Friday, October 16, 2015

A Stellar Autumn Day in the La Sals

Moab, UT is one of those places with so much to do that our measly little 10 day stay will barely be enough to scratch the surface...we could easily spend a month or more here! With so many fantastic places to explore I'm already behind in posting, so I better get down to business.

First things first, in my last post I mentioned that our trucks "check engine" light came on. We were fortunate that the 200 miles we drove with it on ended up clearing the system. According to the dealer the engine needs four 50 mile cycles with no additional errors to clear any issue...YAY!

Moab has turned out to be a social stop for us so far. Our first evening we met up with the Red Rocks Gang who happened to be boondocking quite a ways south of Moab but needed to take care of business in town so we all rendezvoused at Moab Brewery. It's a Utah brewery so even though the beer didn't necessarily meet our high standards (we've all turned in to beer snobs!), the company more than made up for it!

Debbie, Bobbie, Mark, Suzanne, Lisa, Hans, Gayle, and Jim.
Surprisingly the only folks we have hiked with at this table are Mark and Bobbie...we must remedy that some day!

We also had the great pleasure of meeting up with Gay and Joe during their last few days at Portal RV Resort. We've been reading Gay's blog, Good Times Rollin', for ages and we made good use of our brief overlap, getting to know each other over dinners at each others homes. They are a wonderful couple full of good information about Moab having spent many months here and Jeeping all over the place. Silly me, I failed to get any photos, but we're looking forward to hooking up with them again in San Diego later this year.

Hans and I visited Moab back in 2007 on a 10 day road trip and we always knew we'd return, it's an outdoor enthusiasts red rock sandstone paradise. We've already visited Arches National Park twice since we arrived, but I admit I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed by the sensory overload that is Arches so instead I'll start my Moab posts with our foray into the local mountains to beat the heat and the crowds brought on by the Utah Education Association four-day school holiday.

The La Sal Mountains lie south east of Moab and rise to a high point of 12,721 feet, offering an easy access respite from the heat that blankets the valley below. After two days of hiking in 80+ degrees, we were ready for a break and an opportunity to see the last of the fall colors, the Squaw Springs Trail fit the bill.

Though most of the aspens had lost their leaves. small patches of yellow caught the eye as we walked.


Crisp blue skies provided lovely contrast to the brilliant white aspen.

Much of the trail took us through groves of gambel oak in lovely shades of yellow and orange.

In the distance we could see the dramatic canyons west of Moab.


Swaths of silvery leafless aspen and dark green conifers were dotted with the last yellow aspen leaves.


The landscape reminded me of a tapestry.




Looking back at the La Sals as we drove back to Moab. 

But the fun wasn't over yet, all the cows we'd seen on the drive up La Sal Pass Road were being moved to lower elevation grazing lands on our drive back down the mountain. Four cowpokes and three dogs herded several hundred cows along the road. We stopped for a while and watched the show as they completely blocked the way, then zig zagged our way through them once there was a bit of room to maneuver. A fitting end to our lovely day in the mountains!







14 comments:

  1. It was so much fun to see you guys again. I agree, one of these days, we need to meet on the hiking trail first, BEFORE the brew pub! haha! Love those pictures of aspens. Such a stark contrast to the red rocks of Arches, yet in such close proximity. Nice contrast to escape the heat.

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  2. simply beautiful countryside... we too will be back, probably next year...

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  3. A great place to intersect… except for the beer part :((
    Box Canyon Mark

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  4. Yes, we must hike with you guys one of these days! Isn't it nice that the mountains are close enough to be able to get a little break from the heat.

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  5. Great photos. You are so lucky to be taveling through Utah this time of the year.

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  6. Meeting you, Hans and Rosie was a great way to end our stay in Moab! I, too, realized we had talked and laughed right thru the photo opportunities. Looking forward to more visits in San Diego! That was one beautiful hike in the LaSals...definitely going on the list for next year when we r there! The picture of Hans on trail in the middle of those glorious silver aspens is a keeper for sure! Enjoy the rest of your stay...

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  7. We love the Moab area and have spent many happy days hiking and biking in Arches and the surrounding area. I'm looking forward to finding out which trails you hiked in Arches.Your artistic photos of the aspen are wonderful.

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  8. Love those groves of silvery aspens. And I absolutely get the gambrel oak tapestry. We were at Mesa Verde one fall and caught the oaks turning there and their colors do look like medieval tapestries. Too bad about "Utah beer" - that's a new one to me, but I'd add Utah coffee to the very short list of Utah disappointments.

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  9. Did you christen them the "Red Rock Gang" - Perfect if you did! I just love that picture of Hans going down the leaf strewn tree lined trail. Gorgeous pictures today. The La Sals are so lovely. I'm not sure how many weeks it might take to do Moab justice. We sure only skimmed the surface when we were there. Love going back with you. Glad to hear your good news about the engine light.

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    1. Nah, Mark started that last year if I remember correctly!

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  10. The winner photo in today's blog is the one with the white aspens (?) and Hans walking ahead of you. The trees in the light look like ice. Absolutely gorgeous photo.

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  11. Getting caught up and glad I didn't miss this beautiful and fun post. So great to meet up with other bloggers on the road - bet the conversation was lively with that crew! You're getting great color there as well - beautiful shots of the aspens.

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  12. Hans/Lisa...just checked out the post. Looks like fun. 20 years ago I rode my mountain bike down the hill from the La Sals all the way down to the bottom of the road at the valley floor. Lots of miles with very little pedaling. Have fun. Your bro...Norm.
    P.S...that old schwin bike above you in the beer shot looks like the one you had as a kid except a different color!

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    1. Norm, thanks for commenting. I actually had the Schwinn Cottonpicker, which was a 5 speed with front drum brakes and shocks and as well as rear shocks on the sissy bar. Saw one similar a few weeks ago at a bike shop in Grand Junction, they are collectors items now! Hans

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