Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Adventure Continues

From Hanksville, we headed west towards Capitol Reef National Park and beyond.


Tapestry Wall
Petroglyphs


Pioneer Register -- people would scratch their names and dates on the rock as they passed through


A wet spring created a great environment for desert flowers

From there, we headed south towards Boulder Town and the beginning of the Burr Trail.




Along the way, we encountered Willie pushing a beat up mountain bike and trailer up one of the grades. From Macon, Georgia, he's been on the road for 15 months. We gave him some food, and water and had a great time hearing his tales of life on the road. He works when he can get it but just seems to enjoy the solitude of traveling alone.


Waterpocket Fold; Capitol Reef

We traveled down the Notom/Bullfrog Road, eventually reaching Lake Powell at Hall's Crossing.



Crossing Lake Powell on the ferry was a great way to see the country.

After spending the night in Blanding, we headed north towards the zoo that Moab has become. Compared to the rest of the trip, Moab was packed with people and vehicles, it being the height of the tourist season. First stop was Arches National Park.





We did the hike to Delicate Arch along with a few hundred other folks.

The arch sits next to an amazing natural amphitheatre.

People kept adding to the rock cairns used as trail markers.

From Arches, we headed to the Island in The Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Given it's about a 35 mile drive from Moab, it was far less crowded.

The La Sal Mountains still carry a heavy snow load.

A good omen, I hope.



That is the White Rim Road/Trail, a prime mountain bike route.

I convinced the missus to drive some of the Shafer Road Trail down the switchbacks a ways.




The goal was to follow the road over that hill to the overlook at Goose Neck Bend on the Colorado River.


It did not disappoint.

The cacti were in full bloom.

Heading out of Moab towards Fruita, CO, we followed the Colorado River east.

Cheers

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Kevin and Linda's Excellent Adventure -- Days 1 & 2

After spending two weeks helping riders enjoy the Utah landscape, I knew I needed to spend some time showing the missus this amazing country. We left St George, Utah Saturday morning and will spend the next week making our way back to Minnesota. Since words really cannot express how amazing this landscape is, I will let the pictures do the talking.



Cottonwood Road


Old Spanish Trail -- North of Cedar City, Utah


North Rim, Grand Canyon from Crazy Jug Point

Linda relaxing; East Rim View point; Kaibab National Forest

Sunset; Grand Canyon; Kaibab National Forest


Sunrise

Vermillion Cliffs

Paria Riffle; Lee's Ferry; Colorado River



Vermillion Cliffs

Navajo Bridge; Glen Canyon

The Colorado River; just below Lee's Ferry

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam

Valley of The Gods; Mexican Hat, Utah






Natural Bridge National Monument




Views along Utah State Route 95



Hite Crossing; Colorado River





Petroglyphs; somewhere near the Dirty Devil River
Poison Springs Road; near Hanksville, Utah
Cheers