Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 6: Girls' Hike and a Check-up for Farley

I caught an awful cold and laryngitis on the way to Lake Powell with my friend Yvonne a few weeks ago.  I was over it before this trip but apparently gave it to Marc.  Who gave it to Other Mark while they shared the Casita before Jo and I arrived.  Then he also gave it back to me.  Somehow, Jo's been immune to it so far.  But three of the four of us at this campsite sound like hell, stuffed up and coughing. Lucky for Wayne and Cindy, they're staying at a cabin in town, far away from the germs.

Today Marc and Wayne rode Porcupine Rim.  I opted out.  Partly because I was so exhausted yesterday, partly because I was scared. They finished with just one crash between them--Marc's.  One of his knees is a little banged up.

I had called the most highly-rated auto repair place in town yesterday to see if they could take a look at the clunk coming from under Farley on bumps.  They said they could get him in at noon today.  So Jo and I dropped him off while Other Mark shuttled Marc and Wayne to their ride.  Then we hooked up with Cindy for a girls' hike to Hidden Valley.  With directions from Marc and Other Mark, who did the hike last week, we still didn't find the petroglyphs.  Turns out we didn't go far enough.  But it was a good climb to a gorgeous meadow, one not like anything else I've seen in Moab.

Hidden Valley. 

And it turns out all Farley needed was to have his lower shock bolts tightened. Best $50 spent.  It was a little expensive for such a simple fix, but the peace of mind that the wheel isn't going to fall off is worth it.

Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 5: The Best Trail Ever, but Not the Best Day Riding It

Today Other Mark shuttled Wayne, Marc and me to the start of Mag 7, my favorite trail in Moab.  But sometimes, you just aren't feeling it and I didn't ride it very well.  I stopped and got off too many times without even trying the things that looked challenging to me.  Plus I got a flat. We finished the ride and then rode the eight miles back to town, which is mostly downhill but today was also into a headwind the whole way so it was still work even though I was exhausted.

Marc loves to have his
picture taken.  On Mag 7.

Me, at a moment of not being

a chicken-shit.

 
As we went toward the bridge over the Colorado River, here was a guy sitting there on a huge rock with what looked like some long poles or ropes.  I said, "Hey, whatcha got there?"  He said he had a slackline and if we waited a minute, he'd be getting on it.  So we waited and watched with amazement.  It was windy and looked especially challenging.

Dude slack-lining the Colorado River.

We biked on to the Moab Brewery where the tap beer is Utah-awful (Utahful?) but the house-made root beer is good.  As are the 25c wings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  After eating to our stomachs' content, we loaded our bikes into Other Mark's truck and headed back to camp, where we celebrated with Halloween masks by the fire.  P.S.  No trick-or-treaters ... 

When you don't get trick-or-treaters,
you have to make your own fun.

Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 4: Not Every Day Is Exciting

After a lot of hemming and hawing and about what to do for far too long, we decided to head into town for some free wifi at the visitors' center so Marc could read the sports news.  I happened to see a poster there for Day of the Dead celebration in the afternoon, and then I ran into Other Mark and Jo at the bookstore, so we decided to all go over together.  It was a pretty big celebration, with alters, candles to be lit, an educational area about death rituals in many different countries, and much more.  Unfortunately there wasn't any food available a la carte, and we weren't hungry enough for a $10 platter. I must say, though, that what Other Mark and Jo bought looked incredibly tasty and authentic.

Day of the Dead festival

One of the altars. 

Awesome mariachi band from Salt Lake.

After the festival, Marc and I headed up to try a new-to-us trail on the edge of town, Mill Creek Rim.  We unloaded the bikes, got all ready, headed up the trail, and then couldn't find where it went up to the ridge.  We looked everywhere.  It was supposedly a blue intermediate trail, so you'd think it would be pretty easy to find. Not like we should be climbing straight up a pile of rocks. We gave up and went back downtown where Marc read a little more at the visitors' center and I rode my bike along the length of the river trail.  Got to see some parts of Moab I'd never seen before!

Some parts of Moab

(this is the dirt part of the
river trail) are just like home.

Cool bench near the youth garden on the bike trail.

Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 3: Dead Horse, Hopefully Not Dead Van

Today we waited for our Helena friends Wayne and Cindy Huntley to arrive.  They'd spent the night in Spanish Fork, a few hours away.   While waiting, I carved the Wal-Mart pumpkin I brought from Helena to get ready for trick-or-treat on Monday. When Marc and I hadn't seen them by 11 a.m. or so, we decided to take on the day and head out to ride at Dead Horse Point State Park.

The trails at Dead Horse are beginner/intermediate with little bits of more technical stretches thrown in.  Marc and I rode 11 miles of cool desert trail.  We wrapped up with lunch in Farley and a stop at the visitor's center to learn a little something.  Farley did start making a clunking noise as we drove over a drain grate in the parking lot there, so we might get him checked out in town on Monday. 

The Intrepid Trail System in Dead Horse Point State Park. 
If you're a solid intermediate rider, you'll love this because
there's barely anything you can't get up or down.

After showers at the Moab Aquatic Center, we headed back to camp, where Wayne and Cindy had shown up and we were all planning to have dinner. We ate, drank, and laughed until Marc broke up the party by insisting on listening to the WSU-OSU game on XM. I learned during the game that the Huskies beat Utah today, which is no big deal, but Marc told me that ESPN College Game Day was in Salt Lake City.  That's right; Kirk Herbstreit was in the same state as me and Marc didn't even let me know.  Probably best for Kirk.

