We checked out of the very nice Hat Rock Inn in Mexican Hat and headed north, turning west at Monticello to see the southern region of the Canyonlands National Park. This park is very rugged with dramatic canyons and soaring escarpments at every turn. We had our picnic lunch in the park, then after a short hike we continued north to the picturesque town of Moab, our base for the next three nights. Moab prospered in the 70’s Uranium boom, and is now big in adventure tourism. We booked into the Apache Motel where we were greeted in the office by John Wayne memorabilia. We learned from the affable manager that Moab was once the centre of western movie production and that John Wayne had stayed at the Apache when he was filming on location, anywhere between Moab and Monument Valley.
