"Not What It Appears To Be" On Hell's Revenge

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 21, 2015

Dave and Lynn, their son Richie and cute little Yorkie, Daisy arrived at Portal on September 12th. Yep, that's how far behind I am on posting all the fun we have been having. We have had a great time wheelin' and visiting the past couple of weeks. 

It was a beautiful Monday morning. Skies were blue, jeeps were shiny, and I wish I could say the air was cool, but we haven't been that lucky this month...a perfect Hell's Revenge kind of day!


Larger vistas that sweep full circle from the LaSal Mountains through Arches NP, to the cliff rims that overlook Moab Valley make this my favorite trail. 

Hell's Revenge is 6.5 miles of pure scary fun! A roller coaster ride up and down, over and around sandstone domes and fins with a few rock ledges, and sandy washes thrown in just to give me a chance to put the camera down, gulp a few sips of water and catch my breath. 

We had traversed about half way when we encountered a dome we now know is named Cowboy Hill. Dave made one attempt, then another, and once more when all went awry. In the process of backing off the climb, his front locker, driver side G2 Axle and brake caliper were destroyed.

Joe and Dave contacted our friends Steve Nantz and Jim Horne. We sent the picture below to them. 

They advised us to remove the wheel, strap the caliper to the axle, and drive it out in 3-wheel drive. 

Dave then discovered he had no brakes because of the loss of fluids. The leak was stopped at the busted caliper and an attempt to restore brakes by bleeding the system failed. 

Richie did a great job covering the fluids with sand.








At that point, the boys strapped Pearl to the back of Rokelle and we proceeded out with Pearl serving as brakes for both jeeps. 

On the way out, we ran into Jim who was doing a jeep tour. He checked things out and gave the guys some transmission fluid to attempt to bleed the brakes again.  Thanks Jim!







We made it back to Moab 4X4 Outpost where Rokelle spent two nights and was repaired.  Dee was at the Outpost when we pulled in and commented how creative the guys were and that the picture was "not what it appears to be". Another true adventure in the memory bank with great friends! 

Next up, National Public Lands Day 2015. Until then, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Levi Wells Road and Club Run to Rainbow Terrace

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 7, 11, and 12, 2015

In an effort to catch up on posting, I have to go all the way back to September 7. With nothing to do, we (Dee, Joe and I) decided to go check out Levi Wells Road...remember the flash flood (click here) that left us stranded? It was pretty cool to see how deep the wash was. We didn't linger though...we both have open jeeps this time of year and the bugs were horrible! 

Just imagine this wash full of running water.

A few days later, we went in search for an alternate route (in the same area that Dee was hoping would connect to Rainbow Terrace) called DS Road. Pearl had a new windshield installed that required a 12 hour wait before going on trail so Joe drove Dee's jeep, Roxanne. The lighting was beautiful. I do believe the late day into early evening runs are my favorite! We didn't find DS Road...a rutted trail used by Butch Cassidy back in the day when he traveled from Colorado to Utah, but it was fun exploring.

The very next morning, we had a club run. Dee had put Rainbow Terrace on the calendar. A great group of folks showed up...I think about 9 to 11 vehicles in all.

We all parked and hiked down a draw to explore. 

Aside from the wonderful company, there were two highlights for me. The first was a hike in a draw to explore an outcropping of manganese. 







The black/brown/purple color against the red sure had a pop.

Many of the tubes were hollow.



For my second highlight of the day, we enjoyed lunch at Secret Spire. We have ridden past the spire several times, but never stopped. It's a strange tower of Navajo Sandstone standing alone on a dome-like base. 

Dee led the way.

There is a parking lot and a short trail leading up to the dome. The spire provided us shade for a lunch break.

In a way, this post signifies the beginning of our new "normal" without our dear companion Wrecks.  With that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for all the kind and comforting comments we have received.  

Until next time, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Our Wrecks

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 14, 2015

We unexpectedly lost our sweet Wrecks in the early morning  hours of September 14, 2015.  He had just turned seven in August and we had every reason to hope he would grow old with us.  The autopsy revealed that foxtail, likely ingested while playing ball in a Montrose, CO campground, had stuck in his intestines causing an abscessed ulcer and then exited into the abdominal cavity where the infection went septic killing him in a few short hours.  We were not familiar with this insidious weed until the couple we were traveling with pointed it out to us.  We had played ball with Wrecks in the campground's fenced in dog park we thought had been covered in hay.  Little did we know it was foxtail.  Yes, we did point it out to the owner/operator who quickly responded "you can't tell me anything I don't know about that".  I asked him why he had not posted warnings on the gate of his bark park and he chose to ignore me and the question.  Our friends puppy ended up with foxtail in his paw that worked itself from the pad of his paw through the top causing a nasty infection requiring a veterinarian's attention.  I thought our puppies were all O.K. but obviously, we were fatally wrong.  I have simply not had the heart to keep up with our blogging since.  Joe asked me to put together a small assortment of pictures covering the brief seven years of life we shared with our beloved puppy.... the baby of our family.

Dover, Joe and I adopted Wrecks when he was 5 months old in January, 2009. He was the second of the Tan Clan to join our family. 

July 4, 2010 almost 2 years old.

By October, 2010 we had three of the four. I am pretty sure the squirrels were tormenting Dover and Wrecks from the top of the puppies play set in our back yard.

Cape Hatteras in May 2011 was Wrecks' first trip to the beach. 

September 2011...patiently waiting for the rain to stop in Elizabethtown, PA.  

October 2011...taking a break from ball play in Dover, DE

Swimming in Grapevine, TX...April, 2012.

The only picture I have of the 6 of us on a morning walk in Freeport, FL taken in December, 2012. Thank you David!

St Mary, MT in August 2013. 

Moab, UT...May 2014

Playing ball and...

taking a break...Moab, September 9, 2015.

The Tan Clan checking out a dragonfly. This is the last picture I took of all four together...September 10, 2015

Spent Saturday on Top of the World!

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 5, 2015

At the club meeting for Moab Friends for Wheelin, members can add a trail on the calendar that they would like to lead and members who want to go are invited and welcomed to come along. One of my favorite trails was added to the calendar and led by Larry Long this past Saturday. 

The Colorado River heading east on scenic hwy 128 towards the Dewey Bridge.

The first time we did Top of the World, I was so wowed by the view from Waring Mesa (7,000 feet above sea level).


I am happy to report my third viewing was just as breath taking as my first.






Of course getting to and from the lunch view is rugged fun traversing broken layered rock.

Our team for the day...Larry and Sharon who led the way, followed by Dale and Rolande, then us...

and Dee and Rosie bringing up the rear.

The first part of the trail follows the base of a cliff. Sharon pointed out "Kissing Rock", the rock formation on the right.

The Entrada Sandstone is beautiful wherever it is exposed.

As the trail climbs, the view expands beyond the Colorado all the way to the Book Cliffs and in places we could even see the Delores River.

 And then there is the Top of the World...

Looking left is the end of Onion Creek trail with Taylor Farm and the meadow where we always turn left towards Thompson Canyon.

Looking straight ahead is the LaSal Mountains. The tiny speck of trail in the center of the photo is also Onion Creek.

Looking right is Fischer Towers and Castle Valley. 

What a view for lunch !

We witnessed a rain squall just in front of us.

I ate my first pine nuts.

Heading home...

Until next time, let the good times roll.

HAPPY TRAILS!