Thursday's Treasure (aka Treacherous Thursday)

So, there's a lovely little place in the mountains near Moab called Miner's Basin.  At almost 10,000 feet, the clean air and scent of pine trees fills your whole self with joy.  A place like this isn't easy to come by, and it's been about 7 years since we've all been up this way.

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Now that Sophie is old enough to enjoy a day in the mountains, we decided that it was high time we managed to get up here.  I say "we" loosely- Nana wanted nothing to do with this particular adventure.

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I don't have any pictures from the actual ascent, because it wasn't pretty my friends.  Like the responsible adults that we are, we checked with the visitor's center before heading up to make sure that the talus slopes had been recently cleared and that there were no surprise issues on the road to Miner's Basin.

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See, it's a rock and gravel one lane road with sharp switchbacks and about a 20% grade.  3 miles long, 4x4 only, sharp rocks and holes to navigate.  And did I mention the several hundred foot sheer dropoffs on the mountainside?  And no guardrails?

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We had two rental cars.  Mike and I were first in the Nissan Rogue.  Nana, Pa and Sophie followed in their Toyota Rav 4.  About halfway up the mountain, I noticed that Mike was driving extremely slowly.  Dangerously slow- you have to keep moving over this terrain or you'll get stuck!  He told me he was doing the best he could and to please be quiet.  It may not have been such a civil conversation.

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Imagine please that everything in the car is bouncing all over the place, and that the side of the road drops off on my side.  One glance out the window, and all I see is down.  Once again, the car is barely moving.  When I pleasantly (ha!) mention that he needs to GO, Mike informs me that the car engine has absolutely no power.  It will not go.

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It won't go?  I radio Nana and Pa to let them know that we are stopped in the middle of the road.  Is there any special reason why, they ask?  Oh no, I answer, not wanting to alarm anyone.  We're just getting ourselves together for a minute.

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It becomes clear that we are not only NOT going forward, but that every attempt has our wheels slipping toward the ledge.  I get out of the car and we come clean to Nana Pa.  We can't go up. 

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The course was clear.  My father and Mike backed the cars down to a flat spot near one of the switchbacks.  Nana, Sophie and I waited in the road, with 3 differing ideas about what we should do.  Nana wanted to leave.  I wanted to walk up.  Sophie wanted to catch grasshoppers.

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Losing power, say from a storm, at your home is unpleasant enough.  Losing the power to GO in your vehicle, in such a scary situation, is kind of terrifying.  We decided to assume that our car overheated- though that wasn't indicated on any of the panels etc.

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We all piled into the Rav 4 with our picnic supplies and headed up the last leg of the trip.  We made it!  Nana made sure to let us all know, however, that this was STUPID, STUPID, STUPID and that we NEVER should have attempted this trip.  Never, never, never.

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We got to the top, got as unbunched as possible, had a picnic, took a hike, and enjoyed each other's company.   Later, we slowly edged down the road to our car and were all relieved when it started up easily.  It had cooled down sufficiently, and we were able to navigate our way down the slope without further ado.

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Nana says she will not go up to Miner's Basin again.  It will take all of us some time to get over the stress, but one thing is true.  It's the times like these that create the stories that get told and retold in families.  If everything had gone without a hitch, we'd have great pictures and great memories but no STORY.  Now, fortunately for all of us, we have all three!

Moab Monday

It's hard to show a made over feeling.  That's what these Utah vacations do for all of us, though.  Here are just a few of the photos from our trip so far.

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Sap beads on pinyon pinecones

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No matter how big she gets, there are still plenty of  "Sophie sized caves" around

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The Colorado River from our off-road hiking vantage point

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A rugged group, rockhounding in the shade of the cliff for the "afternoon adventure".  We usually get out around 8am for our morning trip, come back for pool/lunch/rest, then back out for more fun before dinner.  We know how to navigate this heat!

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Pa and Sophie take a moment to share a snack beside the river

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Daddy and Sophie - my two mountain goats!

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A hanging fern garden fed by a "seep" in the rock wall

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Nana and Sophie- ready to "rock"

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Father/Son-in-Law bonding time

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Daddy is on the edge!

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She gathers rocks wherever she goes

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You don't even want to know about the steep dropoff behind him!!

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I hope you enjoyed the photo tour.  No, (Donna, lol) I am not in any of these.  As the *photographer* in the family, I don't see the other side of the lens very often.  I'm hoping to get some whole family photos at some point, though... it's about time for another Moab family Christmas card!

Starstruck Sunday

OMG!  OMG!  OMG!

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OK.  I've calmed down now.  Guess what????  Disney Studios is currently- right this very minute- filming The Lone Ranger in Moab, Utah!!!  And guess who is starring in it???  JOHNNY DEPP!!!!! 

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As we rolled into town on Thursday, we passed a huge group of trucks and tents on the side of the road.  It was clearly a "happening", but we had no idea what was going on.  When I spied a train engine in the middle of the cluster, I realized there was probably some movie filming going on.

