How I Get Mail

Loma, Colorado

I get very little mail of any importance.  These days everything comes through online.  But when there is something like in this case my repaired eyeglasses and new Discover credit card, I have it sent General Delivery.  I'll find a small little country town post office and have it sent there.  I detest standing in lines so this is why small little post offices.  Ha!  I had to stand in line anyway here.  Two farmers were in ahead of me and they were discussing being two weeks late on their hay harvest due to the wet weather. 

We've Been Everywhere

Grand Junction, Colorado

We had to go into town to resupply and stayed the night at the Walmart parking lot, always an interesting experience.  It never disappoints.  Some time ago I showed the lady with all the stickers on the back of her van.  Well these folks had her beat by a huge margin.  I talked with the guy (family of four) and he said they have a packet of stickers from their current trip yet to be put on.  You may be wondering as I am, once the space is filled up to the clearance lights...then what?

Then there was this couple.  

And sometimes I think I am hauling around too much crap.

The Weatherman Knows

Klondike Bluffs

Moab, Utah

The weatherman called for rain and thunderstorms over the night and next day.  Our camp would become a muddy mess if you recall the photo of Beans and my footprints outside the door.  Since we were to be moving the next day I thought it best to move out a day early just down the road a bit to more solid ground.

It never rained.  Not even a drop.  Being a weatherman is the only job I know where you can be wrong at what you do and not lose your job for it.  In fact you still get paid for being wrong.

Moving On

Klondike Bluffs,

North of Moab, Utah

We have been here for two weeks now and it is time to move on.  There is a 14-day stay limit although I have never see anyone from the BLM enforcing that rule in all the free public land stays we've done throughout the southwest. 

One of those 50 plus year old "archaeological artifacts" that you are not to bother in any way.

                                                     But two weeks is about fine with me.  
       Usually I need to resupply a few food items plus I get antsy to move on to a new place anyway.

We survived the Memorial Day weekend pretty well here too.

It didn't get jam-packed crowded as I can well imagine our previous place at Willow Springs would have been.  No ATV'ers here, just mountain bikers.

But for sure next time we are in this area we will stay at Klondike Bluffs again.

After the Rains

Klondike Bluffs,

North of Moab, Utah

One day the big storm off the Pacific Coast that was creating havoc everywhere in California finally reached us and we were "trapped" inside the Little House on the Highway all day.

It was a long day so I was eager to get out the following day hiking up a nearby canyon.

  

It would have been something to see the water pouring down over this rock surface.

There could have been dinosaur prints here long ago that had been erased by the flowing waters.

Back at camp our site gets pretty muddy.

Maybe our footprints will become fossilized.  

I Didn't Know This

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

Over the years of my hiking through the deserts of the southwest I have come across hoards of "trash" left behind by miners and prospectors for the most part.  I have never seen any signs with information like this before.  I did not know 50 year old trash was considered "archaeological artifacts" 

In case you were wondering as I did as to how this area came by its name...

This place will definitively be a place I will return to again and again.

The Agate Fields

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

I also notice on that sign at the trail head days ago that there was a trail through fields of agate within a mile from camp.  I really need to pay attention to signs more.

Just look at all the agate!

Oh it was very difficult to not fill my pockets full of pretty rock.

  I don't need to be hauling a metric ton of rock around in the Little House on the Highway.

I limited myself to one small red one, yellow one and white one.

Really, it was overwhelming.

Look at all those flowers.  

It was a cloudy day so their colors aren't standing out.

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds part 3

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

I continued on for another quarter of a mile to the trail's end at the edge of a cliff

overlooking Salt Valley.

What a rewarding view.

I just didn't want to leave this spot but had to head back for home eventually.

When I got back to the sign about the dinosaur tracks saying you had arrived and not to put water in the tracks I looked down at my feet and saw I had been standing right on top of a mess of tracks and wasn't even aware of it at the time.  Yep, I should be embarrassed.

The hike back (all down hill) didn't seem to take long and I was able to enjoy the scenery more not having to concentrate so much on yellow splotches of paint and small piles of rocks to guide my way.

All the way back to camp I thought about how this was one of the best hikes I had been on for quite some time.  I really enjoyed it.  This is a great area.

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds part.2

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

I started coming across these pools of water cut into the smooth sandstone rock surface.

There were dozens of these pools all around.

Very fascinating. 

Now I had rock cairns to help guide my way.

Finally I had arrived.

Okay.  

Not that I would waste my precious drinking water anyway.

I wandered around there for five or ten minutes not finding a single track.

With over 2300 in the area I was embarrassing myself!

Finally at last I found one.

Then one more.

That is my hiking stick for size reference.

to be continued tomorrow

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

At the previous dinosaur track trail head was a sign showing another dinosaur track site called

Dinosaur Stomping Grounds.  I hiked from camp for a mile to the trail head for this new site.

This was becoming a very scenic and enjoyable hike.

I finally reached a branch of the trail to the site where hikers only were permitted.

The rock ground had yellow splotches of paint to guide your way

but they don't show up in the photo.

I finally reached a ridge where I could see up ahead. 

Oh this must be the place!

Excited as I reached the hard smooth surface of the sandstone,

I came upon this sign.  

Guess I'm not there yet after all.

I turned around to gaze back at the valley below from which I had started my hike.

to be continued tomorrow

Searching For Dinosaur Tracks

Klondike Bluffs

North of Moab, Utah

One of the signs at the dinosaur tracks asked:

 Can you find any other dinosaur tracks near these?  Which way are they going? 

I went back another day to search for them.

I didn't find anything except pretty flowers.

Its not like I really knew where to look or that I knew what I was doing.

I think I wandered too far away from the known tracks.

I may go back and try again in the opposite direction.

This time I will stick closer to the known tracks as the question implies that they are close by.

I did fine this though.