My pumpkin, ready for Halloween
in a mere two days.  No one seems to think
there will be kids in the campground on a Monday,
nor do they think they'll come up to a
van to get candy.  We'll see about that.

Sharing headphones to listen to the
WSU game on XM.  At this point,

we were down 21-0. 
Marc was dubious.

Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 2: Arch Hike, Mountain Bike

Across the street from our campground is the trailhead for what was formerly known as Negro Bill Canyon.  Now it's Grandstaff Canyon.  Regardless, Marc and I hiked up to what is the world's sixth largest arch.  It was an easier hike than I expected.  The arch is insane.  As were the folks rappelling from a wall nearby.  It was obviously a family and with a couple of guides.  I talked to the dad, who said he'd never rock-climbed before so, yes, beginners could do it.  They'd hiked in, rappelled one wall a short distance from this one, a little more hiking, then the second rappel, then they were going to hike out the same way Marc and I came in. I gotta check out the cost.  I work a ton in the next six weeks at the ambulance and might splurge if the price seems right.

Any hole in a rock wall with a couple of timber supports
is irresistible to mining man.

Morning Glory Arch, with
someone rappelling
in the background.

Then Marc and I headed to the Brands Trails area outside of town for a short afternoon ride.  We did one of my favorite Moab loops, Lazy-EZ.  It's the easy kind of trail where you won't get hurt on your first day and ruin the rest of your trip.  Then we did a second loop of more slick-rock type riding, O-Something. I describe it as the longest three miles in mountain biking. I was exhausted by the time we were done.  So we headed back to camp, made van quesadillas and salad, and sat around the fire drinking beer with Other Mark and Jo and getting to know our campground neighbors from Texas. Wayne and Cindy arrive tomorrow morning!

The Circle-O Trail. 
Way off in the distance is Arches National Park.

Farley Goes to Moab and the Mighty Palouse, Day 1: Two Girls, Two Bikes, One Van

Three couples--Other Mark Smith and Jo Berg, Wayne and Cindy Huntley, and Marc and I--planned a trip to Moab for a long weekend this weekend.  Then Marc and Other Mark had to go and decide to leave early, on Monday, so Other Mark could spend a little more quality time in the new Casita he and Jo brought home from the factory in Texas last month.  I had to work Tuesday and had book group Wednesday, so Jo and I decided to stick with the original plan and leave Thursday morning.
It was the first time I'd ever driven Farley any real distance without Marc.  I told him I was freaked out about a break-own.  He told me, "Just do what you'd do if I were there.  I'm not mechanical.  Call AAA." Luckily, it didn't come to that.  Farley was awesome.

It was a quick and, thankfully, uneventful, trip.  We were undecided about whether we'd stop and spend the night along the way or just bomb on through the 715 miles to get there in one day.  Somewhere around Salt Lake City, we realized it was only another four or so hours, so we decided bombing through was the way to go.  I was beyond hopped up on caffeine and at a bathroom stop in Wellington, Utah, I realized I was shaking, either from caffeine or not enough food, so we drove a couple blocks back to a fast-food Mexican place I'd seen for the Thursday two tacos and a soda special.

You can't beat all this food for $4.50
Soda included.
Horchata for an extra $1.

We got to Mark and Other Marc's campsite along the Colorado River outside of Moab around 7:30 that night.  We were distracted just before their campsite by a truck with huge light panels shining up onto the red rocks along the road.  We assumed it was some sort of road work or maybe search and rescue but turns out it a tourist company illuminates the rocks for a boat trip along the Colorado.

Farley, down by the
Colorado River.

Home is where the heart is. 
Go Cougs!

Canyon walls across the
street from our campsite,
all lit up for the boat tour.

Farley Heads for the Pacific Coast, Day 2: Bugs, Booze and Bocce

This morning I startled awake at 5:15 a.m.  I'm glad I did.  I missed the most brilliant part of the sunrise while I was getting dressed, but I caught an amazing reflection of it in the clouds and water to the west.

I missed the best part of the sunrise, but not the best part of its reflection

We only had a few hours to drive today, so it was pretty leisurely.  We stopped just across the river in Umatilla, Oregon, at the Pacific Salmon Visitor Information Center.  Not a lot of activity this time of year; September is the biggest run up the fish ladder, but we did see a few from the underwater viewing area.

Watching salmon climb the fish ladder back upstream.

Changing into shorts as the day warmed up, Marc discovered he had a tick!

Our only other stop was the Maryhill Winery, back on the Washington side of the river farther west.  We did a tasting, then got a glass of rose and checked out a free set of bocce balls and ventured to the courts to play. With the rules posted on the wall, it was pretty easy to learn.  It was like we were back in college bowling again.  I won; just let's make sure that fact gets stated.

Wine-tasting at Maryhill Winery.

Marc's doppleganger was standing
beside him at the bar.  I can't believe how
much they looked alike, from their hair
and glasses all the way to their similar sandals.

Reaching back into my college years to
regain my bowling form for bocce in the vineyard.

Tonight we're staying at Haystack Reservoir about 45 minutes north of Bend.  It's a real, $12 pay campsite.

$12 gets you neighbors who are much less sketchy.