long holiday weekends are the best

 I just love long holiday weekends.  Yes, I guess I do have to share them with everyone else who is off too, but still.  You just feel like you're getting away with something.

Kane Creek has water again

On Sunday, we loaded up the MTBs and went back to Moab Brand Trails.  We did the same loop (our new regular route) that we'd done on Friday but this time we both rode better.  We have not been doing much MTBing this summer - none at all in Park City so far, due to gas prices (which are still well above $4.00/gal. in Utah) - and it always takes me a little while to remember what the heck I'm doing.  It was beautiful, and we went early enough to avoid the heat of the day.  The parking lot was well-attended (30ish vehicles) but the trails themselves did not seem busy at all.

Long shadows in the mornings

Having learned our lesson the hard way about driving back to SLC on Labor Day afternoon, we arranged to go to work late on Tuesday and drive up early that morning instead.  That meant we had the whole day on Monday to play!  H wanted to do a road ride so Milton and I commandeered the truck and drove out to the Amasa Back trailhead.  As much as I love these trails we've been doing all summer, I am looking forward to cooler weather so we don't have to focus on trails with dependable water for Milt to cool off in.  

I made him wear his t-shirt for a while

There were just a handful of vehicles in the lot as Milton and I headed out.  I don't know where all the people were but they sure weren't on Amasa Back.  We saw fewer than ten MTBers and only a couple trail runners ... and no motorized vehicles at all - no jeeps, no side-by-sides, no dirtbikes.  It made for a quiet and very pleasant hike.

Our boy does love to wade

We went up the Amasa Back MTB trail to the overlook and then came down the 4x4 road.  Milton was running hard and I ended up having to leash him a couple of times, just to force him to rest and cool down.  Up at the overlook, I put his white (white-ish) t-shirt on him to help reflect some of the sun: it didn't feel all that hot to me but I'm not covered in black fur.  And thank goodness for that!

Moon flower (?)

After the hike, in the parking lot with our dog food/snacks/beer, I was amazed at how few people were there.  Sure, several side-by-sides buzzed by on their way out Kane Creek Road - too fast and kicking up a lot of dust - but for the most part, it was quieter than I would have expected.  That is not a complaint: I love to find pockets of quiet during Moab's silly season.