Trip Report: White Rim Trail, Canyonlands Nat Park

Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
For years on end, I've dreamt of tackling the White Rim Trail. I've read and re-read about it on various off-road sites and drooled over photos on this forum and tons of others of the narrow two track roads that cling to the sides of the towering cliffs it navigates you through.

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There is something about actually completing it that excites me to no end. Of course, we got a late start because if we were to get on the road early or even on time, it would just go against everything we stand for.

I mean we try and always have good intentions of getting started early or at least be on time, yet we're late to everything we attend and seem to be about two hours behind when it comes to getting started.

As one fellow photographer recently told me "I'm more of a Sunset Photographer than a Sunrise Photographer."

Around noon, once the truck was fueled up, the cameras were cleaned, charged and packed, the cooler was iced down and loaded in the truck, we left downtown Moab heading for Canyonlands National Park

I even washed the truck since I was planning on taking so many photos of it, I really wanted it to be glistening. Something I rarely do and normally dont care too much about....but this was a special occasion for Big Bubba (Our Trucks name) and I wanted him to look pretty.

We pulled up to the Visitor Center in Canyonlands National Park and I went in to get our permit and pay our $30 permit fee. The fee is good for 14 days of backcountry camping, but we werent planning on staying out there that long.

I'm just saying that incase anyone is planning a longer White Rim trip, they'll know there is a fee to camp. You can drive the trail during the day for free, but if you plan to camp, you have to have the permit.

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The Line Cutting Through the Bottom of the Canyon is the White Rim Trail

The trail gets under way very quickly and within the first few miles, you're already offered amazing views out into the deep valley below you. Then the fun really starts and you're heading down your first descent

We're talking tight, narrow switchbacks with a vertical drop off that wouldn't just mean a dented bumper or bruised ego, we're talking instant death and no chance for survival if you were to slide off the edge. Sorry for the crappy images, but with deep shadows on one side and bright sunlight on the other, it was the best I could do, and I've yet to get into the HDR stuff.

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Schafer Switchbacks to get you started on the White Rim Trail

Luckily if you put our truck into 4Low, and put it in first gear, the top speed is about 4 mph and you never have to touch the brakes the entire time. We'd end up using this technique alot over the next 100 miles, but only for the downhills. We drove 99.9% of the trail in 2 Wheel Drive, but more on that later

The first section down the Shafer Switchbacks already had me wondering how people tackle this trail with Slide-In Campers on their trucks or in larger vehicles like Earthroamers or bigger Overland Vehicles. There were a few sections along this old cattle trail where our truck only had inches on each side to scrape past the rock walls. I wouldn't recommend this trail to anyone with a Dually or a Slide-In Camper

I was amazed when I suggested that my wife Cindy drive this first section of switchbacks because I wanted to get out and take pictures and she simply said "Ok, I'll do it!"

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It seems the last few weeks, she's been tackling any obstacle that normally leaves her scared to death and doing it with a smile on her face. I was shocked when she crawled behind the wheel of the truck and continued to drive for the next hour through some seriously rough terrain.

Our first stop was at the Goosenecks above the Colorado River. This is a section where the river makes a series of 180° turns with unique cliffs along the edges. We found a cool hoodoo to climb out on for the mandatory jumping pose when you're perched on a edge like this.

Our second stop was Musselman Arch. This is a long arch that is big enough to walk across the top of. I was the first to go across the top after talking with a group of photographers who were out here from Arizona.

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Cindy walking at a fast pace over the Musselman Arch

After I walked across, stopped to pose for photos out in the middle, Cindy piped up saying "Ok, I'll do it!"

What in the Hell has gotten into her? She walked over to the edge and proceeded to strut right across the top of this spectacular arch. She was walking so fast, I almost missed the shot because I was looking down to change a setting in my camera, and when I asked her to walk back across, she said "Nope, I did it once and that's all I'm doing it!"

