Stardate 2018.858

Fall 2018 Is Going Strong

Doing a blog post a week didn't get far, did it? Oh well, I blame it on Parkinson's. However, in all fairness to my new disease, I've had a busy fall as well. Snowcatcher and I spent two weeks in travel to California and back. Both of us have been very busy at work. Instead of blogging, I've been watching old original series Star Trek episodes, et cetera, et cetera.

I've been doing lots of work overtime too, which needs to stop because it enhances Parkinson's irritation. I've now experienced two types of fatigue; the good fatigue, such as doing a 120-mile bike ride and being dog-tired, yet feeling good about it. Then the second type of fatigue is being dog-tired for no good reason and wanting only to curl up with depression and sleep for hours on end, feeling good about nothing.

Nonetheless, my mountain biking skills are slowly getting better. However, I don't, at this point, expect them to be where they once were. Time will tell.

Anyway, following are a handful of pics taken this past September and October. I would have taken the mountain bike out today, but I'm not quite ready for temps in the 30s. At least the sun is out. The first photo is of Waterton Canyon resident bighorn sheep lounging around chewing their cud pre-rut season. Currently, they're busy chasing the girls. Enjoy the pics.




We all know this girl. If you require a hint, she's the S*********r.



I grew-up skiing at a small ski area in western Colorado called Powderhorn. Below rises its eastern lift. I miss those years of skiing a lot. Things were different then.




The middle section of the ski area is kind of rolling.




I love seeing kids start so early. You go girl!



Cedar City, Utah, is almost halfway between Denver, Colorado, and Bakersfield, California. The town is on our retirement short list. It lies at the base of Utah's Markagunt Plateau and north of the whopping 20-mile drop onto the northeastern Mojave Desert. Many, many, years ago I thought I'd landed a job in Cedar City as a hydrologist for the Forest Service; it didn't happen. I've also spent time here doing geomorphic field work with a buddy working on his PhD.



See you next time!

Adios

Stardate 2016.419

Prickly pear cacti (Opuntia)

My Secret Place

Surreal rock colors and formations




Difficult to access creek




Towers from left to right: Mongoose and Sari (yes, they are climbed)




Above a hidden canyon




One-lane road access and watch for flash floods




24 stream crossings




Hindu (yes, it is climbed)




Peak flows carrying today's mountain snowmelt won't arrive until wee morning hours




Poppymallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)




Prickly pear about to blossom... big-time




Professor Valley




Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2016.414

Island In The Sky And A Dead Horse
Snowcatcher and I continued our adventure with a trip to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point, which is on the way, always gets a visit too. In fact, we were going to mountain bike some of the Intrepid Trail System while at Dead Horse Point. Disappointedly, the weather put the kibosh on that plan. On the other hand, we enjoyed playing sightseer for the day. The below shot is a view to the southeast from Dead Horse Point.



Dead Horse Point legend is a bit gloomy. So, either read on, or skip this paragraph. Local lore has it that cowboys rounded up wild horses and herded them across a narrow bit of land out onto the point (Dead Horse Point). Being only 30 yards wide and surrounded by cliffs, the narrow neck was easily corralled with wood and brush. The cowboys would select their wild horses and leave the non-chosen penned up without water. Eventually the penned horses died of thirst. On a brighter note, the views downriver are outstanding! The Princess Plume (Stanleya albescens) was in full bloom as well.



Dead Horse Point and Island in the Sky tower 2,000 feet above the Colorado River. Farther south, the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers lies deep within the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. From Dead Horse Point, Island in the Sky has many views, including a windowed portal.




Thunderstorms began approaching from the south by mid-morning.



This is one of the numerous Colorado River goosenecks found throughout canyon country. The river flows left to right. The road at the bottom of the pic is the Potash jeep road. It connects with the Shafer Trail Road from below. Shafer Trail is accessed from the top. Either road provides access to the remote reaches of the White Rim 4x4 Road.




The storm inched closer...



The storm quickly overcame us, and we drove an hour down to Moab to grab a bite to eat at Zax's Wood Fired Pizza. Better yet, Snowcatcher and I enjoyed our first date at this restaurant after a road bike ride through Arches National Park years ago. We enjoy eating here when in town, but the first date anniversary makes it a specially nostalgic locale. After lunch we took on a poppymallow excursion. The poppymallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea) was at peak, and we savored numerous massive patches of orange all across the desert.




