874. Moab, Grand County (UT11)

It was an auspicious sign as I rolled into town and saw fireworks.  It was the Fourth of July after all.  I saw lovely explosions in the air all the way from the outskirts to the courthouse.  I was caught off guard by all the muggles, but I shouldn’t have been.  They were all there for the town’s official fireworks, beginning soon after I parked. 

I did my photography (and may I say kudos to the courthouse) and then took a break to watch Moab celebrate the birth of our nation, enjoying the public appreciation of the display. 

There was a cache right across the street and, had I been a smarter man, I would have gotten it while everyone was distracted.  But I too enjoy pedestrian pleasures from time to time as well.  Once the fireworks were over, the muggles swarmed, walking off to go home, passing in large groups, paying attention to things once again.  I got lucky though.  I made furtive looks around a couple of old telephone kiosks, but nothing too exhaustive lest I be noticed by the hoi polloi.  As I moved away from the corner that so many people were passing though, I caught what I was looking for, a flat magnetic plate.  I lingered a bit until the crowd thinned out a bit more and snagged it.  I was done.

Moab seemed like a hip little town as I was driving out of it, somewhere I wouldn’t mind coming back to so I could catch it during the day, maybe even hang out a bit.  Yes, the city is close to Arches National Park and I previously said that I didn’t care about national parks, but I would probably make an attempt to go because, well, it’s Arches.  True, it’s not Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, but it’s still a pretty big deal.  Some people would probably chide me for not going while I was there, but getting into town in time for fireworks infers that the park wouldn’t be open in the dark so I really didn’t skip out on anything in that regard.  Besides, I was just happy to get back on a legitimate interstate highway again for the trip to…