We talked camera talk with the group of photographers for too long and were now way behind schedule, but it was fun to hear about their adventures and talk a bit about ours.

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The trail was everything I expected it to be. Sections of deep sand, miles of teeth chattering washboard, slickrock climbs, big boulder navigating, loose gravel descents that leave your butt cheeks sore from being clenched so tightly and then there are the scenic views that make it all so worth while.

When I was in the Visitor Center talking with the Park Ranger, he had asked where we wanted to camp for the night. Since we were getting started so late, his first suggestion was the Airport Campsite because it was only 18 miles into the trail. There isn't really an Airport out here, its just the name of the campsite.

I told him that 18 miles would be way too short of a day for us, and asked what the next available campsite was. The next few sites were already reserved for the night, so our only other option was a campsite called Murphy Hogback, which was 44 miles into the trail.

I figured the trail was over 100 miles long, we were starting a little after noon and the sun was supposed to be setting around 6:30pm. That would give us 6 hours to travel 44 miles. No Problem!! WRONG!!

If you're ever planning on tackling this trail, and by all means you should if you're into off-road exploration. Do yourself a favor and give yourself two full days minimum to complete the trail.

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The Long Road to No Where - White Rim Trail

The endless views are around every turn and we stopped so many times to get out of the truck, walk amongst the slickrock and peer over the cliffs, that we barely reached the Airport Campsite as the sun was starting to set.

We both looked at one another knowing we didn't want to be driving one foot of this trail in the dark, let alone 30 more miles of it. Since we knew this campsite was available, we decided to call it a day and set up camp before it got dark. In retrospect, this was the best thing we've done in a LONG time.

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I got to setting up the Camping Lab Roof Top Tent while Cindy made us some dinner. Since we only brought cold food, our nightly meal was thick sandwiches made from cold-cuts with carrots and dip as an appetizer.

But no adult drinks or beers since Cindy say's we're back on a strict diet so we can slim up for the VW Bus trip next week. Of course this infuriated me since a camping trip seems so wrong without some cold adult drinks to sit and watch the sun set.

As we were sitting outside and I was sulking without an Adult Beverage, the wind started to pick up and unlike last weeks Utah winds that felt like they were that warm Santa Ana type breeze, tonight's gusts were dropping the temperatures every time they blew through.

Cindy said she was heading into bed, and I took a walk in that early evening glow all by myself. It was amazing to climb up on a section of boulders the size of semi-trucks and just sit there taking in the surrounding beauty.
 
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Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
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Our Camp Overlook at the Airport Campground

There wasn't a sound to be heard except my blood pumping through my veins and the wind blowing through the sage brush. The sky went from a soft blue, to a warm orange to a dark pink before it slowly started to turn black. As I walked back to the camp, I could see the stars starting to peek out from the heavens and knew this was as good as one could hope for in life. I mean at this point, what more could you ask for to be completely satisfied? I couldn't think of one thing to make this a better night.

Soon we were both inside the RTT giggling like kids in the back yard. One reason was I forgot the headlamps at home (They were left on the kitchen table where we were sure not to forget them) so we only had one flashlight to try and read by; the second reason was the wind gusts were blowing so strong, it sounded like we were sitting beside a freight train inside the tent.

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Cindy told me I had to go outside and take off the Rain Fly because that's what was flapping so loudly. I crawled out onto the roof of the truck and realized that in order to remove the rain fly, I'd have to un-strap 6 separate straps that were holding it down.

I made a mental note to buy quick release buckles as soon as we got home, but this wasn't something I was going to be doing in the dark in this strong of winds.

With the glow of my flashlight in front of me, it was as if we were getting sandblasted from the desert floor being picked up by this crazy storm. I hurried myself back into the tent and told her we were just going to have to deal with the flapping sounds as there was nothing I could do at this point. In the few minutes I was outside, my eyes were filled with gritty sand and stung something awful.

