We Round Out Another Adventure (however short!)

We made our way to Moab from Torrey experiencing continued issues with low tire pressure on the right rear tire. We have been fighting/ignoring it since we were 5 miles from the Moterra facility in North Salt Lake City.

The route took us through the ranges of cattle (and who knows what else) and there was no sign of life or cell phone service anywhere. Thankfully, we made it to civilization without issue and called the company for assistance. Tyler, one of the owners, took on our plight — with only minor “encouragement” from the Admiral. As it was a Saturday morning (everything closed for the weekend), we elected to continue to Moab as by then we were 45 miles away. The rest of that story will be found later, so wait for it!

We were advised by Mel early that morning that there was no reason to rush to Moab. They had arrived late Friday night after a flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and then a 4 hour drive to Moab, only to be met with an unpleasant experience with their late check-in the night before into a pre-arranged cabin. Finally, they took refuge at 3:00a at the local Holiday Inn Express, where an angel was there to greet them.

We arrived just as they did from the hotel, having straightened out the problem – and we arranged to have the van just steps away from their little “home away from home.” Now, you might think a <200 ft² cabin would not be referred to as “home” – it at least had air conditioning and a flush toilet as well as a good shower. We celebrated our reunion, as it had been a year since we were together – in Charleston for several fabulous days of Spoleto. Out came the Prosecco – let the party begin! We wrapped up the celebration that evening with homemade pie ala mode – pies courtesy of the Mormon Village recreation at Capitol Reef.

To mitigate both the heat and the crowds, we had a timed entry permit at Arches National Park the following morning for 7:00a. The entrance to the park was less than 2 miles from our campground, so it was an easy launch site. And what a glorious explosion of amazing rock formations were awaiting us!

Many of the “sculptures” are called “fins” that take on a personality. On the left is “The Gossips” and “The Sheep”. On the right is “The Gossips” closer.

Captain Bill was bucking up well under the challenges of bronchitis (lingering for its 4th week) and side effects of new blood pressure medicine – one of which was extremely swollen ankles. So, our hiking was limited to short walks rather than longer hikes. As well, the daily temperature by 10am was well into the 90⁰F’s and by mid-afternoon cresting over 100^oF, so exhaustion and dehydration were also of great concern.

Known as the “Balance Rock”, these types of structures can be found throughout the park. The story goes that a gentleman did not believe the Park Director’s assurance that the rock was not supported by concrete. So, he decided to climb the rock to inspect it. Of course, he got up there and – sure enough – no concrete but no way to get back down and had to be rescued.

We had purchased a product from “GuideAlong” which is an amazing, GPS-driven app that takes you through all the areas of the park. We thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and education.

There are some 250 arches in the park.

We departed Arches about 1p, and made our way to Spokes for a lovely lunch, a stroll about town for a bit and then a pay-off to the boys with some ice cream. Then back to the campground where Mel & Yvonne found a refuge in their cabin and the Captain & Admiral made a beeline for the pool!

On Monday, we elected to postpone the resolution on the low tire for another day so that we could make our way to Canyonlands early, as that proved to be a highly successful approach. Our friends were so gracious to do all the driving in their rental car rather than utilizing the van, which was more comfortable in so many ways.

Canyonlands can be accessed through three different entry points, each many miles apart and providing access to three very different aspects of the park. Being in Moab, we did the “Island in the Sky” section of the park – the entrance was about 40 miles from our site in Moab.

Mesa Arch

We did the 1 mile roundtrip hike to the Mesa Arch, as it is such a unique but recognizable feature of Canyonlands. Our guide (on GuideAlong) said that many mornings, there will be several photographers vying for the “perfect shot” as the sun rises through the Arch.

The vistas of Canyonland

The Grand View was simply that – Grand! And augmented by a delightful Park Ranger from Pittsburgh who gave an interesting 20 minute talk on the geology and timing of the most recent 275 million years.

The Colorado River (on the left) can be seen in the distance, the architect of this amazing canyon. On the right is a beautiful cut of the “upper layer” of the canyon made of Navajo Sandstone – it’s only ~135M years old!

