"Dee"termined!

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
October 7, 2014

Following Dee in Bartlett Wash...

 I was reminded it has been a long time since our last post. Days have been great, weather has been the best, and I don't mind admitting that posting has not been at the top of the list of things to do.

Getting started...turn left off Highway 191 north at Mill Canyon Road.

The cottonwood trees that line the wash are so old and pretty!

My how time flies! It has been 2 weeks since we headed out to do Bartlett Wash and Mashed Potato...it seems like just yesterday!

We joined Dee, Nancy and James, and Bob for a fun day of wheelin'. Joe and I had done parts of the trail before, but not the Mashed Potato section.




Signs point in all directions...it would be easy to get lost! We went thru lots of intersections like this one. Mashed Potato is a new trail for wheelers and coordinates can be found on the internet.

Narrow Bartlett Wash...what a hoot!

We skirted around the Bartlett Slickrock bike trail



Dee going up...

After the wash, the crawlin' begins. Mashed Potato seems like a funny name, but the rocks are white, lumpy and swirl just like mashed potatoes.






Nancy and James going down...

Bob going over...



and Joe going down in Pearl.

 









September was very rainy. The wash was wet and we encountered lots of pools of water on the slickrock...cool!  A funny story...the big obstacle on Mashed Potato is the Gravy Boat. Well, we went right thru this water which I thought was the Gravy Boat so I call Lynn and Dave to say, "We did Gravy Boat!" They did this trail in September when we couldn't go. Then I hear Dee on the CB say, "Up next is Gravy Boat.". Oh well, Joe and I laughed and decided we will just call this the Gravy Ladle! And be proud we did it!

Easy-peasy climb out of the Gravy Ladle!

This is the Gravy Boat...Dee was the only taker for the day. Most really difficult obstacles on these trail have go-arounds...that's a big WHEW! 

Going in...

...coming out! Well, not exactly. Dee knew exactly the line to take, but we didn't so she missed her mark.






Pearl lends a hand!

...coming out!

This is "Dee"termined. Dee pulls around for another go...pretty impressive!

http://youtu.be/GPr1Tl9IbMw

 

 

We enjoyed lunch. It was a bit overcast and we saw a double sun halo. I had to do some research on sun/moon halos. The halo is produced by high cirrus clouds. These are ice clouds and often appear before a warm front. The ice crystals act as tiny reflectors. If you see a double halo, that means there are two different shapes of crystals...pretty neat, huh? 

 

Our view at lunch!

Today Dover and Wrecks had surgery. When they were in for their check-ups last week, Dr. Slater checked a cyst we had found on Dover. She extracted fluid and said it should come off even though it was not cancerous...just some strange looking cells. Wrecks on the other hand, did have a skin cancer mass that needed to be removed. It was a mass on his chest we had noticed. Dr. Slater said he could likely have more so we will be on the look-out. Wrecks also had his teeth cleaned and polished.

 

Joe goes for chemo # 3 tomorrow...half way through. Other than being tired and lots more careful during days 7-9 because of a low immune system, he has been doing great!

 

So, until next time, take care...

and happy trails!