Needles in a Haystack...Canyonlands NP

[Moody]

It must have been the elk. Six or seven of them, making their way across the dirt in front of me, didn't even bother to wave. They didn't even care enough to give us a look. Yup, the elk did it. I was out there. I grinned. Probably one of those '****-eating grins' my dad always used to talk about. Finally. I had made it.

We planned on hitting up the Needles District of Canyonlands for Utah's UEA fall break. As my wife and I are both teachers, we have the time off and tend to travel south to escape every October. Our plan was simple, travel from Salt Lake to Blanding, and find the Cottonwood Wash road North into the Canyonlands National Park, and secure a camp spot just shy of the park's southernmost entrance.

More to come.

 

[Moody]

We hit the dirt late. Much later than expected. We made our way up and over the Abajo Mountains, passing multiple camping spots along the way. "What's wrong with that one?" Hilary asked. "It is up too high, and the kids will be cold at night." was my best excuse. They were excellent spots, just not what I had 'envisioned' where we would be spending the next few days. Despite Hilary's 'looks' of "when in the hell are we going to get there?!" and such, I kept passing them. I wanted to find a good camp, dammit.

Then came Bobby's Hole. I had been warned. And they were all right. Each and every one of them. Bobby probably didn't clench up his butt cheeks more than I did though, as there isn't anything that can prepare you for driving down a loose, steep, rocks-as-big-as-my-tires rolling with the vehicle as we descend, hill. At night. Did I mention it had some big rocks?

It took me some time to relax myself.

But then we found it. The spot.

It even had a decent view from the commode: (Thanks KC)

Olivia was excited in the morning:

 

[Moody]

Once we got around to rolling ourselves out of bed, err, when the kids woke us up at 7am, we made some breakfast, and tried out the french press Ikea makes. Once the sun hit the camp,and our motors were primed, things warmed up nicely. We were lucky enough to get into camp midweek and had the place to ourselves. It had been quite some time since I had been exposed to true silence that I found in Canyonlands. I thought to myself, "We are needles in a haystack...".


Hilary had started to not feel well, so Whitney and I, along with Alexander decided to go exploring...


We liked what we found.

More to come...

 

[fearghal]

great pictures! looking at yours and sinuhes pictures i realize i didn't even scratch the surface of southern utah during my week there earlier this year.

time to plan another trip.

 

[durango_60]

Nice report, I've gotta get to Canyonlands again!

 

[kcowyo]

The search for the perfect campsite is never ending. But it sure is fun to go lookin'. :beer:

Nice to see another picturesque family adventure in Canyonlands with the Moodys. Olivia gets cuter with every picture and Xander is getting big.

So who's Whitney? Did you score another wife? I thought you were a Jack M.?

:campfire:
.

 

[Moody]

The search for the perfect campsite is never ending. But it sure is fun to go lookin'. :beer:

Nice to see another picturesque family adventure in Canyonlands with the Moodys. Olivia gets cuter with every picture and Xander is getting big.

So who's Whitney? Did you score another wife? I thought you were a Jack M.?

:campfire:
.

Fearghal, I have lived here my entire life to date, and I have yet to see all of Utah...as sinuhexavier said, there are so many things to see here, you can spend a lifetime and not see it all. I could have spent 2 weeks right there exploring more on foot.

Whitney is Hilary's sister. I didn't score another wife, though she is cute...it runs in the McKinnon family. Kevin, (Whitney's husband) had drill for the Army, so couldn't make it...they changed dates at the last minute.

My middle name is Jack M. Roger "Jack M." Moody. I have been asked to be the poster child of all Jack M's, but I have declined their offers (graciously of course) every time...

 

[Moody]

As with any adventure, some things you just don't anticipate come around and give you a slap upside the face. This is just one of those such events.