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A quick check of the old smart phone and sure enough, we found out what movie was in the works!

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We've seen a bunch of "star studio" trailers being shuttled up and down the river road, and a bunch of food trailers set up in an area near Castle Valley. 

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These three photos were snapped in the staging area close to town.  Mike took us down into the parking lot where there are several coal cars and trains set up on flatbeds ready to head to locations.  These big old wind machines are something you don't see every day, either.

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According to news reports, the film is set for release at the end of May, 2013.  It has a $215 million dollar budget, and is directed by Gore Verbinski from The Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3.  Johnny hasn't turned up to hike with us yet, but I have my eyes open!!

So Far, Sooooooooo Good

I am currently on vacation in BEAUTIFUL southeastern Utah. Moab to be exact. I came out here for the first time in 1992 to care for a friend who'd just had surgery, and I've been back just about every year since. My parents joined the party, mmm, 13 years ago? My hubby has been vacationing with us for 9 years, and my Sophie has been here 3 times in her almost 5 years of life!
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Now that we have a little one, the 4 hour flight and then 4 hour drive from Salt Lake is a bit much. So, we stay in Provo for the first night. This works out fabulously because once we check in, we are minutes from beautiful Bridal Veil Falls in the Uinta mountains.

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The Falls are minutes away from Sundance resort (you know, the Robert Redford, film festival Sundance). Daddy and Sophie posed for a photo on the chair lift. Though we could see snow on the highest peaks, the ski season has not yet started.

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The first day we arrived in Moab, we unpacked and headed straight to Potash Road by the Colorado River to do some rockhounding. This is where we find some of the most beautiful river rocks imaginable, and the whole gang enjoys poking around and exploring.
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After a stop at the dollar store for some tools, and at the grocery store for some picnic supplies, we headed out to Klondike Bluffs for more hiking, rock picking and digging. We found some beautiful agates and gizzard stones this time.

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Now this girl knows how to tailgate!

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Though a winter weather advisory was posted for Monday afternoon, we decided to head up into the LaSal mountains to one of our favorite places- dinosaur point. On the way we stopped at the Red Cliffs Lodge and Castle Creek Winery for a spectacular "lunch with a view" and a little wine tasting. The display teepees were a big draw for Sophie!

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Have you noticed Buttons the bear in many of these photos? That's the class mascot! We are taking pictures to share with the junior K class when we get back to Virginia. So, that's all for now! Stay tuned for another trip installment in a day or so. I'm hoping to be able to show you snow on red rock.... that will be AMAZING!!!

I've Been Tagged!

I have been "tagged" twice now, so I figure I'd better get on it! Both Linda at LindaButterfly and Karen at RunsWithScissors4 have tasked me with revealing 6 little known items of potential interest about myself. Thank you ladies for this honor! I hope these factoids are enjoyable.

At the end of this post, I will list a few blogs that I will be tagging. If you are on this list, the way I understand it, you are to do what I am doing here- write about yourself on your blog, link back to me, and then tag some unsuspecting blog owners of your own.

So, here goes- in no particular order whatsoever:

1. I have a tattoo on my back/left shoulder of two swallows in flight. I got it when I was 21, so, um...awhile ago. I found the design in a book and brought it to the artist. He did an amazing job, and I still love it after all of these years. According to lore, swallows are the only birds that shed their plumage in the winter. This represents the shedding of material possessions and the importance of the inner self.

2. My favorite place in the entire world is Moab, Utah. I first visited in the early 90s, and have gone back almost annually ever since. I even moved to Salt Lake City when I was in my mid-twenties- just to be as close as possible to those wide open spaces and high red rock desert. When I moved back East I filled this cruet with some precious red dirt so that I would always have a little part of it with me.

3. I am an only child and a "Navy brat". We did two tours in Naples, Italy when I was in preschool and elementary school. I went to ELEVEN different schools before 9th grade.

4. I had a wild love affair with white water rafting in my mid to late twenties. Thank goodness I'm still here to tell the tale; I rafted some of the largest rapids in North America including several stretches of the Colorado River, The New River, and the entire Gauley River. Oh, and I can't swim.

5. I camped my way across America with two girlfriends after graduating from the University of Virginia. I have also driven solo from Virginia to Moab, Utah and back. I have been in every US State except for Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Hawaii.

6. And last, but certainly not least, I have eaten freshly killed rattlesnake cooked over a campstove on the banks of the Colorado River. This was a particularly aggressive guy, and we couldn't have him slithering around our campsite being nasty. I keep his skin and rattler in a little wooden box to remind me of my adventurous days.

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Stay tuned to see more about these people in these places:

http://laura-luceymae.blogspot.com/

http://carriers-cozy-cottage.blogspot.com/

http://bethsingleton.blogspot.com/

http://melissascrochet.blogspot.com/

http://pinkcrabcreations.blogspot.com/

http://tifstar.blogspot.com/