Canyonland benefits from precipitation and ground water sources, so Pinyon Pines and Utah Juniper are quite prolific. The juniper on the left is full of juniper berries – the key ingredient for flavoring gin. Mel & Yvonne, with her fondness for gin, savored a bit of shade from a very handsome juniper tree. The far right picture is a pinyon pine complete with pine cones – the source for pine nuts.

Again, we returned to Moab about 1p and this time made our way to the Moab Diner, which was a rich delight. And, we could do this guilt-free as the ranger implored us to drink lots of fluids, but also to consume more calories and more salt than “normal”, as your body burns more calories at higher altitudes. We respectfully obliged!

Yvonne, the Captain & the Admiral retreated to the pool for the afternoon, until a thunderstorm rolled in which forced them to close the pool. We were thankful as we barely got back to the van/cabin when the downpour arrived. We got things put away and hunkered down, enjoying the sounds and the cooling of the air. The coolness only lasts as long as it is raining, for as soon as the storm clouds cleared – it was back to 102^oF.

Our last evening together for this visit was truly memorable. We had seen the Sunset Grill upon our arrival in Moab, as it sits well above the city overlooking the valley and mountains on the other side.

The restaurant is in the former home of Charlie Steen, a geologist from Texas who headed west in 1949 in search of uranium. The 1946 Atomic Energy Commission had issued $10,000 incentives for domestic uranium discoveries. With 3 small boys and another on the way, Charlie & Minnie Lee (on a $100 loan from his mother) tried Colorado before moving on to Utah. Many failed attempts and a literally starving family, Charlie & family set off for Tucson AZ and Charlie worked as a carpenter to support his family. The “bug” to strike it rich, however, never left him and they returned to Utah about year later.

With limited resources, he did not have the proper equipment to prospect or test properly and his “last attempt” failed when his drill bit broke some 176′ into the earth’s surface. He threw the equipment in the back of his truck and it wasn’t until days later that he encountered a friend at the local gasoline station, whose geiger counter went crazy when it got close to Charlie’s truck! He had struck uranium at only 70′ and the result was the largest uranium discovery during the uranium boom. It made Charlie an overnight multi-millionaire, some reports as high as $130,000,000 which was an incredible fortune in September, 1952!

He named the mine “Mi Vida” which is My Life, built his home overlooking the valley that had provided his fortune and proceeded to be a generous employer and philanthropist. Unfortunately, the run for uranium dwindled within a few years and, due to poor financial management, Charlie lost a major portion of his fortune. However, even when you lose a significant portion – when you start with $130M, there is still some there!

But, back to our dinner. We were seated under the shade of a large triangular covering on the grassy lawn, where a breeze helped cool us until the sun when down. We spent a relaxing evening over good food, refreshing drinks and lively discussion at the location for our next rendezvous. And then, amazingly, we were gifted with a beautiful rainbow!

Tuesday morning it was time to face the music with the low tire, so we loaded up the van and presented ourselves to Point S Tire Service at 7:40a as instructed by Tyler from Moterra. The expectation was that if we got there then, we could get right in and be taken care of quickly. Wrong – there were 5 in front of us! So, we left them the van, called Mel & Yvonne and we met at the Moab Grill for breakfast. We laughed and plotted the “next adventure” and then they were off to Salt Lake City for their return flight to Los Angeles.

We returned to the tire shop – and 2 1/2 hours later, they finally took the van into the shop for repair. Add another hour and we were driving out of the shop – only to have the low tire indicator come on again!! We did a quick U-turn and back we went – to be told that we needed to drive the car at 30 mph for 20 minutes and the light “should” reset. Now, we are not Doubting Thomas, but….

Regardless, we did as we were instructed to do – and lo and behold, it worked! We made our way to Helper Utah (about halfway back to Salt Lake City). We’ll return the van in the morning and wing our way home compliments of American Airlines.

It’s been a delightful two weeks with great memories and much learning (we won’t go into the details of the air travel home!) – as part of this whole adventure was “what does the Captain & Admiral want to do next?” So, stay tuned! Until then, know that we love each and every one of you!

Sunrise on our last morning!

Much Love,

Captain Bill & Admiral Jann