Cedar Mesa, Utah Easter 2011

Moody

Needs to get out more
Great trip guys! Sorry i missed this one!

Snake house looks killer! Location?

Going to have to check that one out.....

Moody...Did Moody Senior come? Your father is a great guy!! I sure enjoy his stories of that area. Let me know on your mud-flap repair job.....welder is standing by....

:smiley_drive:

Location: 20 minutes from where you and I camped in Nov.

My pops didn't come on this one, but we just got back from a weekend in Beef Basin.

More to come.
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
After a leisure evening in camp, we were joined by a longtime friend Nate, and his friend Nate, Jonathan D. and his crew just down the wash, as well as Joseph.

Nate's friend, Nate was on a much needed break from completing his residency at Primary Children's Hospital. Jonathan came over from Durango with his family and a couple of other families in tow to see the area. Joseph hat spent some time in Moab for Jeep Safari and after he had his fill.

The next morning we decided to go and check out the ruins just up the wash from Jonathan's camp. Just as we were packing up and getting ready to go, Dave, Jami and his family arrived.

Much of the day was burned tooling around the canyon, finding an abundance of pottery shards on the ground, each one just as exciting as the next. We were joined by Jonathan, et. al. at the ruins.

I could see the burning desire on all of the kid's faces to snag a piece of pottery to take home, presumably to be lost in the mix, never to be returned to the area. I shared a story of people being cursed by the ancients for taking artifacts out of the area. It seemed to deter all of the kids (and adults) from taking home a souvenir.


The Moody Family just below the ruins:
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Coming out of the canyon, and proof you don't need a Landcruiser:
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As I was out taking pictures, of course the kids wanted to play in the water. Hilary let the kids out before anyone drove through, and Olivia was all grins until she fell into the water...with some love from Mom and Dad, she was all grins in no time:

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Bugspray

Adventurer
Great trip! Its cool that the kids seem to enjoy the ruins. We spent some time in the Cedar Mesa area last spring and visited some of those same ruins. Totally amazing I have to say. I bet more people lived in that area 800 years ago than do now.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
wicked great report...
southern Utah is packed with cool stuff to see and I really need to get up there and spend more time with the family camping
thanks for the report and keep it coming
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
The final chapter...

That afternoon back at camp, we had KC OConnor and his lovely companion, Mia as well as Kristian and Alyssa stop by to say hello. We ran back up to the ruins and chatted for awhile before they each went their separate ways.

With Easter coming, coupled with a significant storm on its way, we decided to do the egg coloring and hunt early.

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All in all a fun, relaxed, and educational weekend for my family.


Olivia came downstairs early this last week, asking me to make her breakfast. She said to me, "Dad, I am sad...." "Why?" I replied.

"Because I want to go back to that camping spot...it was so nice and everyone was so nice to me."

She summed it all up right there....ahh the view of a 3.5 year old.
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Thank you for sharing another of your tales. It's always a pleasure to read of you and your family's adventures out there in the West. :elkgrin:
 

upcruiser

Perpetual Transient
Roger, great gettting to meet you. Alyssa and I had a great time checking out the ruins and appreciated the info you shared. Your photos are amazing and it was really cool to check them all out. Hopefully we can cross paths again out that way.:victory:
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
Many nicely composed photos you have there!
What camera do you shoot with?

I wish I could have made this trip with you all but it wasn't in the cards...
Thank you, I am just a novice, trying to learn the art. I have a Nikon D90.

Very nice report and photos!!
Thanks!

Good meeting you and your family out there Roger. Along with all others who joined us along the way, the Nates, Joseph (Utah KJ) and Dan/David (sorry, don't remember).

I'm still sorting though my photo's.
Great to meet you and your brother! Thanks for putting up with my kids...

Good stuff...Great writeup. Looks like you guys had a blast. We recently spent some time on the Mesa. We will have to compare notes. Good stuff...
We -do- have notes to compare...soon!

Roger,
Brilliant stuff. Wish I could have made the trip.
Absolutely agree with your philosophy.
Great pix. (see the Scepters were being used!)
Yes, the Scepter can came in handy. Thanks for the compliments...

Love the pics and the approach to the trip with the kids. Sounds like what we aspire to when we travel as a family. All too often we get caught up in the artificial urgency of the moment, especially when part of a larger group.

And judging by the pics, we have the same Springbar.
:wings:

I think I am teaching my kids when in reality, I am the one who needs teaching....they are teaching me to remember what it means to see the world through children's eyes.

I dig the Springbar. They just work....

Great trip! Its cool that the kids seem to enjoy the ruins. We spent some time in the Cedar Mesa area last spring and visited some of those same ruins. Totally amazing I have to say. I bet more people lived in that area 800 years ago than do now.
No kidding, Mexican Hat has perhaps 40-50 people now, and that whole region had a ton of people 1,000 years ago.

wicked great report...
southern Utah is packed with cool stuff to see and I really need to get up there and spend more time with the family camping
thanks for the report and keep it coming
Thanks, Lance. When you do decide you want to visit the best state ever, let me know...I'll be your tour guide.

great pics and write up; thanks for posting

Thanks!
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
Thank you for sharing another of your tales. It's always a pleasure to read of you and your family's adventures out there in the West. :elkgrin:

Thank You. That means a lot to me. Part of what makes this 'overland' business so fun is sharing the experiences...so many reports here have inspired me to see new places.

:D Great report ... Gotta love the simple truth comments made by children.
Yessss!!! I am still learning...

Roger, great gettting to meet you. Alyssa and I had a great time checking out the ruins and appreciated the info you shared. Your photos are amazing and it was really cool to check them all out. Hopefully we can cross paths again out that way.:victory:

Thank you for allowing me to geek out. My 7th graders don't seem to get as excited about all of the history as I would like, so I like to share with anyone who will listen.
Next time you are through here you will have to let me know...

:ylsmoke:
 

mph

Expedition Leader
looks like you found my "secret camping spot" down there...glad you found it...on one trip; my wife and I found plenty of pottery just in the stream...

great pics
 
Moab Diner - Friday 4/29/11

I was in Moab last weekend. Friday morning I posted a picture on FB from the Moab Diner. KC (a/k/a Mr. Observant) noticed your rig in the background. Thanks for the great trip report and wonderful photos. ELN
 

Moody

Needs to get out more
I was in Moab last weekend. Friday morning I posted a picture on FB from the Moab Diner. KC (a/k/a Mr. Observant) noticed your rig in the background. Thanks for the great trip report and wonderful photos. ELN

Oh yes...I exchanged some funny texts with Mr. Observant driving south out of town...and I saw that on FB. Small world. I was on my way to Beef Basin with my dad, brother in law, and a buddy of mine. I am sorting through the pics now to do a little photo essay on that trip.
 
I'm just sorry I missed the opportunity to meet y'all. Next time we'll know better when our paths cross in this small world. Best regards, Ed.
 

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