Its not like the strap thing was any fault of the tent manufacturer. Even if those straps had quick release buckles, I'm thinking the winds were blowing so strong, that if I was standing on the roof of the truck and unbuckled the big rain fly, it probably would have carried me off the roof like I was holding a sail.

A little ways in front of us was a few hundred foot drop off that would have taken the sail/rain fly for a ride and I more than likely would have lost it forever. So I'm glad I couldn't take it off at this point.

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Back inside the protection of the RTT, we sat there listening to the wind howl around us and do its best to tip the truck over. There were times the gusts would blow so strong, that the section of the tent that flips out over the ground would be lifting up a few inches and slamming back down! This was a bit scary at first, but after the 4th or 5th time of feeling it lift up, we both just started laughing because of how wild the storm was.

After about an hour of this loud train like sound, Cindy finally sat up and said "Ok, I'm going inside the truck because I'm starting to get scared!" I just laughed and told her she'd be fine, to just sit still and ride it out up here with me.

She was starting to unzip the door when she looked out and said in almost a scream "Where did the ladder go?"

Now the aluminum ladder is normally at such an angle that it makes it very easy to climb in or out of the tent. If you wanted to lift the folding tent up to put the ladder at a reverse angle (Like it was now), you'd have to lift the thing pretty high off the ground to do so.

I guess one of the times the tent was levitating, it must have been high enough that the ladder was able to swing under the folded section and was now actually at an angle that would make it almost impossible to climb down. At least for Cindy to climb down in the dark in these winds would be impossible.

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I'll bet this isn't something that happens often, and I'm thinking our first night in the RTT was going to be one we'd never forget. (NOTE TO SELF: Stake down the bottom of the ladder from now on!)

This sealed the deal and Cindy was now trapped up here in our elevated cabin for the night and we proceeded to sit and listen to the freight train rumble past us for hours on end. The wind was so loud, that in order for us to talk meant we were almost yelling so we could hear each other.

There would be times the wind gusts would blow so hard, that I was sure the tent was going to blow off the top of the truck. There was nothing we could do but laugh at our situation. I mean what were the chances that we wait to tackle this trail our whole lives and the night we're camped on it, we're about to get blown over the edge!

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There was nothing we could do but sit and laugh at how hard it was blowing us around. I couldn't imagine how bad it would have been if we would have been in a normal tent on the ground and how bad we would have been getting sandblasted.

The Camping Lab Roof Top Tent has thick aluminum poles and a thick nylon cover that kept the wind and sand off of us and never collapsed despite how hard Mother Nature was trying.

I am currently reading a book about a guy that paddled the entire Missouri River and I was just reading a section aloud to Cindy where he talks about the Wyoming Winds blowing so fierce that he once sat for 45 minutes with his tent plastered like a pancake to the ground on top of him. He talks of being claustrophobic and said it was like he was held captive by the winds.

Thankfully this never happened to us!

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At one point, I screamed over the sound of the wind to Cindy "Did we do something bad to piss off Mother Nature in the past few days?"

I followed that with "It sounds like we're standing beside a train track and the train's doing 100mph!"

Cindy yelled back "I'm pretending that we're sitting on a sail boat in a tropical storm and the sail is furling out above us."

I replied with a humorous yell back "Or we're under water in a capsule and there is a giant octopus trying its hardest to get us and its tentacles are attacking the bubble we're in."

Cindy punched me and screamed "Dont scare me, why do your scenarios always have to be big scary monsters or fast moving trains?"

I yelled back, "Ok, its not an octopus, its a giant Humboldt Squid and its trying to get into our submarine!"

Again, I got punched and was told we were on a sail boat in a tropical lagoon and it was just the sail above us.....That was fine by me! Warm tropical scenes is a nice sound to fall asleep to with dreams of warm breezes and turquoise waters all around us. The truck was rocking and moving from the wind so much, it actually felt like we were floating, so it was very believable, if you had your eyes closed. But so was the octopus or the squid in my twisted mind.

