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Moab Part I: Riding the Carousel

This fall, our traditional Moab trip didn’t happen until nearly winter. Due to scheduling constraints that will be the topic of another post, we didn’t have an opportunity to head down there until the latter half of November. Consequently, Moab wasn’t quite its usual pleasant self during our visit but at least it was 20 degrees warmer than back home. Plus, the frosty weather added another layer of ruggedness to our already radical adventures. (Insert those deserved snickers here.)

Gypsy is a short but sweet romp over rippling slickrock.
Gypsy is a short but sweet romp over rippling slickrock.

Our first day in Moab, we decided to bike Klonzo South, a section of the Klonzo Area that wasn’t finished until after we hit that trail system last year.

The temperatures were chilly on Klonzo’s unprotected outcroppings. I’m not talking about “wear a jacket” chilly; I’m talking about “wear three jackets because the wind is going to carve an ice canyon out of your belly” chilly. Still, who’s complaining? (Besides me, of course.)

The Edge deserves its precipitous name.
The Edge deserves its precipitous name.

We biked about 7 miles over Klonzo South’s short interconnecting loops. My favorites of these trails were Magician, Wizard, Carousel, and Gypsy. They twisted over a lot of rolling slickrock and vibrant desert dirt. Awesome!

I have a tendency to sing with my tunes while I bike.
I have a tendency to sing with my tunes while I bike.

I was not so crazy about Hotdog, a curvy strip placed on a steep hillside. Hotdog was no more difficult than the other paths but I didn’t care for it. Why? After some introspection, I realized that I carry my claustrophobic tendencies with me when I bike. If I feel trapped on a tiny hint of a trail that’s sandwiched in unescapably-abrupt terrain, claustrophobic discomfort sets in. This may seem completely illogical considering the wide-open settings where mountain biking takes place but no one ever said phobias make perfect sense.

You can't take pictures like this with an iPhone.
You can’t take pictures like this with an iPhone.

The day was soon over after some turns on Magician, The Edge, Wizard, Carousel, Gypsy, Hotdog, and Zoltar. Curse you sun for your winter laziness!

Zoltar mostly rides over slickrock. Jason likes mostly riding over slickrock.
Zoltar mostly rides over slickrock. Jason likes mostly riding over slickrock.

Following Klonzo, it was back to the hotel to write papers until midnight. The reasons why I had to spend my evenings on homework during my beloved Moab trip will have to wait until another post and the urgent details of our treks through Arches National Park will have to wait until next week.

Rachel December 12, 2015 No Comments

Binge City

I think Vegas should be called Binge City, as in you’ll have to go to the bathroom and make yourself throw up after visiting. It’s a flashy reminder of the idiotic excesses of humanity that I generally find irritating. (I’m all for moderation not bulimia.) Yet, Vegas does have a few things going for it like sunshine, food, and shows. Jason and I made use of all of those few things a few weeks ago.

If you must do homework, this is the way to do it.
If you must do homework, this is the way to do it.

Like Carnival, Vegas seems to suspend normal social conventions. Any reminder of responsibility has been carefully removed from that town. You can’t find a recycling bin anywhere and no one talks about conserving water, even though Bellagio has its fountains blasting and Nevada is the driest state in the union. Visitors eat booze for breakfast so they can delay their hangovers. Hopeful gamblers pull slots like cheese-crazed rats in windowless mazes. And don’t even get me started on Vegas’ archaic representation of women.

Yet, I’ll admit, several aspects of Vegas do have undeniable appeal. Vegas’ weather is inviting when it’s frigid elsewhere. The restaurants are luscious. The shopping is tempting. And the entertainment is ample, even if you’re looking for PG productions.

Unlike other Cirque shows, you were allowed to take pictures during Zarkana.
Unlike other Cirque shows, you were allowed to take pictures during Zarkana.

