Category: Uncategorized

  • Arizona to Arkansas: the new Kessel Run

    After reluctantly leaving the Grand Canyon on October 31st, we headed south towards Flagstaff. After all the isolation of southern Utah this actually came as a bit of a shock. I mean, it was great to be able to choose between PetCo or PetSmart for dog food, instead of struggling to find anyone who even…

  • A big change. Plus, a big hole in the ground!

    We started this adventure not knowing what would really happen along the way. So in some ways, our next step shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. Well, maybe it is. Whatever. We decided to head to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to help out Michael’s parents. More details to come on that – or not, I would like to…

  • Isolated, beautiful southern Utah

    Moving on from Capitol Reef was hard, but we had a shipment to pick up in Boulder, UT. See, a while back Michael had sent his beloved Blundstone boots in for a warranty evaluation. They sent him a brand new pair of boots. Of course, they sent the boots to our mailing address, which is…

  • Stunning Capitol Reef

    Happy Halloween, everyone! Today’s recap: Capitol Reef National Park. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out. Sunday October 23rd we ended up camping outside of Loa, Utah,empty-handed as it were, since the only grocery store in town was closed. Actually, everything in that town appeared to be closed. Was it a Mormon thing? At least…

  • Hanksville and Little Wild Horse Canyon

    Saturday October 22nd we got up, made breakfast, and headed right back in to Natural Bridges. We had a plan! I was going to run the 3-mile trail from Sipapu Bridge to Kachina Bridge. Michael’s plan was to put the 40-lb sandbag into his ruck, hike down to Sipapu Bridge, do a CrossFit-style sandbag workout…

  • Canyonlands, Take II

    We spent 4 wonderful days at Indian Creek, and 2 days at Canyonlands. And finally, after almost 20 years, I was able to hike the Joint Trail. This little gem is only about a mile long, and you have to hike 5 miles just to get to it. But it’s a long slot that’s barely…

  • Finally!

    After nearly a month in Moab, we finally made a successful exit on Monday the 17th. Crazy! Sunday the 16th was our last night at our wonderful Lone Mesa Road campsite. It was also the night of the Hunter’s Supermoon… which would have been awesome except for those 50mph wind gusts. Yeah. They get some…

  • Nope. We’re still in Moab.

    We tried to quit you, Moab. And damn, was it hard. Did I mention that the sushi place in town (yes, there is a sushi place in the middle of the desert, and it’s not bad) had a sign in their window – hiring for a kitchen chef and a dishwasher? When we saw that…

  • Time to move on…

    At the end of our ride on Thursday, Michael turned to me and said, “So, was that epic enough for you?” We left from our camp that morning and rode this route at Navajo Rocks: Big Mesa -> Rambler -> Rocky Tops -> Middle Earth -> Big Mesa. A lollipop loop of almost 16 miles.…

  • Adventures of the senior dog

    Sometimes I wonder if Elvis actually is going senile… or if he’s really just super smart. Most nights now, Elvis the senior dog sleeps up in the tent with us. Michael carries him up and down the ladder. This is, in fact, the opposite of what we want. How did it begin? Well, his first…

  • More of Moab

    I want to start this post off with something like a gear review. Waaay back in Missoula (a month ago!) we picked up some funky sunscreen at the Farmer’s Market. I’ve been using this stuff ever since, and I think it deserves a shout-out. The company is called DAYSPA Body Basics. I’m generally skeptical of the…

  • My kind of town

    I have often said that it’s too bad Moab is in the middle of the desert. If I thought I could handle the summers, I would have pushed Michael to move here years ago. But the summers here are awful – weeks of 100 degrees. Not my idea of a good time. So spring and fall…