Opportunity Knocked - The Moab Rim Campark & Cabins Sold in 2014
Forty-one years after my first visit in 1965, I returned to Moab, Utah in 2006. Although I had lived in Denver in the late eighties and had traveled extensively in the Four Corners
Region during the interim, Moab had been off my radar for all of that
time. In 1965, my father and I visited the area, taking pictures and
seeing the sights. Since my father retained most of the original slides,
I had a hard time remembering our brief visit to Redrocks. All that I
remembered about Moab was a huge pile of nuclear waste that threatened the Colorado Riverway and old Arches National Monument as it must have looked during Edward Abbey’s tenure there.
In
2006, I was living a full time RV lifestyle, moving north in the summer
and south again each winter. After seeing sky-high property values in
Durango and in the Phoenix area, I thought that Moab might still be a
place to buy property. My plan was to visit Moab for the summer,
staying as long into the fall as the weather would permit. I knew that
the summers there were hot, but nothing like the heat island that
enveloped Phoenix, Arizona each summer. I also knew that winter in Moab could be quite cold, although I was not sure when the cold weather actually started.
Before my move from Cedar City, Utah, I conducted a two-day scouting
trip to Moab. Staying at the venerable Red Rock Lodge, I felt that the
place was familiar. Although the rooms seemed clean and new, the
polished concrete floor gave away how old the place actually was. The
Red Stone Inn was indeed the same place my father and I had stayed
during our 1965 visit. Built to help house the many workers and
visitors during the 1950’s uranium boom, I wondered if a Geiger counter would start clicking if brought into my room.
While
in Moab, I used most of my time visiting and evaluating each of its
many RV parks. Some parks would not rent to me by the month. Others
were too expensive for my housing budget. Near the Colorado River,
there were too many mosquitoes for my taste. One RV park was adjacent
to a horse stable, with all of the attendant dust and odor. Finally, I
narrowed my selection to one place. The owners seemed friendly and they
were reasonable in the monthly rent that they charged. That place was
the Moab Rim RV Campark & Cabins, south of town on U.S. Highway 191.
Every RV park has its compromises, including the Moab Rim. Indeed, there
was some noise from the nearby highway and its substantial truck
traffic. Although there was still some traffic noise at bedtime, as
each night would wear on, the sound subsided until it did not bother my
sleep. What made up for the traffic issue was the easygoing feel of
the place. Owners Jim and Sue Farrell
managed the place by day and went home each night. The owners expected
their guests to know the unwritten rules that apply to every RV park.
While they went home each night for a good night’s sleep, the Farrell’s
trusted us to treat each other and their property with respect.
The other big draw at the Moab Rim Campark was its setting. Behind the RV park and to the west was the spectacular Moab Rim, which rises untold hundreds of feet above the Moab Valley floor. To the northwest was an unobstructed view toward the City of Moab
and the Colorado River beyond. To the north, was the famous Slickrock
area, known for hiking, biking and challenging Jeep trails. To the
northeast was the most spectacular sight of all. Standing high and
proud was the La Sal Range, with peaks over 12,500 feet high. Even in June, a lingering snow pack looked white and even.
Sometimes we cannot choose our neighbors. Just across Canyon Rim Road,
which abuts the southern end of the RV park was a construction yard
that looked more like a junk yard to me. Derelict trucks and equipment
were everywhere, even partially blocking my view of the La Sal Range.
After considering that junky view, I decide that it was not enough to
deter me from enjoying the other three hundred and fifty degrees of
great sights that the Moab Rim Campark had to offer.
In late June 2006, I took up residence at Site E,
located at the far end of the main row. Soon, I set up shop in my
travel trailer and resumed my executive recruiting business. For
internet access, I used an old 2-G wireless card from AT&T. During
the day, everything was fine. I used my mobile telephone to call
clients and candidate alike. The wireless card allowed me internet
access, as well. Then, each weekday around three, the internet cut off
and would not work until well into the evening. After consulting
extensively with AT&T, we determined that Moab was far too busy a
place for reliable mobile computing. Between the tourists, the locals
and emergency responders, there was too little bandwidth in Moab to go
around.
After
changing my work hours to accommodate the wireless issues in Moab, I
had time to enjoy myself outdoors each afternoon. I took up running at
the local high school track several times each week. Other days, I
would visit local points of interest. Retracing my steps from 1965, I
visited Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, the Colorado River
and many other spots. The supply of amazing natural wonders seemed
inexhaustible to me. Now, eight years later, I realize that my 2006
thoughts were correct. Although I have visited Moab at least twice each
year since 2006, I have not come close to seeing and doing everything
that I would like to see in Moab.
In 2007, I started writing my blog.
Looking back on the three hundred articles that I have posted since
then, no less than sixty of them are about Moab and Grand County, Utah.
Although I did not set out to write so much about Moab, my many visits to the Moab Rim Campark allowed me time to take pictures and 
write about the places and issues that make Moab unique.
(Author's Note - November 2014) I have the great pleasure to tell the
world that the Moab Rim RV Campark & Cabins sold in late 2014. Jim
and Sue Farrell, former owners of the RV park told me that new owners
will now carry on the tradition of providing the best RV and tent
camping in Moab, Utah. Best wishes to all.
By James McGillis at 02:42 PM | | Comments (0) | Link
