good-times-rollin

Saturday, June 6, 2015

A Little Work and A Lot of Fun

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
May 30, 2015

Last Saturday (Dang, time flies!), it was clean-up day on the section of Highway 191 North adopted by Moab's Friends 4-Wheelin'. Dee, Joe, Dave, Richie, & I were responsible for the east side between mile markers 132 & 133.

After the trash was collected, bagged, tied and stacked, it was fun time. I was really excited because the trail for the day was Metal Masher. The name sounds threatening, but we were assured that all the extreme obstacles like Rock Chucker and Widow Maker had go-arounds. We had 3 buggies in our group built for obstacles like these and drivers ready and able to drive them. What a show !

This vertical wall is so tame it didn't even have a name...Pearl took the go-around!

Dee and Nancy eased the approach by restacking logs, limbs, & rocks scrambled by the previous buggy's climb.

That is Jeff climbing Rock Chucker. He built his own buggy.

And Glen made it up on the first try. What a fine looking buggy and he stretched it himself in his home garage.

Metal Masher, without the extreme obstacles, is a difficult and fun trail to do. It is on the north side of town, measures 12 miles and takes 4 to 5 hours.

Dee climbs Misty's Thumb...

The overlook along Arths Rim is amazing.

Looking left towards Hwy 191 north...

Looking right towards Moab Valley and the LaSal Mountains...

Looking straight ahead towards Klondike Bluffs with Arches NP on the far horizon...

It was a long eight hour day with a little work and a whole lot of fun!

Until next time, enjoy the view and...

happy trails!

Richie made a great video with his drone of the buggies climbing Widow Maker...check it out!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=dTzciAGj7XI

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Things and Fins...

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
May 29, 2015

There's Pearl!

Baby Lion's Back was the first "thing" for the day and it was our first time to do do it. It was so much fun we each had several turns to climb and gurgle our way out.

Fins and Things is 9.4 miles (south and north sides combined) and takes about 4 to 5 hours if you are with a group. It is located in the Sand Flats Recreation Area.

The south side is a combination of ledges,

slickrock, and...

sandy trail. The first time we did the south side was 2 years ago. Pearl was only 2 months old and we had never been to Moab. We were curious about the Jeeping trails and wanted to know what a stock jeep could do. It was love at first sight between Pearl and the slickrock...we were hooked!

The north side of Fins and Things is quite different and by far my favorite part of the trail. The route follows very steep and sometimes narrow fins...climbing is exhilarating , and going down is just "scary fun"! So what's not to like?

Having these spectacular vistas to photograph is a plus when the stomach decides to flip-flop.

So far, on ALL of the trails we have done, lunch spots have been a highlight for me. There is always a view, there is usually time to do a little exploring, and, of course, I am always hungry! Fins and Things was no exception. Our spot for the day was a view of the Negro Bill Wilderness. FYI...the other end of Negro Bill Canyon can be reached from Hwy 128 where there is a great hike to Morning Glory Bridge.

Negro Bill Wilderness

This little beauty, a Canyon Wren, was having a grand time hopping around on the cliff wall and into crevices. His presence is known by a loud cascade of musical whistles.

The purple of the aster is a pop of color against the red rocks.

Lunch entertainment was free and helpful as beautiful Violet-green Swallows swooped in and out and up and down catching insects. Ingrid keeps a bird guide in her jeep so we were able to look them up for identification.