Sunday
Wow.
I am sore and tired and… I had a GREAT TIME. Camping with and her family in Moab was a blast.

We left Saturday morning about 7:30. I fell asleep (the first time) somewhere around Thanksgiving Point. The rest of the ride to Moab was sprinkled with bouts of consciousness – I remember glimpses of scenery between my inner eyelid studies.

We got to Moab around noon. We unloaded, had a bite to eat and then it was off to the slickrock. The bike ride to the rock wasn’t far. Then I saw where we were going to ride. The first thought in my head was: You want me to ride…WHERE?! On WHAT!? The words “up there” and “this bike” did not seem to fit those questions. I didn’t see any way to get the It looked like utter madness. Up the rock face is where we had to go. So I went.

There were two ways to get to the part of the slickrock that we wanted: The “low road” and, appropriately enough, the “high road.” The low road was the more difficult of the two. , , Cam and Rich took the low road; Diane and I took the high one. (No one got to Scotland a’fore anyone else, though.) We rode around on the rock. I never thought that I’d go biking in Moab – let alone on the edges of cliffs – but there I was. I didn’t try the “Toilet Bowl,” as m3l called it, but Cam did. Twice. The first run wasn’t so successful, but the second one was a beauty. Quite the biker, he is.

Everyone else went down a run of rocks that I probably could have done… but after seeing Diane take a nasty fall (on her first try), I opted out of making a go of it. Maybe I’ll try next year. Maybe. If I’m feeling really adventurous. Back to camp for a while and then back up on the rock for an hour or so.

Back to camp for dinner and dessert. For dessert: S’mores. I have now made s’mores. While camping. Who would have thought it possible?! Me… making s’mores. Wait. Let’s go back: I was camping! Who would have thought THAT possible?!? I slept outside. Well… in a tent, but this is my story, so I’ll tell it the way I want. Outside! I made s’mores. I biked on slickrock and near cliff edges?!

This morning, we got back up on the rock for a little ride and then loaded up the camper and headed to Thompson ( mentioned it back in April). We rode into a little… town… that looks to be on its last legs. If it has that much life left in it. There was a ramshackle motel whose glory days have long since gone by. Then we checked out the old cafe and railroad station. We headed further in and saw ancient Native American pictographs. A little further in: The ghost town. We saw the hulk of a car from the 40s that had been run off the road and whose driver’s door was full of bullet holes. We saw the remains of a cemetary, general store and boarding house and a couple of homes, as well.

We ate lunch and headed out of the canyon. Cameron, Diane, , and I rode our bikes – Rich figured that it would be best for us to ride them past the washes – so as not to damage them. We were going to just ride past the washes, but Cam and m3l took the lead… and kept riding. and I were about a half-mile behind them, while Diane stayed back with Rich. We wound up riding roughly four miles back into Thompson. It was a good ride.

We reloaded the bikes – and ourselves – in the camper and hit the road for Salt Lake. We stopped in Green River for gas – and picked up some melons at a vendor stand; I got an Israel Melon (also known as an Ogen Melon). And then… back in the camper and back home.

I’m tired and achy – I have a horrible case of “bike butt,” as calls it. But, I had a wonderful time. The city kid in me was awed at the sheer silence. I’ve been in places that were quiet – it’s pretty noiseless near my mother’s house – but this beat them all. Quiet and serene. As an added bonus, Rich and Diane told me that I handled my first camping trip and first slickrock biking experience pretty well. That made me feel pretty good about the experience. I hope to go back down there with them again.

I would also like to offer a hearty “Thank you,” to for the use of her bike with front suspension; I would have rattled my shoulders loose, if I had taken my bike. Her bike handled the rocks and the dirt roads wonderfully.

I took over 130 pictures. I’ll try to get them posted in the next couple of days. But, for now, I believe that I’m going to sit here relax and try to keep my stair-climbing to a minimum.

Namaste.