Getting Closer

We've been anxious for months for the Grand Junction Temple open house to be announced. It's finally been scheduled for September. !!! The temple will be dedicated in October.

We visted Lizard's mom for Mother's Day, and the most awesome gift was handed out at church to each woman. I typically ditch Mother's Day, but I'm SO thankful I attended this year!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Spring

Spring Has Sprung

Hi folks, Snowcatcher asked if I’d like to write a bit. So, here’s to spring fever...

I‘ve been getting bored with the road bike. Since we’re about a month ahead of schedule on temps and snowmelt; I’ve been saddling the Black Pearl and hitting the trails instead. Hopefully we won’t pay for the weather gods’ niceties come April or May. Nonetheless, as I write, we’re sporting temps in the ‘40s with a forecast of rain and snow.

Waterton Canyon
After a hiatus lasting two years, Waterton Canyon reopened access to my favorite Front Range mountain bike riding. In early March, the six-mile stretch up Waterton to the beginning of the Colorado Trail was dry, except for some ice in the darker environs. The trailhead proper had a fair amount of snow, as it should this time of year.

Each foray surrendered access farther and farther into the forest.

Within weeks, I was able to ride ridgelines of freeze/thaw fluffed trail, frosted in pinecone. Except for steep, sun-starved drainages, portaging snow and ice was easy. Even annual spring blowdown was minimal.

With an education in hydrology, anything water-related piques my interest. Snowpack is way down this year. Even more concerning is forest soil conditions. Areas patch-quilted in snow still have moist forest soil. But, in areas already melted, soil conditions are summer like — not good! The big fire you probably heard about raging southwest of Denver took advantage of strong winds and current summer-like dryness. In the above photo, follow the ridgeline left to the edge of the pic and you’re very close to what would become the east edge of the afore mentioned fire. Too soon, too soon.

Kokopelli’s River Trails
Snowcatcher and I decided to travel to my hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado, to visit my grandmother who just turned 92-years of age. We also wanted some high desert mountain biking and hiking. We decided on the Kokopelli Trail, which extends roughly 150-miles from Loma, Colorado to Moab, Utah. The trail is largely rough, isolated, desert two-track crossing a very remote region. There is some single-track, most of which is found on the Colorado segment, commonly known as the river trails.

Saturday would be Kokopelli day, whereas Sunday we would visit with my grandmother. After a four-hour drive, and sporting a cast, Snowcatcher began a long hike with lots of photography. I clipped into my pedals, full of childlike giddy anticipation of being back on my favorite trails, and excitedly pedaled toward Mary’s Loop.

The ground was dry, very dry! I watched small wakes of talcum powdered dirt bellow from under my treads. It didn’t take long for the bellows to cover my lower legs in fine dust. Soon, my first loop, Horsethief Bench trail, came into view. I scampered down through the cliffband onto the bench proper and took off! The riding is delightful mix of Jurassic sandstone and ancient fluvial fill, the result of eons of a meandering Colorado River. Fun — pure and simple!

Back up on Mary’s Loop, the journey was a short jaunt above the river to the intersection with a superb trail called Steve’s Loop.

Initially, Steve’s is fast single-track of Jurassic sandstone ancestry. The second half sports a stiff climb (off-bike portage) up onto more colorful mudstones and siltstones of the Morrison and Summerville Formations (Jurassic). After my affair with single-track, I set my sights on my next task.

Waving goodbye to the fun steps of Steve’s, my mission became a tad more serious — Lion’s Loop. Yes, lions reside in this area; however, I’m not sure if that is how Lion’s received its name. The loop is serious because after a steep climb, the trail contours a fast, often loose, boulder-infested hillslope. Moreover, help is a long way off. Lion’s and Troy Built (the day’s next segment) are somewhat remote and don’t see the use the previous trails get.

The climb up to Lion’s contour elevation went quick, and I settled in for on-your-toes fast riding. To me, the trail is quite enjoyable because I’m often the only one on it. I usually stop above the Colorado River (about halfway) to eat and take in the openness below me. The day’s ride was no exception. As for trail, I’m still riding Jurassic history, and Utah is only 8.5-crow miles west.

Lion’s Loop roller coasters along, eventually reaching a 4x4 track. At this point, it’s a short grunt up to the Troy Built Loop (named after a BLM guy, I believe).

