List
Snapshot memories fill my mind from my one-day trip down Westwater Canyon with Moab-based outfitter Sheri Griffith River Expeditions. One is an image of a family of sleek otters frolicking near the river bank just outside their den. Their little faces would peek above the surface, and then they’d disappear, their curved backs surfacing momentarily as they dove, popping back up … [Read more...]
Back in Time with Historic Apache Motel in Moab, Utah
New owners breathe new life into a historic motel while preserving the past Two figures stand outside the door of Moab’s Apache Motel: a weather-proofed lifesize cardboard cutout of the western film icon John Wayne, in a cowboy hat and a pistol hanging at his side; and a lifesize statue of a Native American man with feathers in his hair and a quiver of arrows at … [Read more...]
Moab’s Canyon & Waffle House: The Last Coffee-Counter in Moab, Utah
Coffee at the Counter Canyon Steak and Waffle House in Moab is decorated with nostalgic, black-and-white photos of simpler times, and each booth is named after a Beatles song. In 2020, when owner Shawn Welch visited the then-vacant building to consider re-opening it as a restaurant, she thought, “It just needs love,” which conjured the Beatles hit, “All You Need is … [Read more...]
Moab Workers Build Their Own Homes to Overcome Housing Shortage
In the under-construction Arroyo Crossing subdivision just south of Moab, dozens of people bustle in and out of 17 houses in various phases of construction. Some are just framed skeletons, others have sheathing and metal roofing, some have straw bale walls. Some of the people are residents-to-be working on their own and their neighbors’ homes through sweat-equity programs … [Read more...]
Moab Growth Limited by Building Cost and Water Supply
When a mobile Park home went up for sale on Walnut Lane in Moab, it would have been a sure bet for any area developer to realize windfall profits if they flipped it into luxury condos. Instead, Moab City stepped in and decided it would be better to safeguard the park and its residents against eviction and use the site for future affordable housing. In the past five years, … [Read more...]
Moab Housing: Luxury in Abundance but Scarcity of Affordable Housing
The obvious gentrification of Moab is reflected in the chic new HooDoo Hotel, featuring tall ceilings and wood and marble sculptures, along with the closure of the Rio Bar featuring a giant lizard. We visit the Josie Wyatt Bar and Grille and sit down for cocktails. The bartop marble is rusty, coarse, shiny and textured. The bar faces a manicured courtyard and fountain area. … [Read more...]
The Reality of Van Life in Moab, Utah
Cindy Martinez has been coming to Moab during the summers to work since 2016. She’s nearing 65, and her husband is 70. Both collect disability, and both live out of their van. “There are good things and bad things that happen in Moab,” Martinez said. The wages in Moab are high, but the cost of living is higher. Maintaining daily routines while living out of a vehicle is … [Read more...]