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Onions and Needles

Twice a year Jason and I head to Moab; these trips are nearly as constant as the ebb and flow of the tides. This spring we had a hard time finding an open weekend to visit our favorite adventure hub but somehow we squished it in. How can you not make time for Moab?

Crossing Onion Creek over and over was delightful and messy. I'm not usually that thrilled to be that soggy.
One prickly pear blooming in the desert is lovelier than a garden full of roses.

On this outing we again hit a couple new biking and hiking spots. It seems like no matter how many times we go to Moab there is always new terrain to explore. We biked 20 miles to the Fisher Valley Ranch and back via Onion Creek Canyon. Although this sandy bouncy road definitely wasn’t on the upper end of the technically challenging scale, the unfit would probably find it unfit for cycling due to its persistent climbs. For us though it was as tempting as a cup of hot cocoa in a snowstorm. All those bumpy hills strewn in unnatural looking reds, greens, grays, and yellows practically begged our tires to tread on them and we were happy to oblige. The dreamlike scenery kept our eyes popping but the best part of this ride was its 52 river crossings, and no, that was not a typo. Jason and I got to navigate our bikes through Onion Creek 52 fabulous times. It goes without saying that we did not return to our car dry. And, thanks to a 25 MPH wind that whipped the endless supply of sand into our faces, I didn’t even return to our car looking human. Instead I resembled what would happen if a stinkbug and a sandman produced unfortunate offspring. They really should never have kids together. Despite the gritty gusts that literally picked up our bikes on occasion and turned me into walking sandpaper, we thoroughly enjoyed this ride. I would recommend Onion Creek to those who aren’t super confident in their off-road skills but don’t mind a good workout or a wet crotch.

This is an untouched photo, as hard as that is to believe. Onion Creek was really that red and otherwordly looking.
That smudge of dust is not the workings of a camera lens gone awry but rather the sandy minions of an aggressive breeze.
In the narrows of Onion Creek Canyon my bike kept tilting toward the river gorge far below thanks to that tricky wind.

The second part of our adventure took us to The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands is comprised of three separate sections that are divided by the Colorado and Green Rivers. While we’ve hit the Island in the Sky District before, we’ve never made the 65 mile journey south of Moab to see The Needles until now.

Misshapen rocks littered The Needles' landscape.
We came across this rattler in The Needles just a foot from our trail. Later we discovered that it was a midget-faded rattlesnake, one of the deadliest vipers in North America. Apparently they're quite reclusive so a sighting is rare. Lucky us!

The Needles bore little resemblance to the Island in the Sky or anywhere else for that matter. It was a jumble of strange boulders and outcroppings. Its fingers of rock lined the horizon like ancient stone cityscapes. Everywhere you looked fields of mushroom rock popped out of the earth as if they had sprung up overnight.

This tunnel added a little claustrophobic zest to our Chesler Park hike.

We hiked to a place called Chesler Park, a peaceful scrub brush covered meadow surrounded by spires of stone that stretched toward the infinite sky. There we climbed a random rock blob and ate our lunch with a 360 degree view of the circling sandstone towers while a curious crow watched us from a few feet away.

We came across these unusual kissing petroglyphs at the top of Big Spring Canyon. Okay, so we created them with our cheesy shadows but aren't we clever!

Sunsets in the desert are glorious and not to be missed. So after our hike we relaxed above Big Spring Canyon and watched the whittled stone transform from a dull brown to a blazing red within minutes. Unlike other flames, this fire burned without a sound. In fact the world was so still at the top of that canyon it almost made your ears ache.

The Red Cliffs Lodge is frequently our hotel of choice. It is also home to the Castle Creek Winery...and this cute truck.

That concludes my account of yet another trek into Utah’s southeastern desert. If you’ve never been to Moab what are you waiting for? You could travel the whole world and not find anything comparable to the understated patient beauty of this worn landscape. It may have taken thousands of years of infinitesimal alterations to create this unique masterpiece but I would recommend not waiting that long to enjoy it.

Rachel May 23, 2012 1 Comment

G and the 3Bs

Last Saturday I rode Goldilocks, a women only noncompetitive bike ride, for the third consecutive year. I guess you could say I’m a regular porridge pounder.

While this ride was just as cute and empowering as ever, there were some minute changes this time on my end, specifically with my end, that weren’t so adorable.

Liz and I congratulated ourselves on being awesome with a little high five action.

This year I discarded all dignity and donned a pair of biking shorts, something that I swore for good reasons I would never do. And it gets worse folks. As bad as the average awfully-unattractive spandex leggings may be, the particular high-tech shorts I bought are far uglier. Not only do they revealingly stick to each unsightly body ripple but they also have seat padding that is almost an inch thick. Great. Extra stuffing: just what someone like me who has a hinny large enough to give J. Lo a run for her money needs. I looked completely grotesque in my biker’s getup but at least those stretchy constrictors were quite comfy and did make my rear ache less. I guess if beauty is pain then ugliness should feel pretty good. By the way, it may be too late at this point to warn you to avert your eyes from this post’s pictures if you easily grow queasy at the site of spandexed butt fat but consider you and your innocent children tipped off anyway.

