an overcast weekend in the desert is better than no weekend in the desert

 We spent the last weekend of March down in Moab and while it wasn't the blue skies and balmy T I had hoped for, it was quite a lot better than what northern Utah got, which was rain and slush.  Down in the southeast corner of the state, it was mostly overcast but warm-ish (up to mid-60s occasionally) and with a few sprinkles of rain interspersed here and there.  It was also the final weekend of the 2024 Easter Jeep Safari and there was a definite uptick in tourists.

It's a little blurry (nighttime shot)

but this tree was spectacular

We did a little socializing, hanging out with our neighbor before she left for her Alaskan fishing season, and her roommate, before she relocated to Oregon for a new job.  We also went to Woody's with a friend - he went to high school in Moab and lives/works in town so going anywhere with him is like going out with a rockstar since everyone knows him; and we learned that our favorite bartender has left the Hoodoo for a different restaurant.  We'll track her down but we'll go back to the Hoodoo for its $2 PBRs.

These cacti turn purple in the winter,

to absorb more sunlight, so now that

they're green again, spring must be here

We also got out on the trails a couple of times.  Friday, H wanted to do a 10K trail run: we went to Moab Brand Trails so while he and Milton ran that loop, I hiked a shorter loop and finished up at the end with them.  The temperatures were perfect and the trails fairly empty.  On Saturday, H's knees were a little sore so we opted for just 3.5 miles.  I'm not sure the trail we picked - Moab Rim - was the best choice for knees since it's so steep, up and down, but it got us moving.  There was a Jeep Safari run there that morning so it was closed to other motorized traffic.  We saw a number of hikers, trail runners and dogs though.

First wildflower of the season

Sunday we just did a town walk before packing up and heading north.  It was one of our better spring drives, to be honest: the snow that was supposed to hit Soldier's Summit never materialized, so the road was clear and dry, and since it was Easter Sunday, there was hardly any traffic.