Beautiful Views !

Gopher Flats
May, 2019
Moab, UT

The other day while Wile E. (our 1988 YJ) was visiting Grand Tire Pros, Joe and I walked the few blocks of Main Street...downtown Moab.  



Moab has added a few more pieces of art and the roses this time of year smell heavenly.  

We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Diner and had a leisurely stroll through Back of Beyond Bookstore.  It's a quaint little store and very well stocked.  I bought two books...Birds of Utah and Sandstone County Wildflowers.


A few days ago, we joined Dee for a ride on the north loop of Steelbender.  As we began the morning, the skies were partly cloudy.   

The beginning of the trail...

But as the minutes ticked away, the skies turned to all cloudy.  We could see the rain in the distance and the air got considerably cooler.

We carry ponchos, but luckily it only drizzled a little bit.  Even when it is cloudy,  it is beautiful !



MFFW planned a Hwy clean-up for May 11th.  We have a section of Hwy 191 just north of Arches NP which we clean  every spring and fall. 




It usually takes a couple of hours and afterwards we always have a trail planned...all work and no play makes for a dull day !  So after our 2 mile roadside hike, it was off to do Rusty Nail.  Rusty Nail is challenging and exciting.  It is also a belly flopper and beautiful.  The air this day was crystal clear and the colors surrounding us were vibrant and sharp.  I didn't get any trail shots, but snapped these two with my phone as were climbing up Gemini Bridges Rd on our way out.   

Yesterday, we joined Dee, a group of five from Washington, a couple from Colorado, and a guy from Arizona on Behind the Rocks.  






BTR is fast becoming a favorite...maybe it was just the mood I was in and the great group we were with.  Yesterday was just plain fun ! (OK, so I'm not hard to please and I say that alot !) It's quite beautiful too with a combination of vistas that go on and on for miles and miles and wildflowers in every color of the rainbow and beyond. 












 Can you believe that gorgeous blue sky?  

Dee and Joe and I were so blown away by fields of Pale Evening Primrose.  None of us had ever seen so many.  Both side of the trail were covered...it almost looked like snow !

Dee was our leader.  I don't think I will ever learn my way around BTR.  There are so many intersections and ways to go.  

There are several ways...from mild to difficult... to run BTR with intersections everywhere.  It's still very confusing to me.  The Gate Keeper, a little warm up of what's to come,  lures you in, but that's not all.  Some obstacles like High Dive, and Up Chuck have legal bypasses, but there are many other large ledges both ascending and descending that  do not have names or bypasses.   We did a difficult route which took us out to White Knuckle Hill where we stopped, turned around, and then headed out the way we went in.   

This is High Dive...its alot bigger than it looks.  Dee spotted Sunny (from Arizona and the only buggy in our group) down.  The rest of us took the bypass !

Dee starts down the High Dive bypass...

WileE climbs Up Chuck...

Tyler and wife Aubrey ace a very tippy tall ledge where hugging the driver side wall is key...

One of my favorite sections is a short chute that Dee calls the Roller Coaster.  We followed Dee and behind us were Tyler, Sunny, and the gang from Washington.

Finally, the Prickly Pear are beginning to bloom.  

       

Well, I'll close for now.  I hope you enjoy your view where ever you are.  It's a beautiful country some of us call home and others come to visit.  So, until next time...

HAPPY TRAILS !

A Trail Fix and No Lights

Gopher Flats 
Moab, UT
May 26, 2018

It was Memorial Day week-end and we had lots of plans.  Two trails to wheel on Saturday, one on Sunday, and one on Monday.  As with all great plans, things happen.  Joe and I headed out to run Rusty Nail early Saturday morning with Dee, Chris, Doug and Larry.  We were excited when Rory and his friends Randy and Michelle, from Wyoming, caught up with us which made a total of seven vehicles.  It was Chris' goal to walk up The Wall which has been a challenge for her in her shorter wheelbase, very well built,  two-door Rubicon.  

The morning started out with clear skies and a cool breeze...all was good !  

The first named obstacle on Rusty Nail is Riff-Raff.  Chris checks her line and drove right up...

and so did Larry ! 

Rory took the harder buggy line up.  Always a fun day to watch him wheel !

After Larry made his climb he noticed fluids coming from his Toyota truck buggy.  He did a quick inspection and decided to turn around since he couldn't locate the source.  

Up next is The Wall.  Rory and Chris worked very hard, but in the end decided to use a strap.  Chris is so close to claiming victory over The Wall...she will make it soon !  

Rory entertains us all as he crawls the buggy line up The Wall.

 Randy and Michelle gave Rory's line a try and  flexed their way up easily.   They have an awesome YJ.

As we headed to No Left Turn, Rory (who was behind us) noticed we were loosing fluids.  It turned out to be a high pressure hydraulic line which meant no steering.  Rory worked on the hose and filled it up with fluids (We never go out without lots of fluids !) and we continued on.  Joe drove No Left Turn without me.  Rory watches for fluids as Joe begins down... 


 and he gets a smile and thumbs up from Dee !

 Unfortunately the fix did not work on WileE.  Rory spent more time trying to make WileE drivable enough for us to get off trail, but it wasn't meant to be.  Also, Doug's buggy would not crank...it was a computer issue.  We left the vehicles and returned to town.  Chris brought me home while Rory picked up parts for WileE and swapped his buggy for the tow truck.  Dee, Joe, Rory and Doug all went back.  Rory towed Doug back up No Left Turn and down The Wall and Riff-Raff...Joe and Dee followed them.  

Saturday night was a club night run on Steelbender.  I really enjoy the night runs, especially this time of year.

We entered on the north end and took the northwest loop and came out the way we went in.  When it was time to turn on headlights to see the trail, guess what? We didn't have any !  A huge thank you to Chris, Dee and Susan for guiding us off trail and back home safely.  

Well, until next time, happy days and...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Steelbender was the end of our trail time for the week-end.  We passed on Hell's Revenge Sunday and Rose Garden Hill on Monday. 

P.S.  Dover says "Hi" from Moab !

And I took a really pretty picture of our home last Wednesday morning about 6:30 am.  The sun was just peeking out from behind the LaSals and lighting up Moab Rim as we were heading to the gym.

Home Sweet Home at Gopher Flats