****We are changing the format of our blog. Since we have been staying in places for more days at a time, blogging day to day hasn’t been working out****
Boulder, CO May 9-13
After a day spent inside the camper avoiding the hail, we left Taos, NM. I didn’t think the desert was cold either but it sure was. We went straight to Boulder, CO to visit Ryan’s brother Corey and his girlfriend Dee. It was raining there, too… weird.
One morning, we headed out to walk the dog which turned into close to a 10 mile hike. Not really sure how that happened...? We hiked to the top of Bear Peak at around 8000 feet of elevation; something we are not used to. It was super steep and rocky, but so worth it. The view was endless since it was a bluebird day. We met Nick, from CT, at the summit. He was also road tripping. He pointed over to Boulder Peak, and asked if we were going to hike that one also. It was slightly taller than Bear Peak, and had been part of a forest fire in 2012. Sure... why not? It was a neat peak - we had a nice distant view of a monstrous train cruising around weaving in and out of the mountains.
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| Bear Peak |
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| Boulder Peak - ONLY YOU can prevent wildfires! |
Had to, had to, had to buy some bicycles today - and what better than a pair of Marins that we had ridden in Moab a few years back (and unridden since then)? This will prove to be a totally worthy investment for the trip - Thanks Randy!
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| Matching Marins - how cute. |
Did you know that you can quite easily exercise a psychopathic Weimaraner with an RC car that goes 30+ mph? Well, you can. And it’s a lot easier than going for a hike.
Visited an old friend while in Boulder, Taylor and her two handsome little boys. Enjoyed some watermelon and 12 years of catching up on the front porch of a home in Boulder that I spent part of a summer at, many many years ago. It’s always interesting to see old friends adulting (made up word) after so many years. Emily and I are totally adulting, too! (you know - no jobs, no home, and driving around aimlessly!)
Eagle, CO May 14-16
So my flip flop fell inside a port-o-potty. Yes, inside! If you know me, obviously I left it there. If you really know me, you know I’m lying. Yup, I fished it out. I know, that’s disgusting. I was opening the lid with my foot because I didn't want to touch it due to germs. When I went to out my foot down, I hit it on the seat and the port-a-potty stole it! Fortunately the potty had just been cleaned, only a couple uses and my flip flop landed right side up. I know, that’s still disgusting but they are my only pair.
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| Flip-Flopped right into the poo. |
Corey’s buddy Dave, an experienced river dude (formal title), outfitted us on a big paddle raft for a bit of the Colorado River experience today. Pretty cool scene, and a riot to run some rapids. Nothing huge, but absolutely a good intro. Corey snapped a paddle with his brute strength as we were “threading the needle” in a narrow section of rapids. A couple of necessary beer…I mean rest stops along the way, and plenty of sights to see.
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| Big Dah - river dude. |
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| brute strength. |
Tested out the mountain bikes for the first time. With Dee, we hit up Bone Yard, a grueling 9 mile trail. Quite steep in some sections but ended on a sweet, much needed downhill. No one fell! And I (Ryan) hucked my meat off some sweet jumps. Like being a kid again.
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| eye twins |
Fruita, CO May 17-18
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| Before the cold set in, Fruita was beautiful! Free camping in public lands. |
The cold found us again. Got down to 37 degrees with mixed precipitation. We may have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy…..in one day…..the extended versions. I think that makes up for the 33 days of no TV.
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| Yes, it snows in the desert. |
The weather cleared enough for a bike ride. When they call it mountain biking, they really mean it! Is there such thing as off-road biking? As steep and tough as the trail was, the view was sweet and the exercise was great. Fruita turned out to be a really cool place, totally devoted to mountain biking. I think we’ll go back someday. We were anxious to get to Moab, UT before the weekend rush.
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| Emily shredding the North Fruita Desert |
Moab, UT May 19-23
Moab is comforting. It’s the first place we have stopped at on our trip that is somewhat familiar. We came here a few years ago for some outdoor adventure. It sure is a popular place. If you like hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking, 4 wheeling, side-by-siding and jeeping then you need to visit Moab…. I mean, no, don’t come here. The place sucks. Absolutely horrible. Stay away.
They also have zip lining, river activities and lets not forget Arches National Park! I don’t think we’ll make it to the park this trip. Been there; done that, but highly recommended…. I mean, uh…. stay away from Moab. Miserable. Did I mention there are big pits full of spent Uranium? (there actually are). Stay away.
We hiked Coop out to Morning Glory Arch via the Negro Bill Canyon Trail (Google Negro Bill so I don’t have to explain myself). A quick 4.5 mile out n’ back along a stream. The trail was loaded with people but has great scenery and an arch at the end where people can rappel from.
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| Negro Bill Canyon |
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| Don't come here. So much Uranium. |
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| Morning Glory Arch |
Ryan managed to lose the camper keys for a couple hours. We were locked out of the camper and the cap of the truck, so pretty much everything. We had driven out to a mesa to hike Cooper and when we got back, the keys were no where to be found. We searched the truck multiple times, no keys. Ryan rode his bicycle down to where we parked for our walk, no keys. Finally he remembered putting the keys on the bumper of the truck and lo and behold….there they were. Stuck between the the bumper and the tailgate. We were lucky.
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| not a recommended key storage location |
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| edge of the world |
***
I (Ryan) went out on a ride with Corey and Brappy Chappy (actual birth name) yesterday (Monday?) on a renowned trail, Porcupine Rim. Epic, epic, epic. Emily shuttled us way up into the LaSal Mountains, as we had left Corey’s BroMaster at the finish line. I put my Marin through a major test, and it passed with probably a B+ average. We’re talking about 30 miles with the add-on sections, most of which was technical single-track, with ledge drops after ledge drops. It felt as though my bike and body may explode at every ledgy section, but I managed to stay on the bike for most of the ride, with only two minor (nearly kissing a nice large rock, and hugging a Juniper tree) spills. If you fall in some spots on this ride, prepare for a 200 foot fall and being vacuumed up with a shop vac. Fortunately, I did not experience this quick-death scenario, as you probably know, because I’m typing this. Great, great day. Still rattled to the bone. Ready for more.
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Moab has quieted down substantially since the weekend-end. Our next decision we are facing is “Do we leave Moab or do we stay here for Memorial Weekend, since we already have a camping spot?” Decisions, decisions.
Decisions seem to be becoming more and more difficult to make. Where to go? What to do? What are we going to do when our trip is over? Should we work somewhere to make some money? Where do we want to live? It’s easy to say “whatever, man” until you’re in the hot seat. It’s almost like there are too many options!
But… whatever, man.
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| 40 days of flip-flops has its pitfalls. Call me Bilbo. |
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| check out my "ghettooooo Dickson mod" for securing bicycles in the truck |
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| Moab Rocks, jk it sucks - don't come here. |
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| Fun with time exposure. Or Uranium poisoning. |
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| whatever, man |
Whatever, man! GO!
ReplyDeleteFun read! What a cool adventure.
ReplyDelete