Friday, April 20, 2012

Chilly Desert

WY I RUN...release some of my competitive juice. I think they have been stewing the past few months.

Adam and I took off for our mini- vacation on Thursday night.
We stopped in Rock Springs at the Bitter Creek Brewery for a half way point meal.
Downing the samplers, my preference at Brewerys

The ride down wasn't so pleasant as we hit the worst snow storm we have encountered all year and by the time we hit Vernal, UT where we were going to camp, it was way too late.


In search for a motel, we ran our bikes, which rode on top of the car into yet another clearance bar. I was determined we were headed back to Lander in a.m.
Good 'ole Lamplighter Motel


Nothing like shoving a banana into my mouth amidst beautiful scenery


After a refreshed night of sleep, we continued on and made it to Moab in the afternoon to set out for a 40 mile ride to the top of Arches National Park in Devil's Garden. After a delectable turkey sandwich, we sailed down trying everything we could to keep warm.







We made a few stops, my favorite being the Double Arch and the Balancing Rock.


Once back at the bottom we made  our way to this adorable campsite, Up the Creek. It is right in town, but 'tent only' with clean bathrooms and a great washing sink. I would highly recommend it to anyone in Moab.


Dinner was made by me, which was prepped the night before. I processed some fresh arugula pesto and cooked it with quinoa and chicken with a side of steamed broccoli and carrots. We made sure to eat some hefty servings.




I can't wait with a Wasatch Brown Ale in hand

Saturday we woke leisurely, but made sure to get our run, yes run in before breakfast which we were saving for a meal out since we love breakfast diners. We used the walk path next to our campsite to cover 5 miles in 40 minutes. From here, we headed to the Jailhouse Cafe which was recommended for breakfast in town. Definitely not anything to rave about.



We got a bit of a later start on Saturday morning because the weather was coming in and we wanted to fix the bike rack on the car (we got a lead from one of the cycle shops about a gear swap where we were able to fix and repair everything for $15), but with a few breaks in the clouds, we decided to withstand the wind and cold and ride up to Canyonlands National Park, The Islands in the Sky. Another 40 mile ride which was by far my favorite jaunt. The flurries did start to fall as we reached the car, but the clouds broke for us at the top.


Really does look like Islands in the Sky




It was a bit late once we reached the car so we booked it back to the campground with a coffee stop at the Moab Roasters and then a walk to the grocery store followed by Adam's meal of  grilled chicken Parmesan with some toasted bread. I couldn't shovel it in fast enough.


Mmmmmm and then some reading and sleep. The beauty of every vacation, endless time to read. Too bad it puts me to sleep within pages. Still plugging through Hidden Wives and Once a Runner.



Sunday morning started off with a walk, pancakes and some peanut butter. We were starving, the one thing that happens to us on our adventures and have to be extra careful about grumpiness. Breakfast lead to the bike shop where I was fitted for my first mountain bike and headed off on my first excursion. We parked 8 miles from the trail where we took a paved path to the Bar-M trail (which consequently lead Adam to take me on a harder loop where I not-so-politely cursed him throughout the ride). We put in a lot of time on the bike, about ~28 miles and I definitely need to some practice.




We  headed to the one lake outside of town next to try to get in a swim in our wetsuits. Heck no. It was FREEZING. We decided to do a bit more hiking through Arches since we didn't stop much on Friday. We did a short 2 miles walk from Park Ave to the Courthouse.

Park Ave is behind me, the formation represent the city buildings


I lead us astray by accident

Another sampler was tested at the Moab brewery and then we prepped to make fajitas for dinner. As the rain started coming down and we finished showering, we nixed this idea and headed to Zax where their Pizza and Salad buffet hit us like an oasis in the desert. It is like a higher power knew what we wanted more than we did. We stuffed ourselves silly of the most delicious pizza (and all kinds) that I have had in a while. As we stuffed our faces, we would just smile in between bites. Glorious. An evening walk followed this dinner and ended with lots zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.



More on our adventures soon to come...

2 comments:

  1. I saw your post over on carrots n cake and I was super stoked to see someone else living in the "Wild West". We live up in Bozeman, Montana with a lifestyle super similar to yours! Isn't it awesome :) Being competitive mountain bikers for years our goal has always been to make it to Moab, but haven't yet so I'm a little jealous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chelsea, if you are a mountain biker. You have to get out to Moab. It is great for you all. I need to work on the mountain biking thing. I definitely did more walking than biking on the slick rock, but maybe some more outings will help me out. I was supposed to run the Boston Marathon so this was my vacation instead and boy, did we have a great time. I hear Bozeman is awesome. I need to make it up there some time.
      Thanks for the comment
      P

      Delete