Moab Part 1

So, having had quite a lot of fun in Albuquerque, it was time to head to Moab.  Mandy decided that she had enough time off to join me for a few days in my quarter-life crisis (sweet!).  Well, this was going to be a lot more fun with a second person along, so we packed up everything we thought we would needed and pointed our convoy to Moab.

Of course, our plan was to drive to Moab that day and camp at night once we got there.  Of course, like any good plan, we didn't follow it.  We made it as far as southern Colorado, got distracted by all of the trees, and decided it would be a good place to camp.  We found a sweet little campsite and setup shop.

 Of course, we tried to go hiking that evening.  That didn't work out all that well.  The trail we chose immediately crossed a river, and of course there was no bridge.  Oh well, at least the rocks are smooth, lets just try to hike it!  Well, eventually we made it across without anyone really falling in the water, only to be greeted by a private property sign.  Huh, where does the trail go?  Maybe around the sign?  Nope that just turned into a driveway.  Dang it, fine, we have been defeated by the trail.  After about 45 min, we gave in, took the bridge (which turned out to be part of the driveway) back across the river, and headed toward camp.

The next day, on the way to Moab, we saw some pretty spectacular vistas.  I had to hike up a hill at the side of the road to take a few pictures.  Man, was it worth it.

 Once we made it to Moab, it was time for some hiking and off-roading in Arches national park.  The park just blows my mind.  The forces required to chisel out all of that stone and leave just an arch standing is amazing.  The iconic Delicate Arch is crazy, just hanging out on the side of a cliff, nothing at all to support it.  How in the world do you get a structure like that from random natural forces?

Yes, I was rocking a bandana.  Yes, that might make me sort of redneck.

 The next day dawned, as any good day should, without any plan.  After some wandering around and talking to the tourism center, we settled on renting a kayak and floating down the Colorado.  The views were epic, and the water was awesome.  The part the we floated, just north of Moab, was only class 1 and 2 rapids, but still enough to be interesting!  The second half of the day was spent trying to make headway into what felt like a 100mph headwind.  It was probably only 20-30, but still enough to bring you to a dead stop when you quit paddling.

 Once we made it down the river, we still had all afternoon to kill.  I had heard that the sunsets at Arches are spectacular, so off we head for a little more hiking.

 We met a very interesting group of people, and apparently their thing is to go around the country and come up with interesting poses for pictures.  They were a lot of fun to talk to, and made the evening quite entertaining.

Mandy was headed back to Albuquerque the next day, but I am staying for a little bit longer to enjoy the mountain biking and hiking.  More pictures to come!

Oklahoma and New Mexico

Well, I am getting further west.  I am slowly starting to get into the traveling groove, not needing to be on the move all the time, and trying to slow down and smell the roses.  It is a good feeling, and I have seen some pretty sweet sights so far.

I camped at a small lake in Oklahoma.  The mosquitoes were pretty nasty, I was convinced they were going to just carry me away.  However, I did get to kayak out onto the lake and watch a really spectacular sunset.  Camped the evening, and then trucked for Albuquerque the next day.  On the way to Albuquerque, I saw a little crop duster buzzing around over the fields.  Man, they look like fun!

Hung out for a few days in Albuquerque with a good friend Mandy.  We went hiking at Tent Rocks national monument, there was some really cool stuff to see there.  We also saw Man of Steel (good movie!) and I caught up on the latest Dr. Who.  All kinds of fun!

Chilling in the shade.  This is the way to hike!

The next day, I went out to White Mesa mountain bike area.  It was a spectacular trail.  About two hours getting around the trail (I am still getting used to being at 6000 feet in 100 degree weather!).  The trail ran about 4 miles down a ridge and then turned around and ran back up a parallel ridge.  There were some pretty interesting edge of the cliff sections, but the views were worth it!

There was a really cool 30 foot deep pit along the trail.  It was the only place the whole ride I saw any water!  And it was at the top of one of the ridges!  New Mexico has some pretty spectacular geological formations.  Between the colossal ridges, buttes, mesa, and everything else, there is no shortage of places to explore.

All in all, New Mexico is pretty spectacular!

Blast off

The time has come for me to truly set off into the unknown.  I have already cut ties with my old life, and now the truck is packed up and ready to be my base of operations for the next 1-2 months.  I have a custom hammock stand (long 2x4), padded kayak carrier (blue camping pad wrapped truck rack), and a custom fit bike holder (fork mount bolted to slab of wood).  There are even custom cargo containers strapped into the back seat (plastic tubs and string).

It turns out it takes quite a lot of gear to be ready for all of this adventure for an entire summer. 

And I am starting to get the tiniest inkling of how the explorers that left Britain for America, or that left a settled homestead to go to the wild west felt.  It is scary.  When you think about it too hard, it leaves that little knot in your stomach that is your body saying 'Dude, you're crazy!'  But its exciting!

It feels like a roller coaster ride.  When you first make the commitment to break ties and go travel, you have just gotten in line.  You aren't quite committed yet, but its hard to turn back and you have lots of time to think.  Then comes breaking all of your old ties.  This is when you strap in to the coaster at the bottom of the first hill.  The enormity of the undertaking starts to sink in, and you have to gulp down that little knot and go for it.

I am now at the top of the hill.  I am just starting to feel the coaster plunging into the abyss, and you can see that the track just drops straight off.  In my case, I am leaving my comfy house and the security of the familiar for a road trip in a 16 year old truck with 280,000 well loved miles.  It is at the same time exhilarating, scary, and wonderful.

But I know that out there, adventure awaits.  There is so much world, so many grand vistas to take your breath away, wonderful people to meet, cultures to sample, and mistakes to be lived. 

Bill Waterson (Calvin and Hobbes) said it best, "Its a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... Lets go exploring!"

Hardest part of something new

People.  They are the hardest part of something new.  

Not the new people, or the scariness of starting a new life.  Not flinging myself into the relative unknown of France, where I don't even speak the language yet.  The hardest part of starting over is leaving all the wonderful people I already know.  Being in one place for five years makes for quite a few really good friends.  Just uprooting and telling them all goodbye, for me, is harder than the uncertainty of not knowing where I will be going next.  Those people make your life, and leaving them is, in some way, cutting out a piece of your life.  

So, as a sort of last hurrah with some good friends, we got together for a float trip down the elk river.  Beautiful river, and the outfitter was really nice.  We got there on Friday evening (after I led the convoy on the very scenic route, to no end of mockery when we got there) and set up camp.  We had an awesome evening of beer and stories and a full moon(not the cheese kind) around the campfire, and finally everyone hit the hay.

The day dawned beautiful.  After a 20 min ride, we hit the water in true chillax fashion.

Every float trip needs some flying water.

After a few miles, a few of us found a 'shortcut' that had to be taken!  It was the best kind of shortcut, with down trees and much longer than the main channel.

 

And then it started getting more hairy.

Finally, after we got about 40 min into our 2 min shortcut, we decided to 'cut our losses' and just portage to the main river, which we thought was just over the hill.  Turns out, not so much.

Once we joined everyone else, we had a wonderful lunch.  After lunch, the sky started closing in.  At first, it was just a little rain.  We tried to hide under some trees to see if it would just pass over.

Shortly, we gave up and just enjoyed the deluge!

Eventually we made it back home.  After all the adventures of the day, it was time to pack up everything (of course, it dumping down rain) and make tracks for somewhere drier.  However, the day ended with some wonderful Mellow Mushroom pizza, so it all turned out well in the end.