Exploring Island in the Sky

Gopher Flats
Moab, UT
May 28, 2017

This is our fifth year to spend a good amount of time in Moab.  We have enjoyed many hikes in Arches NP, Dead Horse Point State Park and on BLM land.  For some reason, maybe distance, we haven't done much exploring in Canyonlands NP.  Its about 45 miles (one way) from our home to the Island in the Sky Visitor Center.  Memorial Day week-end turned out to be an OK time to visit although we almost turned around at the pay booth.  The line was moderately long...nothing like Arches...but seemed to move fast.  The Visitor Center was packed so we didn't make a stop there.  

Once we were on the scenic drive,  it was really quite nice.  Fields of Indian ricegrass along with other grasses line the 34 mile (roundtrip) scenic drive.  There are lots of pull-outs and some paved parking areas for highlights like Mesa Arch and Upheaval Dome...all were very crowded.  I did manage a few drive by shots...




Our main goal for the day was to hike to the granaries near Aztec Butte.  Imagine my delight to pull into an almost empty parking lot...yippee !  Aztec Butte is a 2 mile hike rated moderate because of a steep climb to the top of the butte.  Some ledges to climb are 3 to 4 feet tall. Neither one of us were "in the mood" for a rock scramble, so we opted to skip the butte this time.  We opted for the trail that climbs up the smaller butte then drops below the rim to two Puebloan granaries.  Ledges were smaller and slick rock not quite as steep. 

The trail begins in a sandy wash.



Lots of little things caught my eye.
Cushion Buckwheat...

Egg Milkvetch

 Plains Prickly Pear...

Grasses taller than me...

Clumps of asters...

Lizards...

and birds. (I had to lighten these pictures to see the colors in the birds.)

The next part of the trail took us up a slick rock slope and onto the top of a butte.  It twisted its way to the other side of the butte then dropped below the rim to the granaries.  

As we climbed, we had a good view of Aztec Butte.  


This was an amazing new experience as I have never seen a granary or ruin up close and personal.  Roughly 2,000 years ago Ancestral Puebloans  began to rely more on domesticated animals and plants for food.  The granaries were built to store meats they hunted and crops they grew.  The granaries we saw were estimated to be about 1,000 years old.  

Totally awesome !


On the home front, we have enjoyed some of this...

 this...

 this...

this...

Gopher Flats has lots of butterfly bushes.  They just started blooming last week.

 and this.  The gold collared lizard lives in the cactus garden in our neighbors backyard.  The garden backs up to the puppy dog fence.  

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

No Left Turn

Gopher Flats
Moab, UT
May 24, 2017

Rusty Nail is a hardcore difficult trail.  The trail begins at a left hand turn off the end of Gold Bar Rim.  It heads south then circles east.  It ends where it connects to Golden Spike and exits the entire length of Gold Bar.  The actual trail is only 1.9 miles.  The entire length of the route is 7.8 miles.  There are three major obstacles on this short extreme trail...Riff Raff, The Wall, and for scary fun, No Left Turn.  We headed out with Dee and Warren to tackle the challenges of huge boulders, tall ledges, and narrow switchbacks with views of a canyon below.  It was another gorgeous day with  beautiful blue skies, plenty of sunshine and a cool breeze.

First up was Riff Raff.   Before starting her climb, Dee explained the correct line for tire placement and then we watched.  What you can't see in the picture is a deep hole to the left of the passenger tire.  It's a little tippy and slipping off into the hole might cause a flop.  


Up next is The Wall.  Straddling the crack between the two boulders at the bottom, turning driver and climbing the ledge were the directions.  Warren's climb is flawless. 

Last, we come face to face with No Left Turn.  Joe and I had no idea what to expect and it wasn't until we saw Dee's pictures that our mouths dropped.  The trail at this point is narrow.  Large boulders were on my side.  A bottomless, at least it seemed that way at the time, canyon was on Joe's side.  Its a good thing he keeps his eyes on Dee and the trail.  Dee spotted us down a huge...ummm, enormous...boulder with lots of other boulders all mixed in.  Very tippy!  I'll let Dee's photos tell the story.

Thanks Dee for a successful run on the most difficult trail we have done...so far !

















It was a great day wheeling with Warren and Dee.  Warren waits while Joe and I watch Dee's line on Riff Raff.  

Our last sight of Warren before he drops off No Left Turn.  See how close he is to the edge?

It's always a treat to follow Dee. 

















We could see Jeep Arch from our lunch stop...a zoomed in picture.

We watched the clouds on the horizon...  

...as they moved closer...  

If you look closely, you can see the Colorado River in the center of the photo.

...and then overhead.  So pretty !

Until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS !