moab long weekend (day 3)

Our last day in Moab dawned sunny, clear, dry and warm.  We packed up our gear and meandered over to Main Street for breakfast on the patio of the Peace Tree Cafe.  We were the first people sitting out there but by the time I'd finished my homemade granola with watermelon, apple, dried cranberries and yogurt, the patio was hoppin'.  We checked out of the Kokopelli Lodge and drove straightaway up to Dead Horse Point State Park.  On Saturday, when H rode his bike up there, he couldn't see a thing it was so socked in with clouds.  On Sunday, however, we could see for miles.  DHPSP is perched on the edge of a mesa, looking down over incredibly high red cliffs to the Colorado River wandering through its canyon below; the state park stood in for the Grand Canyon in the last scene of Thelma and Louise, by the way - it's just that impressive.

Looking at the Colorado River from DHPSP

After wandering around the scenic overlooks (the whole frickin' thing is a scenic overlook, really), we saddled up on our mountain bikes and hit the new Intrepid Trail System (as recommended by the Chile Pepper Bike Shop MTB chick on our second inquiry), which "offers slickrock for beginners."  There are three loops of increasing length and difficulty: the 1.1 mile Intrepid, the 4.2 mile Great Pyramid and the 9.0 mile Big Chief.  H decided that we would do all three of them in order, starting at the parking lot for maximum trail time.  It was so much fun!  The trails are fantastic - hard pack, slickrock and a little sand - with rolling hills, rocky step-ups and views absolutely everywhere.

H tearing it up on the trails (so focused!)

I did get a little dehydrated (not fun and not recommended) so after our ride, when we cleaned up and drove into the neighboring Canyonlands National Park/Island in the Sky district, I had to sit in the truck, drinking Gatorade for a little while before I felt well enough to walk about.  Canyonlands is just incredible (I seem to say that a lot about the Utah scenery, don't I?): wild-wild-wild, rough, desolate and gorgeous.  The Island in the Sky district is the easiest one to get around in, with its scenic drives and short, user-friendly hikes; the Needles district to the southeast and the Maze district to the southwest are pretty much only accessible by backcountry permit, and out in the Maze was where Aron Ralston lost his arm and nearly his life (see 127 Hours for slightly moviefied details).  We did walk out 1.4 miles to the Upheaval Dome, a possible meteor crater or burst salt bubble, marveling at the colors and swirls of the rocks around us.  We agreed that we'd like to go back to Canyonlands and do some more exploring, especially down on the White Rim road, a 4x4 road that follows the rim of a sandstone bench 1,200 feet below the Island mesa and still 1,000 above the canyon floor (explorable by 4-wheel drive vehicle and/or mountain bikes).

Why do they call it the White Rim?

It was starting to get late - we wouldn't end up getting home until after 10 p.m., making poor B stay another night at the kennel - but it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the sun-scorched beauty of southern Utah.  It's so very different from where each of us grew up, and we like it so much; there's just so much to see and do out there, we'll have to go back again soon.

Shafer Trail heading down to the White Rim