We left Denver on Friday morning – our destination being Moab in Utah.  Drive time was about 6 hours but our friends Nancy and Bill had recommended a few spots to stop off along the way.  It took quite some time just to get out of Denver, it really is a sprawling metropolis.  We stopped off at Beaver Creek which is a ski resort.  It was lovely with some nice shops and a golf course which had Steve salivating.  The drive through Colorado was very scenic with lots of mountain vistas and various crossings of the Colorado River.

As we crossed the state line into Utah the scenery changed quite dramatically – it was quite flat to start with before becoming very Grand Canyon like the closer we got to Moab.  

This morning we played Moab Golf Club and everywhere you looked you could see the red rock cliffs – the contrast with the green golf course made it even more spectacular.  Moab Golf Course has been operating since 1960.  The front nine is definitely the more scenic and variable nine whereas the back nine is fairly non descript.  All the same we really enjoyed the course and I loved looking at the changing vistas as the sun got higher into the sky.  The temperature was quite pleasant when we teed off at 7.45am but it was pretty hot by the time we finished.  

Today was the final round of the Rio Olympics Women’s Golf Individual Strokeplay and our vey own Lydia Ko was tied for second in the final group.  We had seen on the internet last night that they were teeing off earlier than planned due to high winds being forecast.  This foiled our plan – we were going to play and then settle into the bar at the golf club to watch the final few holes.  It was going to be all over by the time we finished so we had to follow the live scoring on the Internet.  I was feeling very nervous and kept checking the Internet going on an emotional roller coaster ride as Lydia made bogeys and then birdies.  We saw she was tied for second going into the last hole and we kept our fingers crossed that she could birdie the last to get the silver.  We just finished the 17th and I checked the internet again – I saw the -11 and we knew she had done it.  High fives all round – what a legend that girl is!

We finished our round and got into the clubhouse in time to see the medal ceremony and watch Lydai being interviewed – we were so proud to be Kiwis : )

After golf we checked out the local coffee Roastery – Moab Coffee Roasters and downtown Moab.  This is a real adventure town with bike hire places everywhere, hiking trails and four wheel drive adventures.  I would have loved to have done some bike riding but to be honest at 37 degrees and very little shade I felt even being the SUNGRL this would even be a bit much sun for me.

We took a drive instead into the Arches National Park.

This is part of the bike trail – better than the road surface!

Moab is a city in Grand County, in eastern Utah.  The population was 5,046 at the 2010 census.  Moab attracts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The town is a popular base for mountain bikers who ride the extensive network of trails including Slickrock Trail, and off-roaders who come for the annual Moab Jeep Safari.