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I'm not sure how, but eventually we both fell asleep and to show you how your mind uses the surrounding noises to help you sleep, I had dreams that I was on a motorcycle all night long riding through the desert. I kept thinking how loud the exhaust was on the bike I was on, but in reality, it was just the loud wind working its way into my dreams.

Amazing enough, we both slept good all night long despite the winds and the frigid temperatures.

I guess the Camping Lab Tent passed the test with flying colors and our first night on the White Rim Trail would be one we'd never forget!
 
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Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
Day 2 of the White Rim Trail

We were up before the sunrise this morning getting things packed up and getting ready to tackle the rest of this monumental trail. We figured since we moved so slow yesterday, we wanted to make sure we'd get an early start so we'd be able to see it all today.

Surprisingly enough, we awoke to a dead calm this morning which made us both question last nights wind storm. In reality all we had to do was look around the campsite and notice that any signs of tire tracks or foot prints had been erased by Mother Natures broom.

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Early Morning on the White Rim Trail

Thank goodness the trail is well marked or finding our way out by yesterdays tire tracks would have been impossible.

Cindy wanted to do more driving today so I got down my Mountain Bike to ride along and snap pictures when the scene looked too good to pass up. Many of the trails I've ridden in the Utah area so far would suck on a mountain bike, even though this is the Mountain Bike Capitol of the world.

Luckily each trail I've ridden I've been on one of my buddy Jim's Dual Sport KTM's (the people we're staying with in Utah right now), but I've thought to myself each time that I'd never want to ride any of these trails on a skinny wheeled mountain bike due to the deep and constant sands. The White Rim Trail is different as it allows you to ride faster than you can drive in the truck with very little effort.

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Cindy driving along the edge of the White Rim Trail

Most of the trail is hard packed gravel or a slickrock type of surface, and except for a few brutal climbs, it wouldn't be all too hard to complete by pedal power. Something I'd love to come back and do another time.

Jim had an extra bike rack lying around the shop for when he needs to shuttle mountain bikers from Point A to Point B, so I threw one of them on the back of the truck so I could bring my bike along.

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This gave me a chance to get some exercise and not just sit in the truck all day long. It also gave me the opportunity to either ride ahead of Cindy and get shots of her crawling up a particular nasty section or wait back and get her driving down the tight switchbacks.

I was really impressed with her driving abilities and to think the last time we had driven something like this in Arizona, she got out of the truck and walked most of it because she said it freaked her out too bad. Maybe driving with Nanette in the San Rafael Swell helped curb her fear of off-road driving and give her a new found passion for this type of adventure

There are a few things you should know about the White Rim Trail if you plan to drive it from tip to tip. First and foremost, your vehicle needs to have high clearance. You wont need a jacked up, long travel suspension like the Jeeps we crawled through the San Rafael Swell with, although it would make it much easier and a much smoother ride, but at least a 4x4 type of vehicle with better than average ground clearance, I dont think a Toyota Yaris would cut it, but who knows, they are the new 4x4 of the Year.

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Like I said earlier, there had only been two sections where we switched the big Ford into 4High, and only because Cindy was scared we'd slip back down because of loose gravel and the 20% grade the narrow trail was climbing. But 99.9% of the trail is do-able with a stock 4x4 in 2 Wheel Drive.

There were a few sections that I heard the undercarriage scrape on bigger rocks, and I probably could have avoided them if one of us had gotten out to spot who ever was driving at the time. But that was only a few times and we were always crawling at a snails pace, so I wasn't too worried about tearing anything off.

Even though the trail is only 100 miles, there are no services and no easy ways out if something is to happen to your vehicle. Its not like you can be in the middle and decide you want to get out in a hurry and can jump onto a short cut. So make sure you bring enough fuel, food and provisions to make it the entire way through.

Strangely enough, we had a signal on our Verizon phones the entire time! At one point it scared the heck out of me when we were just crawling along with no sounds but the motor winding up when a call came in. I about jumped out of my skin because it just wasn't a sound I was expecting to hear miles from any type of civilization.

