Vistas, A Well, and Pictographs

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
June 2 & 4, 2016

Last week while Joe was at Moab 4X4 Outpost, he met Red.  Red and Dolly (from So Cal) have been visiting Moab and riding trails for 30+ years. Red invited us to join them the next day for a Jax Trax/Cameo Cliffs run.  

Located on the south side of town this combo trail offers great views of the LaSal and Henry Mountains and everything in between.



Always something beautiful around every corner.

We saw lots of sego lilies. This beauty was named the Utah state flower in 1911.








We also met Puff, Red and Dolly's 10 month old Shar-Pei. She is full of energy and love and oh so cute !

Two days later we joined them again for a Rainbow Terrace/3D trail ride. On the way, we made a stop at Dubinsky Well.  

 





The stone work to construct the holding tank for water is amazing...huge stones precisely placed in a large circle perfectly straight on the outside and slanted towards the center on the inside.  

the outside wall...

the inside wall...

We then circled back and headed for Rainbow Terrace and a view of the meadow below it.  Lighting does not show the purples that we have seen in the terrace before.  It's especially pretty wet. 

striations in the terrace

the meadow below

 Our lunch spot on one of the lookouts on 3D trail was gorgeous.  We even had a breeze !

Looking right towards Hwy 313... 

 straight ahead toward Bartlett Wash... 

and left toward Hidden Canyon. 

The highlight, other than the great company, for me was seeing two unique pictographs.  The first is known as Bartlett Pictograph Panel.  

The green alien...

A small area for parking with a kiosk is provided at the trail head.  Its a short walk to an alcove where the "green alien" (although faded, it is green) along with a collection of other pictographs is located.

and other figures.

 A short drive to and on Hwy 313 we found the "intestine man" also a pictograph.  We have driven by this spot many times and never knew it was there. Parking is along the road with a short walk to the panel which appears to be an interesting story.

 It is thought that the drawing on the right is a bear claw. 

The up-close picture below shows a man, the man fatally attacked and an angel.

A short walk away is a panel of petroglyphs.  It depicts a man, a trail, and very fat big horn sheep.  

We enjoyed meeting Red and Dolly and appreciate them letting us join in on these adventures.  Two awesome trails and adventures.

  

Until next time, happy days...

and, HAPPY TRAILS ! 

Jax Trax...Part 1

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
May 23, 2014


Saturday morning a group from Portal headed south on Hwy 191 to take in some views and climb some rocks on Jax Trax. We had 9 vehicles eager to traverse the 16 miles that were once old mineral exploration roads.

The trail is named after Jack Bickers (1923-2011), a giant among 4 wheelers in Moab as he explored the backcountry to find enjoyment in it's vistas, remoteness, hikes, and jeep challenges.

Such was Jax Trax which was only added to Easter Jeep Safari this year. A 5 rating hints there are no difficult obstacles, but don't get too comfortable. We found Top Notch and El Diablo to be beautiful vistas and there were ledges and slickrock to climb that kept reminding us we had better pay attention...

The trail starts out in a Sandstone Draw...





...before a ledgy climb to a flat that offers views of the LaSals and Cameo Mesa.   

From that point it's a twisty, bumpy, wandering tour of the area...sometimes down, sometimes up, but all with sweeping vistas.

When we reached this point, we stopped to enjoy the view and discuss our options. The trail divides and rejoins on the other side of the dome.  We were all set with a plan and then OOPS! One of our vehicles didn't start. What the picture does not show is the wind and cold, but we all rallied together and believe it or not, we all turned around on top of the fin to head back...

We orchestrated a beautiful retreat which involved the Samurai being strapped out. As it turned out, the rains were on the way so all was good! Another real good reason not to go out alone...

Dave and Joe...umm, probably Jeep talk, but I hope it's dinner plans!

Our day was quite an adventure with an awesome group of folks willing to help. 

We took a shorter trail out to Hwy 191. See the rock dome below with the rock on top just under the rain squall? There is a road that goes between that rock and the flat rock on the right. We found out that the rock dome is a home. A rancher lives there. We never saw the cows, but we heard them. 

Up next, part 2 of Jax Trax. Until then, happy days and...

HAPPY  TRAILS!

A Week Already!

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
August 8, 2014

What a pleasant surprise the weather has been here in Moab. As excited as I always am to return to one our favorite places, I was dreading the hot temps August usually brings in this area. But, according to locals, this August  has been more mild than in the past. Yippee! The mornings and evenings have been very pleasant for sitting outside and I even found myself in a sweater as we lounged outside at coffee time today. The hottest time of day is between 2:00 and 4:00 and we all know what those hours are for...that's siesta time!

 Belle is quite at home in site M22 here at Portal. There is not a bad site here, but since this is an owners resort, some lots have more appeal than others. We like M30 and M18 also, but the pergola and sunscreen, comfy seating, and beautiful garden on site M22 gives this spot a "real home" feeling...just right for a three month stay!


We only have to take a few steps to enjoy the simple pleasures of nature in our own "backyard".  The hummingbirds have been zipping, zooming and hovering all around...and emptying the feeder!

The butterfly bushes have had lots of visitors too...

Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly

 This beauty became Arizona's State Butterfly in 2001. It is only found west of the Mississippi in North America. Its wingspan is 3-5 inches with 4 almost parallel stripes on its wings. The innermost strip is the longest while the outermost two may simply be bars.

 

 

 

A Hummingbird Moth

There are about 125 different species of hummingbird moths in North America. They are all in the Sphinx family. These unique moths are active during the day traveling from flower to flower to sip nectar.

As it was getting dark a few nights ago, Wrecks began to get a little antsy on the patio. We had a visitor... 





This is the meadow behind Belle.

Of course, mama wasn't far away...

The Tan Clan is enjoying these cool morning and evenings too.

Sally had a vet appointment last Wednesday for blood work to check her thyroid and also a urinary PH balance test. 

As a result, she was prescribed a lower dose of thyroid meds and will return next week for another PH balance test.

She has lots more energy these days...

Pat Parelli

We did enjoy a presentation by Pat Parelli...a former rodeo bronco rider and all-around horse lover. Its a people-training focused on the study of horse behavior and horsemanship skills. If interested check out his web site, www.parelli.com for more info. It was very interesting and we saw first hand how one handler had amazing results with his horse Chole.

We also had ourselves quite a fun ride on Jax Trax this week. The Red Rocks 4-Wheelers Club will introduce this trail during the Labor Day Safari. Its an older trail that hasn't been used in awhile.

It wasn't all play...signs were corrected, painted and/or secured...

...and side routes/shortcuts were blocked to insure no one goes off trail.





But the highlight for Joe and I was meeting Ber.

That's Ber in the center of the photo wearing a white t-shirt and kaki pants. He just turned 90 and has been wheelin' for over 40 years!


Ber drove behind us...what a character he is!

He has a 1980s CJ7...what a character it is!







Ber nor his Jeep shied away from any of the obstacles...

 

 

Did you know there will be a full moon this week-end? Not just a full moon, but the largest full moon of the year. It is the moon's closest encounter with earth for 2014. And,  peak nights for the Perseid meteor shower are August 12-13. AND, guess what we have planned?

 

Have a wonderful week-end. Until next time, enjoy and...

 

 

...happy trails!