Ghost Town and a Baby Shower?!

4/3/21 Saturday- Desert Moon Campground, Thompson Springs Utah and Moab

The kids are up early and ready to explore.  I manage to get myself together and make some oatmeal (and coffee, because of course coffee) before the kids are outside and scattering in every direction. Isabelle is at an age, (or it could just be her innate personality) where she is really trying to flex her independence. She wants to just take off and go wherever on her own…..girl just wants to do her….. can’t imagine where she gets it from. We are trying to show her some respect but come now young one…there have to be SOME rules and boundaries. So, what we have in place for campgrounds is… you have to have a buddy (Henry) if you are going out of sight of the camper, and y’all are required to take a honkey-tonkey (walkie talkie) with you at all times. On this, our first day at our first campground, she is really pushing back on her restrictions, trying to manipulate her way out of them, but I shall remain firm. I am so scared of what lies ahead considering the power struggles that are starting to set in at the ripe young age of 7.5. Yall better pray for me.

The kids take right to this campground. Jack is playing under the awning of the camper and the bigs are on their bikes going here and there and reporting back their findings. I am trying to get the camper tidied up, but the kids are begging me to go with them under the bridge. So, I set my OCD brain to the side, ignore all of my urges to clean and organize, and head out on this little excursion with my wildlings.. And it was totally worth it as usual. Matt is taking some phone calls and is tied up this morning. While it looks like nothing from afar, there is really a lot going on here at this little campground. The Desert Moon Hotel and RV Park is located off of I-70 and is situated next to what looks like an old train stop for the Union Pacific Railroad. Thompson Springs is a total ghost town, population 40. I made the mistake of calling it a ghost town out loud, and now Henry has been fixated on this spook factor…… wondering if all the ghosts will stay in their town. There are probably a total of 5 buildings in the “downtown” area, all abandoned and dilapidated. The campground has been around since the early 1930s coal mining days, and the hotel established in 1936. It is a total retro gem.

We go under the bridge, on which the sleeping train is parked….. pretty awesome getting so close. Trains make some cute noises when they are sleeping….sounds that resemble long sighs,hisses, and snores, reminiscent of a snoozing grandpa or a tuckered out pup dreaming in the sunshine. Now that we are closer we see there are actually two tracks running side by side. We duck under this behemoth, down a rocky hill and into the dried up creek bed under the tracks. The kids are “collectors” or maybe closer to hoarders, but lets just say collectors…. of all the things. Rocks, dried up plants, leaves, sticks, trash…. they prepped for their journey and have several bags that they are stuffing full of treasures. We follow the creek bed quite a ways and come upon a tree house! What a thrill! It’s more of a platform in a tree made with scraps of material, but it is a pretty fun find. (I went up and tested the structure before I let anyone else join, it was surprisingly sturdy) There is a ladder and a rope, and the platform is just high enough to get a lovely view of the surrounding dessert and canyons.

As much as I would love to keep hanging out in our tree, it is time to get back to the camper, we have a special event coming up!! I herded all the cats back down the creek towards our campsite and on our journey back we got to witness our first train come barreling through. I don’t know what it is about trains, maybe their grand size, maybe the romanticized nostalgic feelings they give, or maybe the history of what trains made possible in our country… I don’t know, but I am always amazed by them. We all stand awestruck as it glides by.

Today is exciting because I am co-hosting my sister’s virtual baby shower!!! The Desert Moon advertised their great wifi, which I have been counting on….so now is the moment of truth… will it pull through? So far not looking good. The password I was provided isn’t working. Matt is troubleshooting with an employee on the phone, but we are not reaching resolution and are running out of time. With minutes to spare, we decided to try out the trucks mobile hotspot which thank goodness is successful. The shower was a great fun, Dee is a radiant pregnant goddess and she deserved to be celebrated. I’m so glad we were able to gather and show our love for the little mama-to-be and her sweet baby B, even while we were in the middle of the desert. Technology can be a blessing, though most of the time I curse it.

We need groceries desperately, there was no time to stop in GJ as I had planned, so that is the second priority of the day. We already have our first (of what will be many) RV repairs to do. The toilet is leaking water (I’m telling myself its water) onto the bathroom floor. Matt has identified an RV store in Moab that has replacement part, or better yet, a replacement throne.

So we pack up and head to Moab, which is about a 25 minute drive from where we are. When I was trying to make campground reservations a few weeks ago, I was enlightened to the fact that we would be in Moab during Jeep Safari. I didn’t have a great concept of Moab going in, but it became very clear, very quickly what this little desert town is all about…. jeeps and ATVs and dirt bikes and mountain bikes and off roading/trail riding of every kind. And at this moment there are hundreds and hundreds of pimped out jeeps EVERYWHERE. Jeeps that looks like they could fly to Mars and take a little Sunday drive. It’s pretty badass, some good eye candy for our drive in to run errands.

We have an unruly grocery store experience with my “ungroomed for public” children… it really is just best to keep them out in the wild….and we resurface with an insane amount of groceries…. What’s more insane, is that I know they will all be gone in a few short days. I think they must have tape worms, all of them, because they NEVER stop eating…. I don’t know where it goes. Picked up a gorgeous new throne, and its back to the wild.

The little town of Moab is cute, but too busy for our taste…. we are trying to get back to the campground to relax (what’s that), enjoy the sunset, and get down on the outdoor kitchen. We make some delicious kabobs for dinner. I am treated to a nice moment with Iz….. sitting outside, watching the sun set over the desert while putting together kabob sticks. As much as this girl is starting to really challenge me, I am so struck by how much I love her and how this whole thing seems to be going way too fast. I choke back tears and drink in the beautiful moment.

While the kabobs were on the grill, the big kids and I get on our bikes. Finally, I am able to try out my new wheels!! Iz and Hen had discovered a trail behind the campground earlier that led down into a sort of bowl, clearly used for biking, motor biking, atvs, whatever your choice of ride. Not gonna lie, it was scary dropping down the slope to get to the bottom of this crater in the Earth, but I made it. We road around for a while, and I got the feel of my bike. SO FUN. I see myself spending a lot of time on this thing. A bike with shocks?? Its like a whole other deal. The sun has almost slipped away for the day, and the air has cooled off quickly. We peddled ourselves back to our campsite, eat our dinner al fresco and call it a day. A good day. It was a transition day, but those are full of wonder as well.

Sweet Dreams my angels!