Jason recently had to travel to Las Vegas for a business conference. I joined him on the tail end of his meeting and stayed the weekend. We had a great time. (That kind of invalidates the rant I just went on doesn’t it?) We spent our Saturday afternoon devouring sun by the hotel pool. I had to do homework during this stint but I got to do it in a tank top. Why the homework? I’ll cover that another time.

We caught the new Cirque du Soleil show called Zarkana. I cringed at what the performers were doing many times during this program but I couldn’t take my eyes away from them. I’d recommend checking it out.

Jason and I usually check out a show every time we go to Vegas.
Jason and I usually check out a show every time we go to Vegas.

We took advantage of Vegas’ culinary excellence with dinners at Sage and Wolfgang Puck’s Cucina. Plus, we helped ourselves to the biggest macaroons I’ve ever seen at Jean Philippe Patisserie… and some stuffed crepes… and several piles of chocolate.

Vegas is best experienced in small doses. With just a couple days, you can enjoy its finest and mostly ignore its worst. That’s how I prefer to revisit Binge City.

Rachel December 4, 2015 No Comments

Stoned Again Part II

Our last full day in Yellowstone, after eating a large breakfast at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, we moseyed over to West Thumb’s assortment of geysers, pools and mudpots with my parents. Right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb’s hydrothermal oddities seem like a replacement for a beach dreamed up by Dali.

The Thumb Paint Pots are a field of miniature mud volcanoes 3-4 feet high. There is nothing smallish about their peculiarity.
The Thumb Paint Pots are a field of miniature mud volcanoes 3-4 feet high. There is nothing smallish about their peculiarity.

Following their tour of West Thumb, my parents departed for home and Jason and I continued our park explorations on our own. We took what we thought would be a short stop at Upper Geyser Basin and ended up staying there the entire afternoon in a very ADD fashion.

Black Pool used to be murky with growth until it got too hot for microorganisms to handle.
Black Pool used to be murky with growth until it got too hot for microorganisms to handle.
Observation Point gave a different perspective of an old favorite.
Observation Point gave a different perspective of an old favorite.

First, we decided to hike to Observation Point, which gives a 160-foot perspective of Old Faithful’s bursts, and then we trekked to Solitary Geyser, a feature changed forever by us hopeless sapiens. After that, we thought we might as well stroll around and see if any features were currently erupting or would be erupting soon. We discovered that Castle and Riverside Geysers were scheduled to gush within the next few hours and, geyser gods permitting, we could probably catch both shows and read a few pages of some good books besides. It sounded like as decent of a plan as any.

Castle Geyser erupts about every 14 hours and has one of the most interesting cones in Upper Geyser Basin.
Castle Geyser erupts about every 14 hours and has one of the most interesting cones in Upper Geyser Basin.

I am proud to report that our reading and waiting were conducted expertly. We witnessed Castle’s ramparts flooded with insistent fountains and Riverside’s rainbow gracefully arched across the Firehole River. It was quite the double feature.

This feature was named Belgian Pool in honor of a Belgian man that fell in and died many years ago. Jason's shadow slipped in but suffered no serious injuries from the incident.
This feature was named Belgian Pool in honor of a Belgian man that fell in and died many years ago. Jason’s shadow slipped in but suffered no serious injuries from the incident.
With herds of bison roaming freely across unaltered hillsides, Hayden Valley seems lost in time.
With herds of bison roaming freely across unaltered hillsides, Hayden Valley seems lost in time.

In total, we wandered about five of six miles around the basin, often in circles, before the sun called it a day and we had to too. I guess time flies when you are staring at pressurized water heated deep underground by magma from an active volcano.

Riverside Geyser produces 75-foot columns during its picturesque outbursts, which happen roughly every six hours.
Riverside Geyser produces 75-foot columns during its picturesque outbursts, which happen roughly every six hours.

So next time you have a family member cancel on the same vacation two years in a row, be unperturbed. Be happy in the knowledge that your trip will go on and your enjoyment of it should too. For life is too short not to stop and smell the sulfur.

Rachel September 14, 2015 No Comments
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