Here's today's parting shot from Moab — enjoy!




I have one more blog post to go on this most recent adventure.

Adios

Stardate 2016.400

The Goblin Keeper

Goblin Valley
Our Utah trip continued with a visit to Goblin Valley State Park. Goblin Valley is a dense collection of eroded hoodoos. I've been there numerous times. However, this trip was a bit different as the park has put in a nice little selection of mountain bike-specific trail. Thanks to Snowcatcher's research, we had to visit. I'm glad we did; bikes aside, it's a lair of desert magic. Better yet, surrounding the park mysticism is miles and miles and miles of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) enchantment.

Goblin Valley resides in southeast Utah and is located southwest of the town of Green River and north of the hamlet of Hanksville. The Henry Mountains seemingly rise out of nowhere to an elevation over 11,000 feet. Perhaps we should have a "why the Henry's are there" blog sometime.



A handful of posts back, while sitting at 30,000 feet, I mentioned I was flying over a region where I had spent time doing hydrologic and geomorphic fieldwork. Well, here I was; right back in the middle of the study area again — kuule beanz! It's not quite as isolated as it was 29 years ago, but it's still in the middle of heaven. We even had the bike trail, which is less than a year old, mostly to ourselves. On a side note, if you're a rock hound, lots of exposed chert may be found scattered around.




Some nice specimens of agate caught our attention too.




Wild Horse Butte rises to an elevation of 5,760 feet above the San Rafael Desert.




Colorful weathered Buttes dot the San Rafael Desert.




Stratigraphy of Wild Horse Butte tells the tale to those trained in this language. I'm not one of them.



I wonder what things will look like after another 1,000,000 years of geologic erosion. A time machine would be nice. In the following pic, the small road-looking feature just above right of photo center is actually Wild Horse Creek. The distant upthrust rocks just below the clouds in the photo upper right are the southern reach of the San Rafael Swell.




Another fine example of exposed agate caught our attention.



Looking south and to the left, Navajo Mountain touches the sky at 10,387 feet. On the right, the Henry Mountains greet the sky at more than 11,000 feet. The intricate canyon reaches of Lake Powell lie in between.




Who said nothing can grow in a desert?




All that's missing from this shot is a sun-bleached bovine carcass.




This is Goblin Valley proper. I grew up calling these erosive features hoodoos.






And another blog has come and gone. But, I have more, stay tuned...

Adios

Stardate 2016.395

Utah's Little Grand Canyon
Following are some pics from the northern San Rafael Swell region. If you've driven I-70 West out of Green River, Utah, you no doubt have been impressed by the upthrust stone that looks impossible to breach. That's the eastern slope of the swell (dome-shaped anticline). North and south regions of the swell are split by I-70.

Snowcatcher and I visited the impressive eroded features of the northern region's Wedge area during a recent trip. If you ever visit this enchanted expanse, I recommend entering the Little Grand Canyon from the south via I-70 because of the enhanced canyon scenic values (although, it's all scenic). The start from the south is on typical ranch and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) access roads.



The northernmost extension of the central route of the historic Old Spanish Trail ran between Green River, Utah and Castle Dale, Utah, skirting the Wedge area to the north. The Old Spanish Trail was a trade route between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and southern California from the early 1800s to approximately 1850. The reason the trail goes so far north is to bypass the intricately complex canyon country of southern Utah and northern Arizona, which at the time was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to navigate.

After to 15 to 20 miles, the Little Grand Canyon came into view.




secluded...




...and stunning




I'm not sure what these flagstone cairns were used for; our navigation was easy and straight-forward.




A blooming barrel cactus.




We enjoyed the erosive features of the Little Grand Canyon by cycling along the edge from the Wedge Overlook.




The San Rafael River flows through the canyon. The other side is Sid's Mountain Wilderness Study Area.




There is no better architect than time.




I'd love to explore the river bottom some time.






The weathered canyon uplands have a wrinkled personality all their own.




The low-light angle of early evening tends to bring the canyon to life.






More to come...

Adios