Kane Canyon Creek Trail

Saturday, June 11, 2011

We woke up at 8am and got with Gloria and Ivan to head into town for the county auction. They had a ton of old telephones and desks and even a road grader. Nothing of any use. But it was interesting and it got us up and out, early.

Afterwards. we went to the Moab Diner for breakfast, took a walk along the river and then headed back home.

Once home instead of jumping back in bed,which is what I really wanted to do, we took the Polaris out for a trail ride. We headed south (I think) to Kane Canyon Creek Trail. We did this trail last year and were on part of it last week. The thing with the trails around here is - they shoot out in so many different ways that you can literally spend a week on one trail and not see it all. So many little turn offs that go in all directions and go on for miles. It is very easy to get lost and with out a GPS to track us, I would not do it. There are no Mountain Lions or Bears out here, just coyotes and snakes but I can handle those, so being safe is not a concern. The sun is brutal  and sun block is applied numerous times throughout the day. Along with consuming gallons of water, and a Corona here and there! (We drink the beer so we have a target to shoot at!) Water bottle just don't seem to hold up!

picture frame arch

Which by the way, I destroyed Tommy's Coors Light bottle! BOOM! Straight through the middle of the label. He calls me Phoebe now. Phoebe is Annie Oakley's real name! My Corona bottle had little chance of survival also. It ended up in pieces. Tommy is still a better shot than me but if you consider that he has has 45 years of practice and was an Expert Marksman in the service, I think I do pretty darn good. He shoots with one hand, I shoot with two. As long as I know I can kill a bear or mountain lion I'm good with it all.

I totally forgot to put the battery back inside the camera yesterday. It was being charged overnight. So when I went to take my first picture, nothing happened. I was not a happy camper. I did, however, take some pictures of our day with my cell phone. They are not great but its all I have. Sorry. I'm going to try and sync my phone to upload the pictures. I hope it works and does not wipe out my IPOD. I have 5 days of music on it. Wish me luck.

someone left these guys...too funny!

We were on the trail for almost 4 hours and had a great day. Tommy cooked ribeyes for dinner along with grilled peppers - 3 different colors - they were awesome and we headed to bed early. The plan for today is to hit a winery and a ranch all in one. It sits on the Colorado river and looks to be amazing. Ill let you know.

this was the only shade spot all day!

Poof! Dead Center!

Thanks for reading and I hope the pictures come out okay.

Sire's Play Day!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

This morning we slept in. When Tommy woke me up he said it was 8am. When I got out of bed, poured some coffee I noticed the microwave said 10:15.  I reset it to 8:15. An hour later he told me he was 'Just Kidding"! It really was 10:15 when I got up. Damn it!

The first thing I did today was book our flights from Denver to Charlotte for Kyle's Graduation from Boot Camp. It will take place on the 30th. We should be in Steamboat Springs, CO by the 25th and will drive to Denver from there for our flights. Friends in Steamboat will take care of the animals while we are gone. My little sister and my Mom  live in Charlotte, NC so we will fly  into there and drive to Columbia, SC. We are very excited. We have not seen Kyle in 8 weeks. Although we write each other constantly, we miss him terribly.

The other day we ordered a new camera with extra this and extra that and yesterday it was delivered. Today's blog pictures will be taken with the new and improved one.  I hope they come out good.

If  you're not a dog lover, you wont enjoy this blog, sorry!


Somewhere around 12:30 we finally had our crap together and left for Mills Trail with Sire. We hit the dirt around 1pm. The first rock, where you see Tommy in the water and Sire just sitting there with a bunch of kids waiting behind Sire, is the worst part of the trail. There is a huge rock that you have to cross to get to the real trail. The rock is angled somewhere around 18-20 degrees. The bad part about that is there is a very fine sand that blows and sits on these rocks. No matter how well Lands End makes your hiking sandals, it cannot stop you from what they call 'skiing'. Sliding on your ass!

We could not get Sire in the water to swim by the rock because he could not touch the bottom and was scared. We talked him through the first part but he refused to complete it and just sat there. Eventually we had 3 boys push him in the water. He was growling, and the kids were scared, but we assured them he would not eat them. He was just really nervous. Someone, BLM (Bureau of Land Mgmt.) should build a pass through around this rock. I remember it from last year I hated it then too.

