2015-04-14 Utah - The Citadel & Natural Bridges National Monument

Scariest hike ever!

Got your attention?

It started out nice enough - just a walk through an open mesa.

Some pretty flowers.

Some pretty views.

and then I see where Vaughan plans on hiking to. The Citadel.

You walk out the peninsula to the point.

Well, maybe you, but not me.

My parents raised me to be smarter than that.

Can you see the path? It's the one on the slanted ledge around this rock.

(Vaughan took this shot.)

Here is the final stretch.

(Vaughan took this shot.)

and here is Vaughan - fighting the wind.

Me? I'm on the top of the mesa to the right. 

(Vaughan took this shot.)

Needless to say he made it, I stopped hyper-ventilating, and we hiked the mile and a half back out.

On our way home we stopped by Natural Bridges National Monument.

The bridge in the middle below is called Sipapu.

This is a photo of Horsecollar Ruins. Can you spot them at the base?

How about now?

Maybe if I get a little closer?

Below is Kachina Bridge.

and this big bridge is Owachomo.

The wind was really kicking up and we could see the snow falling in the distance so we high-tailed it home.  The road actually cuts through this ridge - named Comb Ridge.

Hopefully, more to do tomorrow unless we get too much snow.  See you then!

2015-04-13 Monticello UT - Bridger Jack Rd & Cottonwood Rd

We moved to Monticello today.  Vaughan's motorcycle "gang" are now gone and we had done most everything we wanted to do.  Monticello is about 50 miles south of Moab but an additional 2000 feet in elevation - therefore, a little colder.

On the drive down we passed Wilson's Arch,

We stopped at the BLM office for directions to a few of the canyons we want to see and were informed of a storm coming in tomorrow - 60 mph winds and snow.  We decided to quickly get on the road to Beef Basin which will not be doable in the snow.  Unfortunately, we missed a turn and ended up climbing up and up and up a road called Bridger James Rd.  It was a beautiful drive so we continued on for 2 hours until we were up so high the cliffs started to weigh on my nerves.

As you can see in the pictures below the road was not in the best condition - especially on cliffs.

When you see signs that say "Beware - Falling Rocks"  - please believe them.

The view of Canyonlands was incredible.

And now for a few nature shots - 

Sometimes getting lost can be a lot of fun!

THE END

2015-04-11 Moab Rim Trail

A beautiful day like today deserved a beautiful hike.  The hike however was a killer - 1.5 miles all up hill and a very steep climb at that.  There were lots of crawlers to keep us company.

We started all the way down by the river and this is only 1/4 of the way up.

Even a "Barbie" car!

I did take some time (between breaths) for a few spring flower shots.

The nice thing about continually heading north is you get see see spring being sprung over and over.

2015-04-10 Moab: Fisher Towers, LaSal Loop, Geyser Pass & Sand Flats

First I wanted to share a picture of Vaughan’s group – crazy comes in all sizes & ages.

Over the past few days Vaughan rode Steel Bender & Fins & Things.  (Sorry but you’ll have to wait for better internet to see anything on youtube.)  Many of the guys left today but there is another group coming in.

Meanwhile, I have been visiting Castle Creek Winery, having lunch at Sorrel River Ranch, and watching crazy people climb Fisher Towers.  See if you can spot the people on top of the spire (middle of the photo).

Today we drove the LaSal Mountain Loop, Geyser Pass and Sand Flats.

Love the Aspens in the snow.

I am always curious as to what happened to make the rocks look like this.

Back in Slickrock - this Jeep just came down off Baby Lions Back.

This Jeep run is Hells Revenge. No we will not be driving up this one in the Jeep but Vaughan has done both of these on his motorcycle.

Not sure what tomorrow holds but we are enjoying every minute.

2015-04-07 Easter, Dirt Bikes, Dead Horse State Park, and more

I know it has been a few days but we have been very busy. Also, the internet here is nearly non-existent.  I even went to the library today to try to put some videos on youtube or in Dropbox but it was worse there than at the RV park.

Anyway, Jeep Safari week ended Easter Sunday - there was a huge parade of Jeeps on Saturday before the last rides.  Every street in town was closed and 1000's of Jeeps were lined up on every street waiting to parade down Main.  It was a pretty amazing site.

Saturday afternoon some of Vaughan's motorcycle guys arrived and they went on their first ride - Gemini Bridges. Over the last few days more guys came in and he rode SlickRock, Metal Masher, and White Rim Trail.  Here are a few shots from WRT.

Meanwhile, I went to Dead Horse State Park.  Cowboys used to drive wild herds of horses out to the point and select the horses they wanted then leave the rest probably to starve. They found the remains of many unfortunate horses so they called the place Dead Horse Point.  What you see below in some of these photos is the trail that Vaughan rode today.

On the way back to town I saw a rock fall to the side of the road where I found a number of nice pieces of petrified wood.  OK, so the rock fall was up at the base of this formation.