a family affair

 Saturday was the most glorious day of the weekend - well into the 50s with abundant sunshine - and all three of us took advantage by MTBing at Moab Brand Trails.  This was by far the earliest in the year that I've ever been MTBing because I tend to get too cold, and yet it was still cool enough that we didn't have to worry about Milton overheating.  We weren't alone in our enthusiasm as there were around twenty vehicles in the lot when we started and 50+ when we finished up.  The trails themselves weren't too crowded, however, as we really only dealt with people on the front half of Lazy EZ, and then there was a big group milling about at an intersection.

Our route was: Lazy EZ to Rusty Spur, to Bar M for the climb, out to the Arches National Park boundary and back on Bar B, then Bar M to the cut off, to the back half of Lazy EZ, up and over the parking lot cut off back to Bar M, around the north end of Bar M (where there are new Private Property / No Trespassing signs up, unfortunately) and then down the hill near the North Forty to go back on the sandy, range cow-trodden doubletrack.  The range cows are really tearing up the terrain there and along Lazy EZ; I know the local trails crews have been out doing mitigation work to address it.

Tailgating

Milton did great.  He's such a good boy and is learning how to be a better MTB dog.  He does prefer to be out in front - he likes to lead, plus he tends to get sand in his eyes from running too close to H's wheels - so he is constantly checking back over his shoulder to confirm he's going the right way on the singletrack.  On more open terrain, like the Bar M doubletrack, he'll run a little wider, but he doesn't stray too far.  We did just over twelve miles (12.64 mi., actually) and he was happy to jump up on the tailgate with me afterwards for some sun-bathing and a snack.  I was just really stoked that the whole family got to ride together.