We were at the beginning of a 4WD road the other day, when a truck came up behind us. Not wanting him behind us, I pulled over and he continued on at a brisk pace kicking up dust. A few miles later he was headed back toward us. He flagged us down to tell us that he could not get up a sand hill so his logic followed that neither could we, so he would see us back at the bottom.
I looked at his fat tires and noted that they seemed to be fully inflated. We had aired ours down before starting out. We continued on and came to the sand hill. It was steep, but only about 40 yards long. I put Pelli in 4WD Low and launched her briskly forward. I keep the power on all the way up. I smiled.
Sunday, April 22 - On the Poison Spider, one of the top rated 4WD trails, this waterfall stopped us. Yep, real Jeeps can go over those rock shelves.
I hiked to the top and got these pictures.
Riding a bike does not make you a better person or entitle you to anything extra. In fact, I will probably think you are a wimpy green liberal until you prove otherwise.
Monday, April 22 – Today we did two roads, Sandy Flats road all the way to the Loop Road and then part way on Behind the Rocks.
Sandy Flats was unremarkable until we neared the La Sal mountains, then we got a view of Castle Valley.
Woohoo! It was one of those stay on the cliff or fall 2,000 feet straight down deals.
Since we were fairly close to Behind The Rocks, I wanted to get an idea about it. It too started out just OK, then we got some great views and this arch on the Holy Caterpillar [Rock]. I did not photograph the Holy Caterpillar as the attending priest said it might anger his spirit. You will have no trouble finding the Holy Caterpillar if you are inclined to worship him.
The sandstone above is referred to as slick rock. And it can be a little slick when wet. However, I read an explanation of where the term originated. When water flows over it, algae forms and when an iron ringed wheel rolls over it, the entire rig might slide off the road. That is a little different than a mountain bike or Jeep losing traction.
Behind The Rocks was devoid of signage and the Delorme map was of no help. So rather than guess which was the main road at each of the many Y’s, I decided we had driven far enough for one day. Besides, at some point it was supposed to become more trail than our stock Liberty can handle.
We invited our CG host, Bill, over for dinner and we had a very nice chat.
Being in Utah, I thought I would read a little about the LDS faith. Nothing unremarkable to me. Typical Protestant theme. One thing stood out to me, they believe the Constitution is divinely inspired.
We have been to three National Parks so far this year. It's a different experience with so few rangers. We were told at two parks, that due to budget cuts, no interpretive rangers are being replaced.
Volunteers (SCA) are used for ranger talks and walks, the front desk, and even at fee entry stations. We spent two weeks at the Grand Canyon and never saw a ranger, except on ranger walks.
The park are running on auto-pilot, vandalism is up, rules are being ignored.
While the parks are an American treasure, they may be on a downhill slide due to budget cuts to finance other departments of the government.
Tuesday, April 24 – I really didn’t feel like going on a hike. My feet have been giving me problems. We spent time getting ready for our next hop. I cleaned out the refrigerator and pantry because we are grocery shopping on our way out of town. Don vacuumed and got everything nice and clean. And suddenly, the wind started blowing. I didn’t get the windows closed fast enough so everything got dirty again. After going to the beauty shop and back to the library, we came home and I swept and mopped the floors and Don worked on the outside. After dinner, we visited with Dan & Barb Adamson, an LD couple from Ohio that we met at the Mothership.
Wednesday, April 25 - Very reluctantly we left Moab and drove two hours north to Price. We have enjoyed our stay in Moab, but the weather is warming up so we decided to move north. We went to the local BLM and Forest Service offices and discovered that almost all CG’s are closed until mid-May or June! We had dinner at Los 2 Amigos which was pretty good. We “camped” for the night at Wal*Mart along with another RV.
Our reason for being here is to see the rock art in Nine Mile Canyon. Obstacles: They are paving the road and rain is forecast.
Thursday, April 26 – 70% chance of rain today and 50% tonight. We observed less than five minutes of light rain. Spent the day and night in the Heritage city park, waiting for the all clear.
Friday, April 27 – We drove to Nine Mile Canyon, which is really 40 miles long and parked at the only CG on road – a working cattle ranch. After lunch, we drove to the rock art section in Daddy Canyon, stopping at several places to wonder at the art.
The panel below has appeared in National Geographic. The paved road will bring more people and that may not be good for the petroglyph sites as people like to deface them.
The Great Hunt Scene
We have decided that one guy roamed the west offering art in exchange for meals. You want a sheep? I can do many sheep for you. Of course, after awhile he had imitators. That folks is why there is so much of it.
We have also determined that the pictures showing anthropomorphic figures with antenna are nothing more than common aliens who beamed up the Anasazi who are now living in comfort in Gemini II. A place known to be free of liberals.
Common Aliens
The later Indians were also into advertising. This is the first cut of the Sinclair gasoline ad of the early 60’s. It’s labeled for your edification.
Now you know.
Saturday, April 28 – We figured that since we were over half through the 40 miles of road under construction the quickest way out was to continue. Besides, all the dirt hauling trucks were heading east so that must be where the road is being improved. Wrong. It took us 2:25 crawling along at 13mph to get to the fine smooth new blacktop. Our GPS had no clue where we were which became critical to getting to US40. Fortunately a local flagged us down and set us on the right road. Love these Utah folks.
We made it to Dinosaur NP near Vernal, UT after lunch. The last time we were here it was roasting hot. This time, it’s cool. For the first time this month we have TV, all networks. Plus OK cell phone coverage. We remember Dinosaur as being good, but it is absolutely gorgeous. We have a wonderful view of one of my favorite mountains! We’re happy campers and are glad we are here.
Here’s picture of the locale we took in 2009.
Sunday, April 29 – We vegged. Watched CBS Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes and The Good Wife.
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