Once past the monster rock you walk through the 'Sahara Desert'. Its an open field with a path of deep red sand. Its only for 1/4 mile so its easy to survive, but on days with no breeze its rough. Today was not one of those days. The weather was beautiful. 85 degrees and clear blue skies.

After the 'Sahara' you enter the weeds. In and out of the sun and shade. A wonderful place and breeding ground for snakes. You walk along the river the entire trail and Sire would peak in and out the water. He had a great, great time. We saw no snakes.

We walked across the river 11 times. The thing about crossing a river that has nothing but river rocks on the bottom is - when you have no depth perception its bad enough, but then you step on a rock and it decides to relocate itself  while your stepping on it. Not Good! The water isn't moving fast but its still a bit tricky at times. Most of the times crossing I held onto Tommy. If I was going down, so was he.

We ended up at a local hangout where the high school kids go. It is a natural waterfall where they slide down on the rock below the water. On both sides of the waterfall there are cliffs where tons of kids jump off. They seem to have a blast. Sire was wanting to play with everyone. There were several other dogs there and they were all excited. Too excited. It was boom, splash, cheers, repeated every 10-15 seconds. Everyone was having so much fun.We pulled Sire away in fear of a fight breaking out. These other dogs were as big as Sire and if something stirred up there would definitely have been blood shed. There were German Sheppards and Boxers and Pitbulls. All really powerful dogs. It was chaotic with all the noise and jumping and splashing and people.

On the way back of the hike we took our time and let Sire play in  the river for a while at each crossing. Overall, I think he day was full and he had plenty of exercise. He slept the entire way home in the truck. The trail was only 1 1/2 miles long and we were on it for almost 3 hrs. It was a fun day.

 We had Tommy's chili for dinner tonight, finally, and yes, it was good! Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures!

Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow. Maybe a trail with the Razor.

End of the Arches, Arches National Park, UT

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Today Gloria and Ivan once again gave up their busy day and took us hiking. They are the best tour guides. We went to a trail called Devils Garden. It is at the very end of Arches National Park. Probably 20 miles in from the start. Even if you are not a hiker the drive through the park is spectacular. The trail we went on, which was a loop, was 7.2 miles long. We opted out of one of the side trails called The Dark Angel so that cut off approximately a mile.

We came across so many arches. So many beautiful overlooks. Such unbelievable scenery. It was challenging and very rough at times but so rewarding when we finished. If we keep this up we will definitely lose 25 lbs.

We left the temporary housing unit around 10:15 and hit the trail around 11am. By the time we finished the loop it was 3:30pm. It took 4 1/2 hours to hike a little over 6 miles. We climbed rocks and scooted down slick sides of rocks on our butts. We walked along a 'fin'. A fin is a rock that is part of your trail and you have to walk along the top of it. Usually it is narrow and long. This fin WAS narrow and long. It was an incredible feeling to be so high up and so not anchored in to anything around you. The potential for accidents or death is everywhere around you, and yet you cant help but keep on climbing. It is truly UN real! I took alot of pictures and I really hope that you can see the depth of where we were and what we were challenged with.

Part of the trail was down in valleys between massive red rock and part of it was out in the open in 7 inches of sand for almost a full mile. Walking in thick, hot, red sand for almost a mile is a work out in itself, but we had to do it uphill. We consumed copious amounts of water and therefore PJ could not accompany us.  There was not room for him in the backpack/cooler.

After the trek we once again went to the Moab Brewery. Today was $.15 wings and $10 pitchers. Since I'm not a big fan of beer there was more for the other guys, which I'm sure made them happy. We ordered 60, yes sixty, wings.....what a bunch of pigs. I think Tommy and Ivan ate at least 20-25 wings each. Needless to say, no chili again tonight!!!

Tomorrow the plan is to leave Gloria and Ivan alone and take Sire to Mills Trail. It is a trail that puts us in and out of the river 8-10 times which means we do not have to carry water for Sire. Are you aware that one gallon of water weighs 8.333 lbs?  I'm hoping this makes room for PJ to come along.

Its now 7:43pm here and we are wiped out...see ya tomorrow! Thanks for reading.