Moab with Friends

November 19
Below freezing but sunny! We took bikes onto the Klonzo trails - I explored more of the south trails this time, seemed easier than north trails, a nice time in the sun!

Apparently dinosaur tracks on the edges of the picture

Mid-day, Tim from Duluth and his friends Josh and Sarah (and their two dogs) from Salt Lake City arrived. Once they got a tent set up and unwound a bit, we all headed to the Amasa trails - run for me, hiking with the dogs for Sarah, and some biking for the boys. Tim and Josh visit Moab regularly and we tried one of their favorite Mexican restaurants after recovering from our activities, but closed for the season - so we went to another, I believe the name was something like 'Choco Loco'. There was a long wait and service was not perfect, but ended up being pretty good food, and awesome horchatas! It was fairly late, and cold again, once we returned to Willow Springs Road, so very little hanging out before sleep time.

November 20
Cloudy overnight, so a warmer morning, but the sun never ended up coming out, so remained a cool day. Biking the whole Mag Seven route for the guys by our own 'shuttling' took up the bulk of the day. I biked and ran at the top, hanging out with the van, while Sarah did some exploring at the bottom and picked up the guys when they were done. Another visit to Milt's, then back to Willow Springs to camp. Done a little earlier today, so slightly more hanging out until dark and chilly drove us to van and tent.

November 21
Little bits of rain overnight, not enough to impact roads or trails though! A couple of hours at Navajo Rocks (run for me, hike for Sarah, bike for the boys), then back to SLC for the visitors. The rainy afternoon was good for Rudy and I to start making our way south. We get to enjoy Thanksgiving at Tim's sister's place in Phoenix! We made it to Valley of the Gods Road near Mexican Hat, had some lentils and rice for dinner, and got in a game of Trivial Pursuit - this one a little more drawn out then usual ending up with a win for Rudy. We completed the evening by finishing Season 2 of Gotham - little Bruce Wayne is growing up so fast!

Valley of the Gods sunset - more impressive in person

November 22
We started the cold morning with a little drive along Highway 261 that we were told was 'mind-blowing' - pretty cool, but we both agreed we've seen crazier roads.

Awesome views of Valley of the Gods

Top of the road

Hard to get a good picture of the experience

Then on to Mexican Hat and into Arizona.


No major plans for the day besides driving, but we did take a short biking break on the south side of Flagstaff to ride the Soldier Trail from Fort Tuthill County Park - a nice little area and an easy loop to get in some movement! We drove a little more before parking for the night just outside Sedona in Coconino National Forest. Simple bean burritos for dinner, then Tim showed up and we all enjoyed some Trivial Pursuit! Rudy won again. Tim got to be our first van floor guest for the night - he said it was fine...

Grand Staircase Escalante, Natural Bridges, and Needles

November 14
A cool November morning. We did a tiny bit of strolling through the little town of Escalante before heading into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Taking it easy, so just drove out to Devils Garden for some nice yoga/stretching in the sun, lunch at a picnic table and hiking around the hoodoos.

After that we just checked out some trailheads for tomorrow's activities, and to acquire a camping permit (free to camp anywhere in the area, just need to get a permit) then found dispersed camping off Spencer Flat Road.

A lovely spot to see the sunset

Dinner was shells and cheese, followed by a game of Trivial Pursuit - Leslie won.

November 15
The plan was an easy run on the Escalante River Trail, but the immediate river crossing was something we were not motivated enough for at 40F! So after the nice 12 minute jog along the river, we headed to the Upper Calf Creek Falls trail, mostly following cairns down a steep slope. It was fun seeing flowers in November, cool rocks, and even some trout in a little pool above the falls. The falls were quite nice too - all in all a beautiful day.
 

The later afternoon was spent driving, with a few struggles stopping at a gas station, I have noticed a lot of little shops and convenience stores have open signs up, but aren't actually open - hopefully just a seasonal thing. We parked for the night just off Highway 95, made split peas, and watched The Incredible Hulk.

November 16
A cloudy and breezy, but warmer ~60F! We drove through Glen Canyon Recreation Area, and a little along Lake Powell before reaching Natural Bridges National Monument.

Colorado River headed for Lake Powell

This is a pretty small area, but I'm glad we checked it out - very cool! First stop was a short hike to overlook Horsecollar Ruins of Anasazi dwellings.


Next we did a run on the Mesa trail with a loop including a couple of miles on top of a mesa, then down into canyon floor for a few more miles, taking in the Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachoma Bridges, finishing with mostly gradual climb back up - great loop!

Owachoma

Sipapu

Kachina

We had a short stop in Blanding - highlight was acquiring an apple crumble pie. Then on to Recapture Reservoir to camp. Ate some pasta, played some Trivial Pursuit - Leslie won, then watched Iron Man 3.

November 17
Woke up to snow on the ground! It was cold and windy all day, so an unplanned 'easy' day took shape. We headed to Monticello, starting with the Visitor Center - we actually hung out a couple hours, and talked to an older guy from Florida that was driving his new camper back home from California. Other adventures included the hardware store - Rudy needed some tools and procured materials to make a funnel to ease filling of the water jug (and putting stove-heated water into the solar shower, if we ever need to resort to that), and laundry. We tried a little coffee shop, but they were five minutes from closing, so instead hung out at the library a couple hours - first significant internet time in a while! I looked over the books for sale and picked out a couple of Barbara Kingsolver's and The Iliad. Eventually we headed towards the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, and found a spot off Highway 211. We made some barley and bean burritos, got in some Trivial Pursuit - close game, but another Leslie win, then switched from the movies back to a couple episodes of Gotham.

November 18
Cold again, but more sun and less wind than yesterday. We spent the nicest part of the day in Canyonlands National Park Needles District with some short, relatively easy hikes. First was the Roadside Ruin Trail, which led to a little granary.

Next was a roadside stop to see Wooden Shoe Arch and other cool rocks.

Find the wooden shoe!

 

Then, Slickrock Trail, which was just fantastically scenic.
 

Then, Pothole Point, which showcased short lived, post-rain ecosystems.

Supposedly teeming with life when wet

Final hike was to Cave Springs, including an old cowboy camp, plus some Native American pictographs at the spring.


A road-side stop was made at Newspaper Rock, just outside the park, before we headed back to Moab.
 
We visited Milt's for burgers, fries, and malts, then continued on to Willow Springs Road. Pretty populated, since it is Friday, we didn't get 'our' spot, but still found something decent! Then just hung out, and watch Gotham.