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Cindy driving around the Rim of the White Rim Trail

Dont try and do the White Rim Trail all in one day. It would be a simple one day ride on motorcycle because of the high speeds you could carry over much of the mellower sections. For us tackling it in a truck, the top speed we reached was about 15 mph through some of the sand washes, but those were few and far between. During most of our slow pace we had snails and desert tortoises passing us complaining about the damn tourists and their slow speeds.

In a truck, especially a stock truck like ours, you just have to know you're gonna to take it slow and enjoy the scenery. Jim told me when guiding tours on motorcycles, they average about 6 hours to complete the entire thing, but that's just buzzing right through without stopping to do any of the hikes or take in the sights....which are around every turn and are pure eye candy for any nature lover.

Another thing we had in our favor that made the trail much easier than it normally is was the recent rains. The trail was very dusty, but nothing like it would have been if we hadn't had a 1/2" of rain a few days back. The Park Ranger warned me of a few sections that can be very sandy and numerous people get stuck in these sections because of the deep sugar sand.

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Notice the White Rim around the Canyon, Hence the Name

We never even noticed these sections he warned us about because of how packed down they were from the recent rains. But could easily see the potential of it being a sticky spot.

Another thing that made today 100% better than yesterday was the airing down of our tires. Yesterdays ride was pretty rough due to the fact that I hadn't stopped to air down our tires when we first started

When we pulled into camp last night, the first thing I did was drop the tire pressure from the normal 80 pounds of pressure down to 30psi. This was like a new truck or at least a truck that had new suspension put on overnight. Its amazing how much better of a ride we had with the tires aired down all day today.

We could both tell a difference in the sandy sections too. Instead of the truck bogging down when it hit the sand, it seemed like it would float over top of the sand with the newly deflated tires.

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Ryan and the Jeep guys had their tires aired down to 12psi, but I was too worried being out here by ourselves to attempt that low of a pressure fearing I might pop a tire off a rim. These guys have high powered compressors that are capable of reseating the bead back on the rim and being in a group means someone could always go out for help if a tire was to be damaged beyond repair.

Traveling the trail today, we passed a total of 3 other cars. One was a group of mountain bikers that had about 15 bikers in the group with two trucks acting as support vehicles. Probably the best way to mountain bike the White Rim Trail so you dont have to lug all your camping gear and food on the bike, and can just enjoy the trail on a much lighter ride

The other vehicle was two older gentleman in a brand new Toyota FJ that was bone stock. They looked like they were just out for a Sunday drive and both men were in button up dress shirts with pocket protectors almost like they were business men on their lunch break. It was sort of funny because they had no camping gear and seriously looked like they were just out for a drive.

We did pass a few other mountain bikers who were riding the trail solo and a few Dual Sport motorcycles that were loaded down with camping gear and touring bags.

Along the trail we stopped at a Slot Canyon where another large group of mountain bikers were all hanging out playing in an around the narrow canyon walls.

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Cindy in the Top of the Slot Canyon

Cindy and I hiked down into the canyon with a few of the group members and luckily with their aide, I was able to scurry down into some of the steeper sections of the canyon where I would have been too worried to go by myself

Not that I needed their help to get in our out, but I probably wouldn't have risked it if I had been by myself, and I know Cindy wouldn't have been able to pull herself up and over the vertical walls we needed to climb to get into and out of these narrow sections. So I was glad we ran into this group of bikers when we did.
 
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Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
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Climbing up and out of the Slot Canyon

Slot canyons are so fun to explore and their beautiful water polished walls are mesmerizing to sit and photograph. As crazy as it sounds, I'd love to be sitting in one when a flash flood comes roaring through, obviously sitting high up in safety, but to see the force of the water that carves out these curvy walls would be just amazing.

