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Ann Goes to Santa Fe
Ann leaves today to start her new job in Santa Fe on Wednesday. I’ll have plenty of things to keep me busy: selling Moby Jane, fixing up the camper and cargo trailer, and taking steps toward my dream of true mobile work with a heavy dose of outdoor time. I’ll be here on my own…
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Live Music: CSO & Gabriela Montero
We make it back to Dad’s house just in time to prepare for a concert. Gabriela Montero will play the 3rd Rachmaninoff piano concerto, and before it even starts we’re trying hard not compare her unfairly to “Olga“. As it turns out, she has a bit of a rocky night! She gets out of time…
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The Needles Outpost
The Canyonlands Needles Outpost is not to be missed. Get your solar-powered, off-the-grid milkshakes and hot showers here. Scramble on the rocks by your campsite. Have a cold microbrew. But I probably am wasting my pixels, because every time I try to tell someone how great Tracey and Gary are, they already know!
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Potash Road Revisited
For our last day we decide to try a few more routes at Potash Road. The most exciting part of the day comes just after parking. We’re between the river and the road, and as I’m leaving the camper, T-Rex darts out. I panic, yell at Ann to grab him, she panics, dives, skins her…
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Willow Flat Campground
We decide it’s worth ten bucks to spend our last night in the park at Willow Flat Campground inside the park. It’s a small, pleasant campground within walking distance of the mind-blowing Green River Overlook. At dawn I wander down there and just catch this moonset before setting up the camera for a time lapse:
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Syncline Loop Trail Hike
Finding a campsite in the Island in the Sky district is not like the Needles. It’s BLM land outside the park, but camping is prohibited on almost every BLM road. We find one without the NO CAMPING signs, the west end of the Gemini Bridges road. One possible reason becomes apparent later – semi trucks…
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We Investigate Potash Road Climbing
Today we leave the Needles district, get a Moab climbing guidebook, and decide to check out Potash Road. It’s the perfect place to find a little gentle introduction to climbing on Navajo sandstone. After a fun, warm exploration we continue to the Island in the Sky district to spend the night. Slides: Our routes: She-la…
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Druid Arch Hike
We sleep under the stars, and I wake up in time to get pictures of the world coming back into view: We talk to some climbers today, and I discover to my great embarrassment that this is Indian Creek (a world famous climbing area). I had read some weird descriptions of Indian Creek, got confused…
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Big Springs – Squaw Canyon Loop Hike
During the night a thunderstorm rolls in and shakes the world. In the morning, there’s a layer of snow covering half of it. The red rocks poke through. Dad and Sarah head out, and we start hiking up Horse Canyon road. It turns out to be a river today, not a road. So we hike…
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Slick Rock Loop Hike
It’s cold and windy, and we feel a little tired, so we embark on a shorter hike today. This trail is fun though because it keeps you on the canyon rims, without descending into them. It feels at times like we are ants crawling on top of a giant petrified mushroom patch. Slides: Slick Rock…