Summer... er, I mean, Fall trip to Moab

The weather did more than just cooperate for our 5-day Moab trip - it made up for all that nasty weather we had last week when I was working outside, all that nasty weather we had last spring, and pretty much all the nasty weather we have had for 5 years. Temps in the first weekend of November in Moab were in the mid 70's, sunny, and f-f-fabulous. We came to attend the annual HOA meeting and do maintenance on the condo, but we also rode and hiked.

Friday, after a long morning of trying to get a tire on Magma, we finally hit Sovereign Singletrack trail at 1 PM.

We had a great ride north from Willow Springs road on Salt Wash, then Contributors trail and a couple of the Links. We had time to go up to the newish trails in the Garden area. Pretty fun, although not as stellar as the Salt Wash and Sovereign trails. We finally completed the loop back to the car on the sandy 4WD track from Dalton Wells to Willow Springs - the one the guidebooks say to skip because it is so sandy. It is, but I wanted to do it at least once. We need to do trail research for our renters.

Saturday, HOA board officer Drew had to partake in the HOA meeting, but the weather was really just too phenomenal to sit in a meeting with a bunch of other owners debating the merits of planning ahead to have money for new roofs in 20 years vs. paying for it in a special assessment later on. I chose to ride Amasa Back out to Pothole Arch instead. Magma enjoyed the ride. Here he is sunbathing.

The view from Amasa Back.

It was fun, but I did feel a little guilty sending these photos back to Drew in the meeting via my cell phone.

When I returned to the condo, our friends Jon and Kathy from Grand Junction were there. They came over to play/ride with us, but unfortunately on their ride on Klondike Bluffs earlier in the day, Jon broke his Gary Fisher frame. No injuries to Jon, but the frame is toast. Drew broke two Gary Fisher frames a few years ago. Do you think GF has a problem making frames for the big boys? We drank imported beer with Jon and Kathy and Drew made a new friend in their dog Adi.

Sunday, after tasty breakfast in the garden (yes, outdoor seating at 11 AM in November, and Jon had shorts on to boot) at Eklecticafe, we took a short hike to Fisher Towers. The hike was pleasant and the scenery was amazing.

Then back to town for buffalo burgers at Eddie McStiff's before Jon and Kathy drove off in their Vanagon back to Junction.

Monday we spent some more time deep cleaning our place before heading out of town for a quick ride on Bartlett Wash.

The picture above is Drew on the Entrada Sandstone in the Bartlett Wash area. I don't know what I like better about Barlett Wash, the endless traction on the slickrock which allows bike surfing on the swoops and knobs of sandstone, or marveling at the intricate and beautiful cross beds and weathering patterns on the outcrop.

Even after that gift of gorgeous weather, I'm still not ready for winter.