Moab 4.0

Last weekend I had the chance to go camping in Moab, UT. It was a short weekend trip unfortunately, but still lots of fun. We (12 people) all arrived at random times Friday evening. I was lucky enough to get to Moab around 5:30pm, while others arrived at midnight because they couldn't get the time off of work.

My roommate does a big trip to Moab each year. This is her fourth year and thus Moab 4.0. There is always amazing food (seems like I eat better camping then when at home haha), lots of laughs, and good times. This trip was no exception.

On Saturday we divided up into two groups. One group was going to go canyoneering (repelling down the canyon and hiking). The other group was just going to hike. I decided to join the hiking group. I found the trail that I wanted to do. It was pretty far south. Canyonlands National Park is divided into three sections: Island in the Sky (which I saw a lot of last year), the Maze (I believe this section can only be reached by backpacking in), and Needles (the south part of the park). From where we were camping it was about an hour drive south to Needles. I had never been down there and wanted to do something different. I found a trail that had great reviews and asked people if they wanted to go down there and they did.

The goal of the hike was to make it to Druid Arch, 5.4 miles one direction. It was a fun hike. We hiked in a dried river bed, climbed a ladder and did a few scrambles up some rocks. The scenery was amazing. By the time we back to the car (6+ hours later), I was exhausted. It was a pretty hot day so I was drained, but the hike was totally worth it.

The next day we packed up all our stuff to go home. Once that was done the car I was in headed out to Arches National Park for a quick drive through and a couple short hikes (short being the key word).

We were back on the road by 1:30pm for the 6 hour drive home. I wish we had more time to spend there. I guess I will have to wait till Moab 5.0

Now for the pictures.

Our campsite minus a few tents.

Headed towards Needles in Canyonlands National Park.

 The start of our 10.8 mile hike.

 This is a Cairn. These are the trail markers.

 Desert flowers.

Can you tell we made it to the end of our trail :)?

 Druid Arch

 Can you see the people?

 Sunset at camp.

 Sheep Rock at Arches National Park.

 Double Arch

 Looking out at the La Sal Mountains from Double Arch.

 Double Arch and a friend.

Good times had by all as usual!

Weekend in Florida

A few weeks ago I got to go to Florida for a long weekend. Friday was designated to enjoying New Smyrna Beach. After spending a few hours on the beach it was time to hit the road and see the other sites. John and I headed to Canaveral National Seashore. There were lots of birds to take pictures of.

 At New Smyrna Beach

 Pelican diving for fish.

 At New Smyrna Beach

 Dolphin

 Manatee Tail

 Manatee Footprint

 I love this picture. The wind was blowing a lot.

 Roseate Spoonbill

Before heading to the airport on Monday, we stopped at Blue Springs to see the Manatee. The entrance lady said that there were 193 manatee in that morning. 

It was an enjoyable weekend to say the least. 

Sunrise Hike to Devil's Head Fire Tower Outlook

I haven't been doing the best at keeping up with this blog. I'm going to attempt a few posts in the next little bit (crossing fingers).

A friend of mine wanted to do a sunrise hike up to Devil's Head Fire Tower Outlook west of Castle Rock, CO. So we did. We camped over night near the trailhead so we wouldn't have to get up quite so early and drive down there. While getting the fire going and dinner started the sunset was becoming quite picturesque.

Soon after dinner we all (three of us) headed to bed to try to get some sleep before that annoying alarm clock sound would go off. The wind was howling all through the night. I think if we weren't in the tent, the tent would have blown away.

Finally, it was time to get up. I don't remember exactly what time it was but around 4am. We had to hike a couple of miles to the top and didn't want to run up the mountain.

When I got out of the tent the stars were breathtaking. I had to go take a picture while the other two took the tent down.

Can you see Orion?

After heading up the trail a ways, we started noticing light dawning on the horizon. I think at that point we were just over half way. I got a quick picture and then we picked up speed trying not to miss what we came on this hike for.

The last 1/2 mile or so I was almost sprinting. I wasn't sure we were going to make it up to the fire tower in time. That last hurdle I had to overcome was 143 steps to the fire tower. I literally ran the whole way up, snapped some quick pictures and then almost passed out. It was worth it though. 

 Pikes Peak

Photo Credit: Katherine Brownlow

Devil's Head Fire Tower

The hike was worth it. I'm glad I went.

Mount Rushmore

This has been a busy summer, or so it seems.  I have been able to go on a few outings with friends and family. I will be posting those outings in the next little bit. Here is the most recent trip I was privileged to take. John, has a roommate that is a pilot. Last Thursday he and another pilot flew John and I up to Rapid City, SD. From there John and I rented a car for the day and drove over to Mount Rushmore. We decided to do the Norbeck Scenic Byway through the Black Hills and hit up Rushmore towards the evening and stay for the lighting ceremony. Here are some pictures of our day trip.

  

Top Left: Boulder and the Flatirons. Bottom Left: Ground Speed of 170 mph. Bottom Right: North part of Boulder and the Indian Peaks in the background.

This is called Profile View.

Along the way we saw a number of different wildlife. Here is a collage of the living creatures.

Our first stop along the way was Sylvan Lake. We walked along the trail to the end of the lake.  The scenery was great.

The fall colors were pretty nice. 

 A grove of yellow aspen.

We drove through several little tunnels like the ones below.

After lots of driving we finally made it back to Mount Rushmore. 

During the lighting ceremony the park ranger tells how Rushmore came about. At the end, the ranger invited anyone who has formerly served or is currently serving in the military down to the front to retire the flag. She then asked everyone to give their name and the branch they served in.

 Retiring the Colors.

 Retiring the Colors.

On our way out.

After leaving Rushmore we headed back to the regional airport to be picked up by John's roommate. I was happy to finally have landed back in Colorado around 1am. It was well worth the trip though.