My sister Kristen is a determined and strong woman. When she signed up for the Desert RATS 50K, a trail run, and asked if Jason and I wanted to join her, we thought about it for about two seconds. After two seconds, we decided to provide cheering services and participate in the 10K instead. I too am a determined woman, but I am determined not to be that determined. The race was in Fruita, Colorado, which gave us an excuse to take a long weekend getaway with a portion of my family. We had a great time hanging with kin and making a detour to Moab on the way home.

Kristen did her 50K on Saturday morning, which took over six hours. Then, after running 31 miles, that crazy girl wanted to do some hiking in Colorado National Monument. I did mention that we are of determined stock, didn’t I? We trekked a bit of the Coke Ovens Trail together until Kristen realized she couldn’t make her legs move anymore. Then, Jason and I traversed Otto’s Trail by ourselves.

The next day, Jason and I ran our first trail 10K. It was a gorgeous course with expansive views of the Colorado River. I can see why people like trail runs. Following our little jaunt, we ate lunch at a cute café and wandered around Fruita’s quaint streets. Fruita is small, but it’s got style. In the evening, we headed to Whitewater Hill Vineyard so the oenophiles in our group could sample some local libations. We spent our late hours that night, and throughout the weekend, playing games like Phase 10, Exploding Kittens, and Codenames around the kitchen table of our darling rented home.

Jason and I stopped in Moab for a day or so on our way home. My sister and her husband joined us for an afternoon of that day or so. We ate lunch at the Eklecticafe and hiked to Corona and Bowtie Arches. The Eklecticafe serves, as its name suggests, an eclectic menu; vegans and carnivores alike can find something to suit their palates among its varied options.

Jason and I went to Arches National Park after my sister and her hubby departed for home and hiked “The Spectacles” before it got dark. It was beyond windy in the park that evening. Gusts up to 55 MPH plagued us with sand and extra resistance. On a positive note, the breeze scared most of the tourists back to their windless dwellings, so we didn’t have many other visitors to contend with on the trail.

For years, Jason and I have talked about eating dinner at the Desert Bistro during our Moab visits, but we have always been too tired or dirty to follow through on this desire. This time, we finally ate a meal at this fantastic joint. Yum! The house salad with its mix of crunchy sesame seeds and pungent gorgonzola was incredible, and the beets layered with pesto goat cheese were tremendously tasty. Also, my bison tenderloin wrapped in bacon was amazing… so, pretty much everything was scrumptious! If you find yourself hungry in Moab, get your hungry self to this place… with a reservation.

The last day of our trip, we hiked the Alcove Spring Trail in Canyonlands National Park with some sidetracking down an intersecting canyon to check out Moses and Zeus, two iconic sandstone towers that share a conversation in a silent land. Moses, the taller of the two spires, protrudes 410 feet from its base of Moenkopi and Chinle bands. Although it was almost 80 degrees in Moab the day before, weather is capricious not consistent. It was in the low 40s in Canyonlands when we began our ramble, and the wind was zipping along at 25 MPH with gusts up to 40 MPH. We took three layers of jackets with us but, thankfully, only ended up using all of them collectively for the first half an hour.

Although Alcove Spring is a nearly 12-mile trek, I don’t believe that’s what keeps people from attempting it. Its path descends 1,300 feet down a cliff face into a canyon rather abruptly. Afterward, the trail compensates for its initial stimulation with a large heap of monotony as it wanders through a wash for most of the rest of its duration. This wash is relatively flat but is as full of bothersome sand as boredom.

Since Alcove’s 1,300-foot crag was tricky to navigate downward, the idea of going back up it was a little intimidating, but it ended up being fairly easy. (Jason may tell you something different if you care to ask him.) We ascended in just over half an hour, much better than we were expecting. The whole hike took us about six hours, putting us on the faster side of the estimated 6-7 hours. Slightly above mediocre = amazing, right?

Our impression of Alcove Spring? The scenery was pretty but not as gorgeous as other spots in Canyonlands. Moses and Zeus were cool though and didn’t require a long detour to reach. The best thing about the Alcove Spring hike was that we saw absolutely no one on it, not a single person the whole day. Yippee! I prefer my nature people-free.

Fruita was fun and Moab was predictably marvelous. We enjoyed spending some time with my family and some time in new and true parts of nature.