The desert in June? Yeah, it is not the best time to travel to the deserts of Utah and Arizona but if your wife and daughter take off for two weeks. What to do? My wife and daughter leave to visit family in Florida every year. So, it is my chance to escape and explore. The last two or three summers, I have been lucky with weather. Cooler temperatures and at times, monsoonal moisture, etc. This year would be different. The temperatures would be warm. I would say 85-95 was the usual but a few days it approached 100. However, the beginning of June in the desert is special. The plants are the greenest they will be until next summer and rivers are their highest point with moisture coming off the high peaks. It's a good time for sure...Remember, it's a dry heat
Each year, I rally a group of friends and we make the best of it. I usually give a little direction to the trip, and we kind of fill the blanks in as we go along. The itinerary was loose but basically, we would start off in Moab, down to the Needles, Navajo Reservation, Grand Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Grand Staircase, and the Boulder Mountains. A very large loop.
I left Park City and motored down to Moab where the gang would meet. A great group of travelers...Teachers, a professional photographer and a brewery owner. Just a fun, easy going group. The fun would begin in Moab
My friend, Sam, pointing the way to the fun. To the adventure...
Barb and Sam are teachers, while Dave is a brewery owner. All were a little stunned when they saw Park Avenue in Arches from a little different perspective. I never get sick of this view!
Dave hadn't been on rappel for many years. He seemed quite comfortable to me though. The route involved four rappels but this one got everyone's attention at about 100 feet in length.
The following morning we headed for the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. The one thing about June, the desert is quiet. We rarely saw people. The only travelers we did see were from Europe. Their expressions and astonishment were contagious. They were amped to see the goods of canyon country!
There were a few random rock houses we saw along the way. I am sure in the depths of the rock, the temperature was splendid. But, we stayed outside and enjoyed the heat
Now, we traveled into the Needles District of Canyonlands and stopped at the visitor center. There was a road we were aiming to explore. Horse Canyon...This road has been closed for a few years. It gets hammered by flash floods and rarely opens. The ranger warned us that we might die or get stranded or ALL the above. We listened and then aired down our tires and traveled into the unknown. None of us had been there before. The canyon was also home to many Anasazi ruins.
Just stunning...It was warm out but we just marveled at the structures. Speechless...
The day was spent hiking and exploring alcoves and canyons. We saw rock art and ruins galore. Now, if you have ever been to canyon country; then you have witnessed Magic Hour. It was starting as we exited the canyon.
Shane's Tundra loaded for the adventure and fun in canyon country. Shane is a professional photographer out of Flagstaff, Arizona. He shoots large format cameras. Each shot takes him 15 minutes to setup. So, he let me shoot my digital on the way out...
I drive a 99 TLC. Horse Canyon ended up to be pretty mellow. A few washouts and some sand driving, but it was fairly benign.
Well, that was until Shane got stuck in a sand pit and had to be winched out. We exited the canyon in darkness. I need to go back. The canyon is magical and holds many secrets. I just haven't found them yet...
More to come...
Each year, I rally a group of friends and we make the best of it. I usually give a little direction to the trip, and we kind of fill the blanks in as we go along. The itinerary was loose but basically, we would start off in Moab, down to the Needles, Navajo Reservation, Grand Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Grand Staircase, and the Boulder Mountains. A very large loop.
I left Park City and motored down to Moab where the gang would meet. A great group of travelers...Teachers, a professional photographer and a brewery owner. Just a fun, easy going group. The fun would begin in Moab
My friend, Sam, pointing the way to the fun. To the adventure...
Barb and Sam are teachers, while Dave is a brewery owner. All were a little stunned when they saw Park Avenue in Arches from a little different perspective. I never get sick of this view!
Dave hadn't been on rappel for many years. He seemed quite comfortable to me though. The route involved four rappels but this one got everyone's attention at about 100 feet in length.
The following morning we headed for the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. The one thing about June, the desert is quiet. We rarely saw people. The only travelers we did see were from Europe. Their expressions and astonishment were contagious. They were amped to see the goods of canyon country!
There were a few random rock houses we saw along the way. I am sure in the depths of the rock, the temperature was splendid. But, we stayed outside and enjoyed the heat
Now, we traveled into the Needles District of Canyonlands and stopped at the visitor center. There was a road we were aiming to explore. Horse Canyon...This road has been closed for a few years. It gets hammered by flash floods and rarely opens. The ranger warned us that we might die or get stranded or ALL the above. We listened and then aired down our tires and traveled into the unknown. None of us had been there before. The canyon was also home to many Anasazi ruins.
Just stunning...It was warm out but we just marveled at the structures. Speechless...
The day was spent hiking and exploring alcoves and canyons. We saw rock art and ruins galore. Now, if you have ever been to canyon country; then you have witnessed Magic Hour. It was starting as we exited the canyon.
Shane's Tundra loaded for the adventure and fun in canyon country. Shane is a professional photographer out of Flagstaff, Arizona. He shoots large format cameras. Each shot takes him 15 minutes to setup. So, he let me shoot my digital on the way out...
I drive a 99 TLC. Horse Canyon ended up to be pretty mellow. A few washouts and some sand driving, but it was fairly benign.
Well, that was until Shane got stuck in a sand pit and had to be winched out. We exited the canyon in darkness. I need to go back. The canyon is magical and holds many secrets. I just haven't found them yet...
More to come...
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