From Moab to Sedona
By Ross
It's been a few days since our last post and it might be easier to catch up with some "Highlights" and "Lowlights". We've had a few. We've traveled from Capitol Reef National Park to Moab, UT to Navaho National Monument (AZ) to Sedona, AZ.
Highlights:
For years I've been dreaming about mountain biking in Moab, UT, known for trails running through stunning natural settings. Driving through downtown Moab early in the morning reveals bike shops busy with vans shuttling tourists onto the nearby trails and Jeepers heading out for adventure. I had a chance to ride two separate days and I loved the slick rock terrain and treacherous, adrenalin-pumping overlooks. I've made a mental note to come back to Moab for a more complete tour of the trails.
The slick rock terrain is so different from the winding dirt trails of Oregon. The "punchy" climbs up the rocky boulders require a burst of speed and torque. Before I figured this out I took a spill, scratched my iPhone, bloodied my ankle, twisted and scuffed my leather seat, and sent my Garmin flying down a slope. After brushing myself off, fetching my Garmin, and analyzing my mistake, I had no further mishaps.
When I got back to the trailer I mentioned to Robin that I had a crash and took a chunk of flesh out of my ankle and she wanted to have a look.
"That's not a gouge," she said.
"I said a chunk," I replied.
"That's not a chunk, either. That's a scratch."
So maybe not a chunk of my ankle, but certainly now a chunk of my ego is missing. Wives.
Robin adventured some in Moab, too. She walked over to watch a barrel racing competition. At first I wondered what would motivate barrels to race and then she showed me a video with horses, and I understood.
We cut short our stay in Moab in search of warm weather, so we headed south. Our first stop was Monument Valley known for the towering sandstone buttes where many a Western movie (including John Wayne’s “Stagecoach”) has been filmed. We felt like true tourists because we paid $20 to park at the Visitors Center, took some photos from the overlook, ran through the gift shop, and got the hell out of there before being stomped by all the other tourists milling around and swinging their selfie sticks: tourist jousting.
Meanwhile, back to our search for warmer weather we crossed the border and camped at Arizona's Navajo National Monument where it proceeded to snow on us in the middle of the night. Despite waking up to snow and ice and 20 degree temperatures, I liked the small, free Sunset View Campground that sits at over 7,200 feet with beautiful sunset views as far as the eye can see.
By contrast we arrived in the Sedona area with sunny, 72 degree weather and settled in at a lovely campground. We'll be at this campground and a nearby state park for the next week. This excites us. Good weather and a relaxed schedule.
And now for the Lowlight:
We left our water pump on and somehow the kitchen faucet turned on while we were driving down the road. The faucet was emptying water onto the sink cover and we think much of the water went into the gray tank because it was now full. However, we had water all over the floor from front to back of the trailer. What a disaster! I discovered it during a stop and my heart sank. We had planned on boondocking but now we were out of fresh water and our gray tank was full. So we called a local campground and they had a nice site available. We towel dried everything, put on the fans, and analyzed the situation. We were lucky, we think. And we'll never leave the water pump in the "on" position again.
Moab mountain bike trail: Navaho Rocks
Monument Valley
Sunny and seventy-two near Sedona