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No Room for Error on this Trail

From the slot canyon the road became much more fun, at least for me it did. There is one section called Potato Bottom that was pretty demanding on the suspension and a few climbs that had us clenching the cheeks till we reached the peak

Rolling along the trail with the lush Green River on one side and a steep slope on the other side of the truck, you either hugged the wall the entire way or went for a swim.

I'd have to agree with Cindy that its much better to drive these sections than it is to be a passenger. When she was driving I was holding onto the 'Oh ****' handle with white knuckles. But when you have the steering wheel and can decide which course you want to take, it keeps your mind at ease.

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3 Different times Cindy's head bounced off the side window so hard I cant believe the window didn't shatter. Of course each time I couldn't do anything but look at her and laugh, which only made the situation worse. I asked her if she wanted me to go get one of the motorcycle helmets out of the storage bin in the truck, but this wasn't funny to her at this point while she sat there rubbing her throbbing head.

This also made me start teasing her about a big waterhead on top of those shoulders that couldn't be kept in check due to its size.

This only resulted in a punch from her, but made her forget about the knots forming on her head and neck area.

There are a few more sections that I would think impassable with anything wider than a full-size truck. Forget taking a dually or a larger Overland vehicle along the last 5 miles of the trail, although I've seen photos of them doing it, so it must me do-able.

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We had to fold in our mirrors to hug the passenger side rock cliff because of the trail being washed out in sections with a long drop down to the Green River on the drivers side.

Again, with a motorcycle or mountain bike, this section would be simple and a walk in the park.

There was one last climb that had me switching into 4Low in order to crawl up this loose, 20% grade with the tightest switchbacks we've ever driven. These 180° turns were so tight, that they required 5 point turns in our long wheelbase truck. This is where a Jeep or Toyota FJ would shine and you'd be able to make the turns with ease.

A Ford Powerstroke dropped all the way down into 4Low becomes a crawling machine. You dont go anywhere fast, but there aren't too many things you can point the truck at that the big diesel doesn't just crawl up and over like its nothing.

At one point when we were mid way up the hill and our Pitch & Roll Meter was telling me I was just over a 20% grade, I stopped so I could snap a photo, which had Cindy screaming her head off....."Why the hell are you stopping right now!?!?"

When we started back up, the trucks turbo just needed to be spooled up and we were soon climbing back up the hill like it was a level surface. Cindy didn't think it was all that fun.

A few of the turns were so sharp and at such angles that there was no way to see what was around the other side no matter how far we hung out the windows. There would be times both of us would be hanging way out the windows till one of us could see over the edge of the climb and know where the trail was leading us.

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When we finally reached the top, we both got out to let the blood start flowing back to our butt cheeks and stretch out the legs for a few minutes. Standing on the peak of Taylor Canyon, we had amazing views for miles in every direction.

There wasn't a sound to be heard except for the random raven calling out over the desert. Even the swift moving Green River far below us was quiet and Cindy commented "I can hear my blood flowing through my veins its so quiet!"

I knew we were close to the end of the trail and I was savoring the moment I had waited so long to accomplish. No form of diet could quench the celebratory Margaritas we had both been talking about for the last few miles. While we were climbing out of the Slot Canyon a few miles back, we overheard one of the ladies talking about the strong margaritas she had drank the previous night and it was making our mouths water in this dry desert heat.

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It had been our only topic of conversation for the past few miles and I could now see salty margaritas dancing in my head.

You know what comes after a super steep climb dont you? I super steep, narrow descent. Again, with the truck in 4Low, we let the transmission carry us down the hill so there would be no chance of touching the brakes or slipping in the loose gravel.

One slip would mean a quick introduction to the Big Man upstairs if you know what I mean.

Once at the bottom, we had a long drive of sand washes and we were dumped out of the park onto Mineral Bottom Road. This was the road I had driven down last week when bringing the paddlers down to their put-in spot and knew we were within 45 minutes of Moab at this point.