I tried heating up the ends with the stove to melt the pieces together, didn't work. Thought about drilling a tiny hole in the middle of the two pieces to mount a rod to connect them. No tiny drillbit. Despite all of the emergency goods I brought along, zipties, pliers, screwdrivers, belts, and the like, it was the good ol' duct tape that somewhat saved the day.

Oh...KC, thanks for the kind words about Xander and Olivia...they get that from their Mamma (as you already know).

 

[articulate]

Yeah, this is going to go over very well:

 

[Moody]

Yeah, this is going to go over very well:

Yes, you see the proverbial 'writing on the wall'...



It didn't last.


Gratefully, Hilary wasn't the captain of this ship, as she was pulling full-time mom duties while I drove.

It is somewhat ironic to note I happen to leave an extra set of glasses in my truck all the time for just such an occasion. Hilary does not.

More to come...

 

[Moody]

"People are strange, when you're a stranger..."

It must have been Friday afternoon sometime...we had all decided to take a little siesta. I had just dozed off, and I was having a fantastic dream about the future when I heard from a distance,

"Yeeello? Anybody home? Yello, yello?"

It is strange when you hear a foreign voice waking you up from sleep. I recall a song about dreaming. It is when you are dreaming, and you become aware that you are dreaming and you come awake, trying to hold on to the images and emotions you feel within the dream.

I can't describe the feeling when

I'm in my bed asleep and then
I wake up with a vision blurred
And all my efforts are detered
To reconstruct this image lost

I was bent. I wanted my dream back.

I thought it was a ranger, coming to check in with us. It wasn't. It was a guy asking if I was staying the night, as he was hoping to stay there. I told him I was going to be there that night, and he was on his way.
I never did remember the entire dream. I suppose I need to go back to find it sometime.

 

[Moody]

Continued...

On the way through the park, heading out, there are quite a few really nice panels of pictographs. Some require a short hike, some require a keen eye, and some you can virtually drive right up to. Being the history geek I am, (I even teach history) these pictographs really got me excited. I found myself humbled, to be standing in the same place as a Native American did 900 + years ago, sans the 4wd, nylon tents, and gore tex. I am amazed at the ingenuity and adaptive skills of these people, able to survive with such extremes, the intense desert heat, and the winter cold. Here I think of myself as an adventurer...they were living the ultimate of all adventures and they found the time to leave their mark for future generations. I can't help but think what kind of mark I might leave when I am gone.

The Needles District is an excellent area to explore. There are countless rods just outside of the park's southern boundaries to keep a well-equipped explorer busy for a few weeks. The are is remote, if any sort of serious injury were to occur here, you would be at least an hour from help, and another hour to a hospital. Go prepared. Like a gear head boy scout.

I was cautioned to top off my tank in Blanding, and be sure to have an extra 5 gallons of gas if I planned on exploring off the main road at all. There is no water in the Needles. I did find a small stash of water that appeared to have been there for awhile, but don't count on finding water. We brought 5 gallons on top of the vehicle, and we had another 5 gallons inside, with a few random bottles stored for personal use.

I strongly recommend some sort of portable toilet in the Needles District. In the majority of the area, once you are off of the main trail, the ground is covered with tumbleweeds. If you plan on digging a cat hole for your business, you will have to hike through thick prickles and risk an uncomfortable squat to say the least.

I was cautioned about Bobby's Hole, and I was told Elephant Hill would have a little bit of what I call the 'clench factor', aka the clenching of your butt cheeks. I found the full-time 4wd of my landcruiser was sufficient for the majority of the roads, though I found myself engaging low range in a number of places, mostly for the downhill sections of Bobby's Hole, though the ascent up Elephant Hill was expedited by the engagement of the rear locking differential.

Some photos:

 

[Moody]

A few more photos of the route out to Elephant Hill:

 

[Moody]

The following pictures are from my 'other wife' Whitney:

(Thanks Whitney...)

Thanks...

Roger

 

[Jacket]

What's up with these?

Somebody's stash for another day?

Very nice pics and trip!