Our Days in the Desert

One of the things that I was excited to do in the desert was to ride a regular mountain bike, not my monster snow bike, which will be my main steed for the winter.

We never got an early start on any of our rides. It was quite cold at night, falling into the teens at least once. So, we'd laze around in our sleeping bags until the sun warmed the world a little bit. We brought sleeping bags especially for the dogs but they always ended up in ours instead! This was the first time that Shyla was totally comfortable with snuggling all night long with the pack. Previously, she'd retreat to a more solitary sleeping spot after everyone was asleep.

After our slow morning start, Shyla and I went for a mountain bike ride while the boys went for a trail run. Shyla was incredibly well behaved - an amazing mountain biking companion. She just turned three, and I think she's perfect! But, then again, I'm biased!

You perhaps can see the leash on her in the photo above. We rode in an area with BIG cliffs (like 2500' high) so I leashed her whenever we were close to them.

The view from the cliffs was breath-taking. We stayed back from the edge.

Later in the trip, we took a sunset hike down in the desert sculptures below the cliff in the photos. I'll share some photos of that landscape in a future post.

We both kept all feet on the ground the whole time!

After our daily ride, it seemed like sunset snuck up on us almost right away! The days are so short now. The next photo is what we call "K's Rock", glowing in the light of the setting sun. We discovered a hidden campsite below it on K's last trip to the desert.

The rock got warm in the sunshine, and we all reveled in it for the brief afternoons. I love seeing Shyla enjoy the desert like I do.

All of us relaxed and even snoozed at the base of K's Rock at one time or another.

And then, before we were ready for it, the sun would sink to the western horizon, and I'd snap some warm sunset photos of our chocolate girl.

As soon as the sun set, the air would become truly cold, and we'd retreat to the LabMobile. I'd set up my tripod just outside it, and I'd quickly go out to capture photos as night fell. I loved being able to see a few stars twinkling in the sky still painted bright colors by the sunset.

As much as I love the mountains, I love the red rock desert too. It is such an alien landscape that reminds me, time after time, that I am a tiny speck in the history of the world.