2002-10-16 Driving to Utah
Springs issuing from the walls (scenic loop in Idaho S of I-84)
2002-10-17 Arches NP and the Monitor and Merrimac Trail
Arches feature in morning light (Penguins? Nuns?)
same
Now on the M&M trail: fossilized print?
Another fossilized print?
Determination Towers
Another shot of Determination Towers
The view from the cockpit
The sandy road to M&M
Same
Halfway station used for passengers from Moab to the Thompson railroad, ca 1883
Back in Arches NP for the sunset watch on Delicate Arch, crowds!!
More crowds
Oh yeah, the arch
Delicate Arch framing the LaSals
Early sunset hiking back from Delicate Arch
These clouds made the tripod people unhappy, but seemed nice to me
2002-10-18 Porcupine Rim
After riding up 10 miles and 2000', I met this pandemonium at the Trailhead
Castle Valley from P. Rim, Panorama #1
Dimage damage, part of panorama, sigh
Panorama #3
Panorama #4
2002-10-19 A day in the Needles District of Canyonlands, riding to the Confluence Overlook
Sunrise from the Visitor's Center
Grabens on the ride
A dark, narrow part of the ride
The steed at the top of Silver Stairs
same
More grabens, still at top of the Silver Stairs
Closeup of cryptobiotic soil, don't step on me!!
Zoomed out a bit on some cryptobiotic soil
And zoomed out even more
Nice feature in Navajo sandstone
The confluence, Green on left, Colorado on right, you can see the water lines merging
Another shot of the confluence
Zoomed in on the confluence
Looking downstream on the Colorado, powerboat barely visible (shuttle service??)
Riding back, I started partway down C. Canyon
Feature in C Canyon
Dimage Damage, grrr
Jeep (not mine!) coming down Elephant Hill Road
Now almost the whole way down
Driving back, stopped at Newspaper Rock, wow!
Closeup of Newspaper Rock
2002-10-20 At Rabbit Valley, CO, ready to start Kokopelli's Trail
Late afternoon light
Evening light
Dusk light, slow shutter, unsteady hand
2002-10-21 First day on Kokopelli's, Loma to Rabbit Valley
Ready to roll at the Loma TH
Nice trail sign, this Loma area is nicely laid out for mountain bikers
Sean on Rustler's Loop (an inadvertent detour we took, but fun)
The Pro-Flex comes whipping around a corner
Bumping down to Salt Creek
Still bumping down to Salt Creek
The Salt Creek bridge, I guess this used to be a dicey ford
2002-10-22 Rabbit Valley to Fish Ford, so much fun I forgot to take pictures
Nice shot of a side canyon in the morning, Colorado River in the distance
Another nice overlook
2002-10-23 Kokopelli's, Fish Ford to Dewey Bridge
In the morning we paralleled the Colorado, rare picture of KG
After crossing UT-128 we get to the nicer scenery
Dimage damage
Nice shot into the distance, LaSals very distant
same
Heading back down to UT-128, many nice valleys and proto-arches, Panorama #1
Panorama #2
Panorama #3
Panorama #4
Panorama #5
Panorama #6
Cottonwoods in a side canyon
Zoom of same
Nice feature
Zoom of same
Another nice feature
And another
Swirly sand
You can see the sun shining through an arch shadow here
Back at the Colorado after probably the nicest day of riding
Crossing the historic Dewey Bridge
2002-10-24 Dewey Bridge to Hideout Camp
The first Cottonwood Canyon
The road through Cottonwood Canyon
Bumping down the same
Nice view along the big climb
Looking back from the high point
Sean polishing off the big climb
Uh oh, couldn't resist another panorama
Panorama #2
Panorama #3
Panorama #4
Panorama #5
Panorama #6
The second Cottonwood Canyon
Rosegarden hill, a fine place to walk
Looking back at Rosegarden
2002-10-25 Sean blew out the Pro-flex shortly after Rosegarden so no riding but we camped at Fisher Towers, amazing ...
The rear shock is not supposed to look like this
Closeup of rear shock; note new AST (Advanced Sock Technology) for a cushy ride
The mighty Suburban crawls back out from Hideout Camp (the sketchiest road access of all camps)
That night, at Fisher Towers, the Titan
Dimage damage
Looking across Castle Valley at Castleton Tower and the Nun/Priest formation
Another shot of Fisher Towers
An odd section of the Fisher Towers
Closeup on squiggly rock thingy
Kokopelli's Day 5, Onion Creek Turnoff to Castle Valley
We have a lot of climbing and cool weather
Nice views though
Panorama #1
Panorama #2
Panorama #3
Nice side canyon near the top of the climb
Hmm, I think we should turn right
Another stupid shot of my handlebars
Up along the ridge top, a bit of downhill
Almost to the top, this is at about 8000' after almost 4000' of climbing, it snowed on us a little
Surprisingly, some cottonwoods still had leaves in this gully above 8000'
But most were bare
Mostly silhouetted shot of me up top
Dimage damage
From the top, looking back at the cottonwood gully and snowy road
Nice view of Castle Valley
After the ride, Tim showed us a spot with Allosaurus footprints, awesome!
Couldn't resist another shot of Castle Valley
2002-10-27 Kokopelli's Day 6, Castle Valley to Main and Center in Moab
Sean holds the poo-bike in despair (this was hit POS rental while the Pro-Flex awaited spare parts
In the morning, climbing up the far side of Castle Valley and looking back
Our route goes up the distant valley
Same
Crusing up the grade, today was only a 2000' climb
... but it had plenty of switchbacks
Sean barely visible at the upper bend of the S-curve
The view at 8000' on a brisk day
Coming down on upper Sand Flats Road
Panorama from Sand Flats, maybe a mile or two above the Porcupine Rim TH
Panorama #2
Panorama #3
Panorama #4
Clever BLM sign at P Rim TH, back in the Moab sphere
2002-10-28 Leaving Moab, Entering Capitol Reef
Bighorns just N of the Colorado River
It's rutting season and this fellow's expressing his love
Meanwhile 3 other family members graze on
She's teasing him
Catching a sniff
Again, he got kicked for this one
In Capitol Reef, Fremont petroglyphs
Bighorn petroglyphs, hard to see, I should crop
same
Another panel, man and bighorn
Yet another panel
Partially eroded panel
Closeup on two funky figures