The Troy Built Loop has a bit of everything on it. It’s a delightful trail with a warp speed descent, short steep climbs, sand, rock, cactus, flowers and wildlife. At the northern end of the trail, Jurassic park is left for the Lower Cretaceous members of the geologic spectrum. As usual, Troy Built went by too quick. Often I catch several other trails on the way back to the car. However, I was a bit spent, and opted for the flat dirt road back to the start. Combining the trails ended in a 23-mile day. These trails take some exertion that more than make up for the relatively short distance.

Adios!

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Island in the Sky

Payne Benchmark, Lost Creek Wilderness
For several months, we planned to climb something on the seventh anniversary of my back surgery. I'd had my heart set on Bison Peak for a while because it's near and in the same wilderness area as Payne and No Payne (yes, those are the REAL names!), which I successfully climbed (after multiple payneful failures) on the third anniversary of my surgery. The Lost Creek Wilderness also tends to be more accessible in winter than most of the 14ers and less crowded.

Alas, even Bison Peak was being pounded by a blizzard on November 5. No climbing that day.

The following weekend, we couldn't climb because both The Lizard and I had signed up and paid for a CPR/AED class. No climbing that day. Yep, you're safe adventuring with us now! We're certified. You'll have to carry your own AED, though. We don't own one. But we do know how to operate an AED now.

A friend from high school had scheduled family photos and senior portraits the next weekend. No climbing that weekend, unless you count Garden of the Gods. What a terrific location!


That brought us to Thanksgiving weekend. Family obligations prevent us from venturing into the wilderness for four days, but we were close enough to Moab that a special ride or two could be planned well in advance.

It's not a mountain climbed, but we did something big. What we did Friday and Saturday will count as my seventh surgery anniversary milestone.


Saturday we'd planned to ride Colorado National Monument, one of our favorite rides in the state. The mercury had climbed to only 32 degrees by the time we took off, and the Monument would have been about ten degrees colder, plus lined with shady canyons and steep descents that would have been bone-chilling. So The Lizard took me on one of his typical after-work loops from before we met. We rode 38 miles in three layers. I took photos a la Mrs. Micawber style because her blog is what our ride continually made me think of. I didn't write a haiku, though. Yet. I may! There were some mighty inspiring scenes along the way.


Alphabet Cornfields


still blooming


all lined up


hungry worms




autumn's artwork
My favorite scene, of course, was one I was unable to capture with my iPhone camera. The thing just doesn't power up fast enough, and to top that off, I have to remove a glove to operate it. It understands only flesh commands. As we passed cornfield after cornfield, I wondered why the farmers had allowed the corn to go to seed. The Lizard explained this was field corn, not the sweet Olathe corn we cherish every autumn. The corn and stalks would be ground up and used as feed for cattle.

As we were riding by one of the cornfields, I kept thinking I could hear sandhill cranes. The Lizard and I have seen and heard the birds in Monte Vista during the annual spring Crane Festival, and I'd seen them a couple of times in Bosque del Apache in New Mexico long before I knew anything about them. Their migrating path does not typically include that stretch of the Grand Valley, so what I was hearing really captured my attention.

At 2:23 p.m., a flock (or herd or sedge, to be precise) of approximately 80 sandhill cranes flew directly over us, close enough for positive identification. I wish I had a photo! Oh, how I wish I had a photo!


sandhill cranes over Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge
Friday's ride was much bigger. We rode from downtown Moab to Island in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park, 68 miles for me and 76 for The Lizard. I now have 9 consecutive months with a 60-mile (or better) ride, and a 60-mile (or better) ride in every month this year except February. I think this was my first ever 60-mile ride in the month of November, and my two-day mileage totals 106 miles. That's another November first for me.

I took no photos on Friday. The first 30 miles of the ride were uphill, although not at the altitude I typically climb in Colorado, so I could breathe during this ride! The return trip was in a headwind and partially in the dark. The entire ride was cold, and my iPhone battery bit the dust before we reached Island in the Sky.

The best thing about Friday's ride is The Lizard wanting to ride nearly eight hours with me instead of Black Friday shopping or watching football. He could have finished his ride in half the time it took me, but he kept pedaling back to me to check on me after sprinting up portions of the climb.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as treasured as mine!


Sunset on Merrimac and Monitor


Arches National Park sunset from Canyonlands National Park

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