Our time among the canyons

Two days ago, I ended my post by mentioning why we call our Sportsmobile "The Labmobile". Here is the other reason. When we first got the van, we had three Labs in our life, including S, the yellow lab.

This photo still encapsulates what I visualize when I think of our Labmobile. I took the above photo of the trio in March of 2009 on our way to Moab, and it turned out to be S's last road trip with us. On the very day that we returned home, he showed his first signs of anal gland carcinoma. He passed to the Rainbow Bridge a couple of months later.

Now, I'll continue the story of our recent trip to the desert. After our excursions to the "Top of the World" and the valley below, we ended up staying in one spot for several nights far enough outside of Moab that it was peaceful and quiet. My back was starting to flare up (the problem that's continuing now) so staying in one place seemed smart. And, it was a gorgeous spot.

The weather was wild, ranging from the 20's overnight to sunny 60's during the day to 70 mph gusts of wind to rain!

On morning, we awakened to a storm but decided to head out for a combined bike ride and run as a foursome. The red rock looked unrecognizable as the rain glistened on its slick surface.

As we climbed upward for the first 15 minutes, a chilling rain pelted us as the wind drove raindrops that felt like stinging daggers into our faces. I halted to don a rain jacket. As expected, that caused the rain squall to stop.

Just a short time later, K panted in the sunlight as she stood in red sand with perfectly blue sky behind her.

Later, as we descended toward camp, K bowed in front of a rock face that looked remarkably like a courthouse facade.

By the end of our pack run/ride, the world looked almost normal again. The rain had already evaporated from the rock.

I spent time exploring the area alone on my mountain bike. It was a world of rock cliffs and a huge sand pasture in the middle. As I rode in intense wind, I realized that the deep sand in the pasture had been scoured off the cliffs and buttes by the wind and deposited downwind of them.

Some of the buttes that were gradually being whittled away by the wind were grandiose in their scale. Do you see my bike propped at the base of this ship-like butte? It looks like a tiny toy bike.

I loved playing on the "aprons" of the buttes, expansive stretches of slickrock that were fun for bike riding!

I also enjoyed the views of the snowy mountains not far away.

Each afternoon, we'd take a hike before dinner, enjoying the sun set. The sun would select certain rock faces to highlight each evening. And, with no one else around, the dogs could scamper as much as they wanted!

We'd usually finish our hike just as the sun set, setting the red rock ablaze.

K patiently let me photograph her in the setting sunlight.

One sunset was sublime. The soft orange light with storm clouds in the background made our canyon feel magical.

It was a wonderful get-away and a great break from winter. Usually, we still have numerous big snowstorms ahead of us at this point in the year.