Spring Break in Canyonlands

The last weekend of Spring Break Guy and I took Sadie and a friend, Amy, to Moab. Taylor had to stay home for soccer but he had a good weekend at his dad's house. We met Dave and Sandra and four other guys. We camped at Horsethief Campground which is just outside of Canyonlands National Park. Guy, Dave, Paul, Steve, Jason and Colt went and rode the White Rim (in a day) on Saturday. While they were out destroying themselves us girls enjoyed a mellow day on the Sovereign Trail. This is my favorite trail of singletrack in Moab. Of course, all the other trails are mostly jeep roads, so that makes sense. Sadie and Amy were ready to go while I had to inflate one of my tires so they went ahead of us. This photo above is of Sandra after she caught them on the dirt road. We had to chase after them because they missed the turn off to the trail!
I was just so thrilled that Sadie wanted to ride her bike and she didn't even put up a fight to wear her helmet, which she usually REFUSES to wear. Every time we stopped for a photo the helmet was the first thing off. She is quick at pulling it off and getting it back on. It is too much work for me, and obviously the rest of us!
Sadie takes much betters photos than I do!
This was Amy's first real mountain bike ride. She was very patient at first and didnt' get frustrated. This trail can be very tricky and extremely technical for a beginner. After she got the right gearing she started having more fun and was able to climb over more terrain.
The day was overcast and perfect for riding. We all got a little sun by the end of the day. The wind started to kick up as we were finishing. Sadie doesn't really like to ride the bike much but she is actually pretty good at it. Amy did a great job and enjoyed it too.
The girls rode three miles to this area that I like to call "refrigerator wall ". You turn a corner and there is this big wall of rock. It is always in the shade and on a hot day it feels so good. The girls waited here while Sandra and I rode a little further down the hill and around the bend.

On the way back Sadie encouraged us to take a break and stretch. She had my gloves on and her hands look very large in the photo. I was so happy that Sadie and Amy enjoyed the day on the bike. It was great quality time spent with them doing what I love to do. Thanks Sadie, I know it wasn't easy for you. Six plus miles on a mountain bike and a somewhat technical ride is a long day for these girls. Kudos to you both*
Guy, Dave, Paul, Steve, Jason, and Colt left to ride the White Rim at 7:00am. Guy coming in around 5:00p.m. They rode 100 (and some change) miles around the White Rim Trail in less than 10 hours. Wow, what a pace.
Guy and Dave (below) did this last year and Guy said it was the best day on the bike all year long. This year was a different story. First of all, he went on four day hiking trip down the Grand Canyon the previous weekend. His thighs were on fire and he didn't have a lot of time to recover. But, he survived, just like he always does......
This was a long and difficult day on the bike for these guys. The wind was blowing terribly, it was dry and hot. They just wanted to sit and relax and do nothing for a long time. Paul and Steve below.
Colt and Guy. These guys are adrenaline junkies. They seem to enjoy pain. I don't mind when Guy wears himself out, it is much easier for my to keep up with him. He normally wears me out on a daily basis, he has so much energy. Jason never gave me a chance to get him on camera, he ran for the shower too quickly.
This was a beautiful end to a long day.
The next day the riding group left for home but we stayed in town to relax and hike. Guy took us to Canyonlands and there he pointed out the White Rim layer and showed us the trail from the top.
This is the Shafer Trail. It is the beginning (or end) of the loop. This is a very steep switchback road down to the White Rim Layer.
It is obvious in this photo why this is called the White Rim. The road follows the upper rim along all these canyons. The views are spectacular. You can see the dirt road, this is the White Rim Trail (road).

This is the Monument Valley section below.
We took the girls on hike to a False Kiva Indian Ruin. Here we are starting out. Sadie and Amy were very entertaining the whole weekend.
Chrystal & Sadie
Guy hiking along the edge of the cliff to get to the Indian Ruin.
This False Kiva is a place where the Indians would perform spiritual rituals. It is protected under an overhang and is very difficult to see until you get to it. I have no idea how anyone ever found it.
This is the view from the ledge that the Kiva sits on.
We enjoyed the view while we had a snack before we started back down. The wind was howling by now. The storm is coming. This is Guy and I at the Kiva.

We had lunch at the trailer when we got back. This is a funny picture of everyone watching Waynes World. The girls went for a bike ride around the camp ground and found a place to hike while Guy and I took a nap. When we woke up the storm was blowing over us. It didn't rain but it blew like hell. That is the only way to describe it. The trailer was bouncing around everywhere. I was so grateful we had a hard side. We have been in the tent trailer in a windstorm and it is so noisy. I felt really bad for anyone in a tent. It is no fun to try and cook in the wind.
We stayed in the trailer the rest of the night to stay clear of the sand blowing everywhere. The girls made us dipped chocolate strawberries with Sadie's new fondue set.
Then the girls and I made cute notecards. They were very creative and we had fun.
As we were leaving town we talked about coming back in the fall with the kids and doing a three day trip with everyone on the White Rim Trail. It would be fun to camp along the trail and have a sag wagon so we could take our time. I think the kids would enjoy riding part of the trail but mostly taking turns driving the truck!

work hard, play hard, ride harder.