Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Once again, we stole Gloria and Ivan for the day. Every time they have a day off we grab them. LOL

We left the RV Park around 11am and headed North to a trail call 7 Mile Rim. The off-road book stated it was difficult to moderate. Ivan drove his jeep and we the Polaris.

45 minutes into the trail the battery went dead on the camera so I missed alot of good shots. It was a great day of adventure. We were on the trails for  over 4 1/2 hours. On top of the rim we parked and walked around. It makes you feel as though you are on Mars. There is red sand, craters, lots of huge rocks and you can almost touch the sky. I laid down in one of the holes to show how big they were. Unfortunately, they did not come out well enough to post.

The first point of interest we came upon was the Uranium Arch.  This arch is a result of water eroding rock in 2 different ways.The 1st being, ground water flowing down through the porous sandstone above, (the layer of the arch). However, it can not permeate the the finger-grained rock below, (the layer beneath the arch). So the water flows along the contact point almost horizontally. Its reaches the surface of this ledge to form a seep. Overtime, the seep carves a cave. (Where I am standing). The 2nd part to this amazing, naturally formed sculptor is the water trapped in the vertical joint freezes and thaws every winter. Consequently, expansion and contraction erodes the joint. This creates a fin that is isolated from the remaining rock. And an arch is born. Essentially, groundwater works horizontally while the freeze and thaw process has worked vertically to create this.

Enough science, although Mr Lucks, my 7th grade science teacher would be extremely proud that I actually did pay attention. LOL.

We came across several deeply drilled holes where Uranium was mined. Tommy dropped a rock and we all counted in 1-100's to see how far down it fell. 4/100s was the conclusion.

Because of the recent rains and winds the rocks were more exposed and made the trail a bit challenging. At one point we were at a 45 degree angle traveling along a rock. It was not fun.

After a while the trail got easier and turned into pink sand. That is the best part, when you can just cruise along looking all around you. Every turn is different. Every turn is beautiful.

Once again, after a day on the trail, we hit our favorite watering hole. The Moab Brewery. $.15 wings is a big draw!

Tomorrow is our last full day in Moab, UT until next year.  Once the terms and contracts are finalized, and agreed upon with the Travel Channel, Tommy and I have comprised a list of some of the places we want to film. Moab is 1st on our list.

Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day.