Moab 2011

It's been over a year since Colin and I were in Moab, Utah. Fending off snow and freezing weather was much different than what we experienced this year. Basically it rained 50% of the time. We drove down Thursday afternoon through rainy weather, we took a bit of a detour to the San Rafael Swell. I heard all about how it was formed, which is amazing, something about plates and the earth...Colin could tell you.

San Rafael Swell
Afterwards we stopped by Eddie McStiff's for a drink once we got into Moab and came back outside to the sun. With the limited warm weather we drove quickly to a campsite down Onion Creek and set up out tent. We made a fire and veggie burger taco things (really it was veggie burgers in a tortilla). We woke up to a semi warm day and needed to go survey property for Colin's internship for Utah Open Lands. Hiking all over Castleton Tower we spotted mountain lion poop and footprints! It was pretty exciting, because I was convinced we would see one and it would eat us, surprisingly enough we never did.

Castleton Tower
Because the rain never really stopped all day, we decided to spend the evening at a local bar instead of trying to light a fire in the rain. After asking some locals about a good place for live music and a drink we were led to Woody's Tavern. The wooden bar was littered with people's initials carved into them, red baskets of pretzels and popcorn and better yet, the hockey game was playing. We honestly didn't want to leave. The pints were $3.75, the live blue grass music was amazing, and they even had sweet potato fries! We honestly considered moving to Moab just for this bar, not including the fantastic scenery. So the night ended with us driving back to our campsite and quickly falling asleep. Saturday we woke up to egg burritos. We packed up all of our things and put together our backpacks for our expedition into the desert. By noon we were ready. We drove out to the Needles District (close to Canyon Lands), parked the car and headed out with nothing but out backpacks. Honestly I was very nervous about backpacking for the first time. No running water, toilet, limited food and shelter, mostly I was nervous about having to use the bathroom in nature, squatting just isn't my thing. But I did get used to it quickly, and actually enjoying it a bit, only a bit though. First we went just off the trail, over rocks, past cows and then we ran into a canyon. A massive sheer canyon. First thing we did: we sat down took pictures, Colin took out the peanut butter for a snack, what did I do? I set it down, watched it tilt and roll quickly down the rocks and off the massive canyon. The echoing bang of the full plastic container of delicious peanut butter hitting the rocks was lost to us. Only 2 hours into our trip and I already lost our source of protein. Don't worry the day got better. We hiked about 9 miles on an old dirt road, talking and just enjoying each others company and our beautiful surroundings. We camped on a rock which I wanted to make our official home. We watched the stars come out and fell asleep in the silent desert.

Our Humble Desert Abode
The next morning we ventured for water. It was another first, drinking water out of a ditch. I mean of course we sterilized it first, but besides the chlorine kinda taste, it was refreshing. We ended up hiking about 15 miles on Sunday. By the morning we were sun burnt on our legs, by the afternoon the clouds were looking dark, by the evening we were trying to out run thunderstorms and find low ground as the lightening hit close by. We made camp as I tried to stay warm under the Mylar blanket, controlling my shivering. In the middle of the night I woke up to bright flashes. Too scared to look outside at the lightening that was striking obviously right by us on the rocks, I tried to fall back asleep. Ultimately the loud thunder woke Colin up and we got to watch the lightening strike all around us as we hoped the rain wouldn't wash us away. The next day it rained off and on, with dark clouds loomed overhead. We packed up and hiked 2 miles back to the car. We stopped to take some pictures before we left, we even found an old hut made of sticks!

On Our Way To The Car
I was a bit disappointed to see our car. I was ready to keep walking and hiking all day. But it was time to go home. We stopped in Moab to try and get pictures of the lightening and grabbed some delicious fruit smoothies and Burger King (don't judge, we wanted something civilized to eat). The drive back was fun, listening to NPR and oldies. So every time I go to Moab the weather is wild. Either snow, rain or lightening storms. I have yet to experience it in normal desert weather. But after our trip I realize how Colin is completely inlove with the amazing Southern Utah deserts.

Driving Home
For other pics, check out Colin's Photo Blog.