8 day hiatus from the internet...

What began as a 3 night 2 day visit with Gabe, turned into a week long escapade through the Colroado Plateau! Since Gabe was/is a faculty member on 'The Western Field Trip' from UWP, we planned on meeting up to hang out for a few nights while he was in my neck of the woods. It just made sense! I requested the days off of work when he was slated to be near Boulder and then was planning on heading to Moab with the class (20 students and 3 faculty). Turned out that I wasn't scheduled to work the entire week. I made one last call to be sure that I wasn't scheduled to work and the plans were set. With some logistical support and ideas from Cari, my week was set perfectly... Moab Monday-Wednesday, travel to Zion National Park, stay until Saturday morning, travel back to CO-- Durango-- just in time for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Crit on Sunday.



Since I was only planning on being gone for 2 days, I didn't bring my computer. Weird for me. No e-mail for 9 days. crazy... and honestly, I didn't have too much to catch up on when I got back.



The week was great. I packed my bike, a bouldering pad (from Missy's sis Kris), and a couple changes of clothes. I got my workouts in and Gabe and I were able to spend some excellent time together driving through CO and UT AND gallivanting through some of the most beautiful scenery in the US. Here are some photos to document the weekend...

Golden Gate Canyon State Park-- Beautiful, yes... but it took me about 3 hours to get figure out where they were camping! When in doubt... jump the locked gate and walk back to the campsites... just to make sure that your party isn't there. In my case they were and it took me an extra 2 hours to get back to the correct place!
Gabe lecturing in Professor Valley outside of Moab- he was actually doing a talk about climbing Castleton Tower and also about the rock that is found in the Moab area.

We were taking a break from bouldering. I actually worked (climbed) two problems... attempted about 5. Then I was tired. You can tell that he is absolutely as thrilled as I was about the prickly pear flowers. Believe it or not, they opened while we were bouldering at Big Bend.
Zion National Park. We hoofed it across this stream (the Virgin River) that is running at full capacity to get to the other side so we could hike the approach to a climbing route. The stream was cold. very cold.

My head is covering the 'mittens' of Monument Valley in northern Arizona. When i busted across Southern Utah and Northern AZ to get to Durango-- I saw the Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, some really seedy gas stations and many roads with no services for miles.

The race in Durango was tough! It started fast from the gun. What I have been learning is that I do only have a book of matches to burn... not a box. I'm learning my limits and when and how hard and how long I can go. Tough lessons, but good ones. Watch for more photos.