Climbing up and out of the canyon, the sun was setting behind us and we had knocked one more thing off the life list. We talked of the wind storm last night and joked that ever person we passed along the trail today would ask "So, what did you think of that wind storm last night? Pretty brutal wasn't it!" would usually be the first thing out of their mouth.

We talked of the beautiful scenes Mother Nature offered to us throughout the entire day and how amazing this entire section of the Country is. It literally has to be seen to be believed as I'm not eloquent enough to convey the sights we see into words. I'm bored with describing things like Beautiful, WOW images or breath taking. Those words dont do the scenery justice and I feel like I'm lying when I type something that boring as to say it was simply beautiful.

Its so far beyond those simple words that I'll just say "If a scene can bring tears to a grown mans eyes by simply looking at its wonders, you know it has to be pretty spectacular."

When we pulled into Moab, Cindy saw the local Mexican restaurant that is known for their strong margaritas and yelled out "Pull Over, Now!"

We bellied up to a table, ordered two drinks and plates full of tasty Mexican Cuisine.

You know when you see a couple sitting in a restaurant and neither one of them even speak to one another? Not that they're fighting, its just that they are lost in their own thoughts.

Well that's the way Cindy and I were during this meal. We both sat quietly with our own thoughts and just enjoyed the last few days of adventure. This drug we're both addicted to, the travel drug is as strong as any on the market. Its not illegal, but damn is it expensive and time consuming.

Two margaritas and a belly so full I had to loosen the belt a few notches and we were home in Jim's yard unpacking the truck. We've got this part of the adventure down to a science. Neither one of us need to delegate tasks, we just know what needs to be down and go about doing them.

Before long, we were both unpacked, showered up and laying soundly in bed. When we heard the surrounding trees move in the strong winds that were blowing in, we both sort of chuckled saying "Its alot quieter in the camper with those winds than it is out in the Canyon!"

For some reason the winds didn't hold the passion they did last night, and I thought about going out and setting up the Roof Top Tent.....Just Joking.

Tons more photos of images not posted in this post can be seen at This Link
 
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Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
Thanks Abe, its one area I think I'll visit over and over again. I'd like to do it on a mountain bike, on a motorcycle and heck, even walking it would be fun:drool:
 

adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Great photos.. thanks for sharing. I want to head out there for Thanksgiving. Everything is up in the air right now though.
 

Every Miles A Memory

Expedition Leader
Dave, it might be a little cold, but man would it look cool with snow on the ground.

We pulled out of Moab for San Diego on Wednesday and it snowed all the way till we were below Williams Arizona. Not fun driving, but we're nice and warm here in Cali:victory:

Getting ready for the VW Bus trip up HWY 1 next week!! Cant Wait:smiley_drive:
 

bucketosudz

Explorer
Thanks Pat and Cindy for letting those of us who can't at this time, live vicariously through your journalistic writing. I find myself drawn in to the highlights of your adventures and excitement it brings.

Wishing you safety in your travels.
 

KSJeep

Explorer
Very Nice Pat, can't wait till next summer when we start full timing, and can explore all the the U.S has to offer.
 

Ursidae69

Expedition Leader
Cool trip, were we there at the same time? I ran part of the WRT last weekend on the 24th. It looks like we stopped and hiked out to almost the same hoodoo for photos overlooking the Colorado. Check out my pic below compared to yours, very close! Pretty funny. Nice report.

Chuck...

IMG_0532.JPG
 
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LexusAllTerrain

Expedition Leader
Cool trip, were we there at the same time? I ran part of the WRT last weekend on the 24th. It looks like we stopped and hiked out to almost the same hoodoo for photos overlooking the Colorado. Check out my pic below compared to yours, very close! Pretty funny. Nice report.

Chuck...

IMG_0535.JPG



Nice looking picture Chuck!
 

wcdu

Observer
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your approach.

Two questions though:

Your Ford looks like a crew cab and a shorter bed. Is it the 6 1/2' ?

What do you think about towing a trailer with a full size vehicle?

Thanks in advance,

Steve
 

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