Jason is my biggest fan. He hung out at a spot along our course waiting for us to ride by so he could take some pictures and cheer us on. There's no denying that he's the best husband ever!
The finish line was right where we had left it roughly an hour and 45 minutes before our glorious return.

It was in this shamelessly attired manner that I biked Goldilocks with my friend Liz, one of the ladies that joined me last year. We again opted to do the meager 20 mile ride, which you hardcore cyclist will rightly pooh-pooh. But our frailty does have a silver lining. For although we didn’t muster the gumption to pedal clear across the county, we did shave off about half an hour from our previous finish time without even trying. That’s right, we pedaled faster than last year’s models of us. And next time we’re really, really sure we want to do the 40 mile course. I guess that means I will need to get my bike out and start training in the middle of winter. I can’t say that having the glacial winds of winter wick all feeling out of my extremities sounds especially appealing but I am stubborn and stupid so why not.

Goldilocks, the blonde beast, was conquered once again! And in the same fell swoop any sense of dignity I might have had was also squelched. Next year may my posse and I kick 40 miles in the keister even if that means having to exhibit our hideous keisters all across the valley!

Rachel May 20, 2012 2 Comments

Santa Monica’s Eleven

Jason is not the world’s best planner. It’s a fact that only makes the trip he organized for our anniversary even more fantastic.

This year it was Jason’s turn to arrange our anniversary celebrations. For weeks he debated where to go and asked many for their location opinions. In the end he decided we would take a long weekend getaway to Santa Monica, California, a place both of us have seen in countless movies but had never visited.

Our hotel, the Shore, was very hip and modern. I'd highly recommend it to couples traveling without kids. A shower with sheer glass panels on both the bathroom and bedroom sides shouldn't be wasted on a family vacation.
From our hotel balcony the pier and ocean were just a short 4-floor drop away.

Jason diligently did his homework for this trip. He researched hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. After his extensive investigation he opted to book us an ocean view room at the beachfront Shore Hotel. Excellent choice. This new boutique hotel is contemporary, beautiful, and filled with all sorts of high-tech gadgetry. The location isn’t too shabby either. Our balcony overlooked the ocean and famous Santa Monica Pier; we were right in the epicenter of happenings. More than enough stores, yummy bistros, and natural wonders to keep us occupied were within a quick walk. Our whole stay we never even took our rental car out of the hotel parking lot.

You may have seen this archway in a few dozen or so movies.
From the top of the Ferris wheel the shoreline seemed to sprawl out infinitely in either direction.

Jason wanted this to be a proper relaxing escape so he compiled general ideas of what we could do while in Santa Monica but avoided setting plans in stone. This low-keyed method worked splendidly. We spent our anniversary walking hand in hand along the pier and beach. We enjoyed a panoramic view of the coastline from the Pacific Park Ferris wheel and giggled as waves chased us up the shore.

Jason's long wavy hair combined with the salty breeze created an instant beach bum. I'm not complaining though; it was cute.
Having your extensive hair fanned out behind you by a coastal breeze as you nimbly pursue waves may sound like the makings of photographic hotness but this picture proves that makings do not always pan out. Still, it was too funny not to share.

That night we ate a fabulous dinner at The Lobster, a distinguished joint right on the beach. Our anniversary reservations procured us special treatment at this restaurant and a table with a view of the sun dipping over the ocean, which is just what you need for the ideal digestion of baby beet salad and housemade shellfish linguini. Even though we filled our tummies at an unhurried pace we still had enough time afterwards to catch the new Avengers movie. What can I say, I’m a geek so, vacation or not, this film was a weekend priority for me.

Pacific Park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, is home to the world's only solar-powered Ferris wheel. You may recognize it from about a million movies.
I ordered the shellfish-strewn housemade pasta at The Lobster. With all those clams, mussels, shrimp, octopuses, and squids swimming in a sea of black noodles my plate looked a bit like the dregs of the ocean. But yum!

The next day we got some couples counseling in the form of a tandem bike we rented and rode along a shoreline path called the Strand. This jaunt was mellow and fun despite that cumbersome cycle challenging our teamwork skills. I guess Jason and I make a pretty decent pair because this excursion didn’t end with us hitting someone or wanting a divorce.

If you've never ridden one of these double-seated wonders you've never lived precariously. Talk about unwieldy and awkward!
One night we watched the sun setting over the ocean from our hotel room. The sky was a brilliant orange interrupted only by the swaying silhouettes of palm trees.

After our ride along the beach we met up with some friends, the Congers, for lunch. They happened to also be on vacation in Santa Monica. It’s funny how you’ll go years without seeing your buddies when you only live 20 minutes away from each other yet scramble to gather when you happen to be traveling concurrently in a different state. It was good to catch up with them though. After our meal it was time for some cute dress shopping followed by tranquil book reading on our balcony as waves broke rhythmically below us.

Our days on the coast passed by quickly, too quickly, but they made a perfect little break from regular life. Thanks to my hubby for not only planning a great and relaxing anniversary trip but for also being the best travel companion that a girl could ask for. Life is so much better with a Jason; everyone should get them one of those.

Rachel May 10, 2012 No Comments
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