Moab, UT. Believe it or not I gave a bit of thought to actually camping in the Moab area. It was pre-peak-season and also unusually chilly. So perhaps there was some hope.
Much to my surprise Moab was quite busy. That makes sense I suppose: most of the tourists are locked into reservations made months ago -- so fluctuations in the weather shouldn't affect them very much.
After a ten minute stop at the grocery store, I happily left town.
If you have ever made sneering-comments about touristy places, your listeners probably wearied quickly, and you yourself got a bad taste in your mouth. Complaining about tourists is a cliche' that makes you sound like a sour, elitist misanthrope.
But you might not be this at all. Consider another explanation: the human imagination is prone to being sentimental, romantic, and escapist. That is what makes travel interesting in the first place.
When you see thousands of tourists in your area, you can't help but see mass-consumers of bar-coded scenery and activities. All of the magic is destroyed. There doesn't seem to be any 'adventure' or surprises left.
So naturally you feel disdain for the people who 'destroyed' your romantic fantasies.
There are ways to work around this syndrome. I am doing so tonight, despite being just a few miles away from Moab.
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