Moab Trails with New Friends

Gopher Flats
May 3 & 5, 2019
Moab, UT

When we were stranded in Tuba City waiting for a part so Joe could fix our MH, we met the family next door.  The Johnsons...Kjersti and Erich and their four smart, curious, and polite and lovely children (Asia, Jake, River and Micah) and their well-behaved Irish Setter (Cooper).  Erich is a traveling nurse and presently has a contract in Tuba City.  It's a good location for them to take excursions on his 4 days off.  When we mentioned we were headed to Moab, Kjersti said it was there next destination.  We offered to go off-roading and hiking with them.  They arrived on Thursday, May 4, and our first adventure on the following day was to go to Secret Spire and Dellenbaugh Tunnel.  There is a cool pour-off on the way to the tunnel.  

This is the view of Spring Canyon from the pour-off.  The pour-off is just beneath the little clump of flowers on the right side of the picture below.  This is where Spring Canyon ends or begins...not sure which.

It's a short hike over slick rock to get to the other side of the canyon.  

From here we headed to Dellenbaugh Tunnel.  It's not like me, but I don't have any pictures of the tunnel.  It was a fun stop for the kids and a nice place to have lunch !

Our last stop for the day was Secret Spire.  The area around the spire is mostly slick rock with a few little patches of flora.  

Firecracker Penstemon

A small patch of blooming Whipple's Fishhook Cacti

 It was fun watching the Johnsons explore and enjoy the spire and surrounding domes.

On Sunday we were up and out the door by 7:15 to meet the Johnsons.  The days adventure was a hike to Corona Arch.  It was a beautiful day and we even had a nice breeze.  Being early is good to beat the crowds on this very popular hike.  It is also doggie friendly so Cooper joined us.  I found myself in camera overload watching Asia, Jake, River and Micah enjoying the day, nature, and just life !  Not one time did either of them complain or fuss and in fact all had lots of fun.  

And Micah, who will be 3 in August, walked the whole 3 miles with the exception of a few steep places. 

  

Micah climbs the ladder...all by himself!

Asia heads up to Bowtie Arch.

River enjoying the shade.

Jake and Cooper take in the view.

There are actually two arches to explore on this hike.  After climbing the Moki steps (carved by Ancient Pueblo Indians into the near-vertical sandstone surfaces) and a ladder installed by the BLM, the trail leads you on top of a large bench of slickrock with sheer drop-offs as the trail takes you under Bowtie Arch.  

Bowtie Arch is a pothole Arch.





















I was happy to see water seeping down the red rock.  I love the color and design and hanging gardens.

 From Bowtie Arch, the trail continues along the slickrock to the base of Corona Arch.

Corona Arch measures 140 X 105 feet wide.  A local bush pilot flew his plane through the arch back in the 80s. 

 It is incredible to tilt your head back and gaze up at the streamer of red rock towering above you with only clear blue sky in the background.

A happy band of trail warriors...

Back row  L to R : Joe, me, Micah, River
Front row L to R : Asia, Cooper, Erich, Jake and Kjersti

We sure enjoyed our time with this awesome family and hope our paths cross again.  So until next time, 

Prince's Plume

Jake, Micah and River taking a break.

Harriman's Yucca

Asia, Jake and River

Stemless Woolybase ( or, Perky Sue )

Asia

Jake leads the way followed by River, Joe and Asia

HAPPY TRAILS !

An Alien, An Underground Arch, A Secret and Best of all...Friends !

Gopher Flats
Moab, Ut
April 25, 2019

One of the really cool things about being in Moab in the spring is the weather making it a great destination to off-road, hike, and enjoy the desert scenery before the summer heats up.  But the very best part of this time year is that friends pass through heading north or east.  (P.S., fall is  beautiful too!) Such is the case this week.  Friends Sue and Dave pulled into town and we wasted no time making plans for an off-road adventure.  Our destination was on the north side of town in the Dubinky Wells Rd area.  There is so much to see, I wasn't sure we would be able to check everything off the list.  We did though with the exception of the overlook at the end of Spring Canyon Point Rd.  It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies and most of the time a nice breeze.  So, what did we see?

Bartlett Rock Art Panel:  
Bartlett Rock Art Panel is located in a humongous alcove.

The rock art is of "alien" looking figures and are pictographs.  These pictographs (painted, not etched) are of the Barrier Style and thousands of years old.  

It amazes me that pictographs can even be seen after thousands of years.  

There is a decent parking area and a short slick rock and sandy trail leading up to the alcove.  

Dubinky Well:   
Dubinky Well and Windmill were built in 1937 by the CCC to provide water for grazing livestock.  

The oversized 16 ft diameter windmill was necessary for the 500 ft deep well which was last used in the 1980s.  In 1996, the windmill was moved and selected as the site to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grazing Service which became part of the BLM in 1946.

The wooden watering troughs are thought be original although repairs have been made over the years.

The rock and cement open storage tank were added in 1939.  The outside wall is made of large stones cemented together.  From the outside it looks like a straight wall.  

 But the inside wall has a slant...I guess for strength.  The design is said to be a "CCC trademark".

 After the well, we back tracked 0.2 of a mile and made a right turn onto Spring Canyon Point Trail.  




Whenever we are in this area, Tombstone Rock is a great landmark. 



The off-highway trail is in front of Tombstone Rock on the left.  The trail difficulty is rated moderate in Charles A. Wells guide.  It is a combination of dirt, sand and slick rock with and a few ledges.  The spur trail off Spring Point Canyon Rd is 3.6 miles roundtrip (out and back). With careful and expert driving skills, Dave managed the entire trail without scuffing his stock JKU on 32" tires !  Way to go Dave !

Rocky goes up...

and down...

and sometimes up, and around and down!

Dellenbaugh Tunnel:
Dellenbaugh Tunnel is believed to be named after Frederick S. Dellenbaugh who was a member of the Powell expedition.  The tunnel isn't really a tunnel.  It is formed from a wash that flows under an elongated arch which I read was an underground arch.

 From the parking spot, it is a bit of a scramble over slick rock and down some ledges to get to the entrance of the tunnel.  

There is a nice area on the canyon side of the tunnel to take in views of Spring Canyon...

and enjoy the gnarly old juniper trees and birds.

It's a great spot for lunch!

Secret Spire: 
Secret Spire is one of those rock formations that definitely defies gravity. 

The spire, or hoodoo, sits majestically atop a dome of sandstone.  (The tunnel and the spire are on opposite sides of Spring Canyon.)

The bottom of the spire...


and looking up.

This is a nice view of a pour off beside the dome that the spire is on. It still had a little water from the last rains.  I can only imagine how beautiful it must be during a heavy rain. 








And here is another humongous view of Spring Canyon from the opposite side of the canyon.  

A close up of those swirling designs on the rocks...amazing !

Secret Spire was the end of our adventure.  From there it was back to Spring Canyon Point Rd and on to Dubinky Well Rd.  It was so much fun exploring with Sue and Dave and Joe and I are looking forward to more adventures with them !

I will close for now with a few more pictures...

These tiny flowers were no more that a couple of inches tall...

We passed by Juniper Arch.

Rocky climbing slick rock with Tombstone Rock in the background.

These purple beauties lined the wash.

Pearl and Rocky got to know each other while we explored the tunnel.

 So until next time, 

Headed home under bright blue skies with Tombstone Rock and The Sleeping Princess in the forefront with those beautiful LaSal Mountains in the background.  Life is good! 

HAPPY TRAILS !