ANASAZI RUINS OF COMB RIDGE

South of Moab in the southeastern corner of the state is a large area where there is a concentration of Anasazi Ruins.  These ruins vary is size, condition and ease of access. Two years ago, we explored some of these ruins, but only scratched the surface.  On this trip we scratched a little more.  Mike, having remembered a photo of House on Fire posted on the blog at the time, said he wanted to see it for himself. 

So en route to our next base in Bluff, we made a slight detour and took the short hike to the ruin. 

HOUSE ON FIRE



Because it is easy to get to this ruin, it is one of the most photographed in the area.  From the trailhead, it's less that a mile on a good trail.  On this visit we noticed some pictographs that we hadn't seen before.

After arriving in Bluff, it was time to start roughing it again, so we found a campsite in town and set up the tents. I'm not sure what the attraction to sleeping in a tent is, but our next two nights showed us what the attraction is to sleeping in a motel. The first night was close to freezing and pretty miserable until Cathie allowed me to spoon. The second night was much warmer, but the wind blew so bad that all the sand on the outside of the tent ended up on the inside.

THE CAMP COOK



The day in between was beautiful and was spent exploring the Comb Ridge.  From the east side there is a dirt road that allows access to many of the Anasazi ruins hidden within it's canyons.  We selected two to visit.  The first, called "Fish Mouth Cave" was a 30 minute walk from the road into the canyon.

THERE'S A RUIN IN THE FISH MOUTH CAVE

THE CLIMB UP

THIS COULD BE BETTER THAN THE TENT

CORN COBS

The ruins we saw were in various states of repair.  Some just a small portion of the walls remain.  This one is pretty typical of one in good shape.  Many fall down over time due to the weather, but many are destroyed by vandals or people looking for artifacts.  The small building on the right appears to be on oven.  It is built with earth and not the stone of the main building.  The black on the ceiling is soot from years of fires.  Most of these sites were occupied anywhere from 900 to 1300 years ago.

Our next stop was Monarch Ruin, again a short 30 minute from the road.  This ruin was really impressive, but due to it's steep access with an exposure on a cliff, we elected to view it from a distance.  Even where we were able to walk, there was evidence of old buildings and human activity.  Lots of pictographs and petroglyphs on the cliff face.

MONARCH RUIN

I should have put  my hand up next to these hand prints because they are really small.  The large prints are about the size of a 10 or 12 year old child.  There we many hand prints at this site.

After 1-1/2 weeks experiencing Gassaways Adventures, Mike and Nancy decided to head for the barn, while Cathie and I headed for the nearest motel.  There as still a couple of places to explore around here, so the adventure continues.



THE PUCKER FACTOR

After driving on various trails around here, all of us have noticed that some have more of a pucker factor than others.  With that in mind I have developed the "PUCKER RATING".  There will be a score from one (_*_) to 5 (_*_) depending on how frightened we get.  The Pucker Rating can also apply to hikes.  So far here are the scores:

Shafter Switchbacks -      (_*_)(_*_)(_*_)(_*_)
White Rim -                    (_*_)(_*_)(_*_)
Onion Creek -                 (_*_) Normally Onion Creek wouldn't get a score at all, but since we had to cross the stream so many times, and we could have been splashed by cold water, it gets one (_*_).
Pucker Pass -                 (_*_)(_*_) (Yes that's the name)
Delicate Arch -               (_*_)
Corona Arch -                (_*_)(_*_)

PUCKER PASS



Pucker Pass is a narrow steep canyon that starts near Islands in the Sky and ends at the Colorado River. While going down hill the views down the canyon are beautiful.

After a drive through Pucker Pass, we hiked to Corona Arch, one of the largest arches in the area.  Getting there involves walking on slickrock, climbing moki steps with the assistance of a cable placed next to them and climbing a ladder to get to a higher level.  The route is part of the reason for the pucker rating, but most of it is because of the crazy people who were repelling on a rope from the top of the arch.

CRAZY, JUST CRAZY

Spring Canyon Bottom:  (_*_)(_*_)(_*_)(_*_)(_*_)

This not a pretty drive like the Shafer Switchbacks.  This was one heart pounding 1000 ft decent from the plateau to the Green River along a road, such as it is, chiseled out of the rock into the side of a sheer cliff.  If the Pucker Rating went higher, this road would get it.  The road was soooooo narrow that loose rocks where push off the side of the cliff by our tires.  Talk about pucker.  We read in a guide book about the views, by we didn't notice them, all we saw was our white knuckles gripping steering wheel while our wives were whimpering in the passenger seat.  It was one hell of a ride.

With relief we finally reached the bottom and upon reaching the Green River we decided to have our last meal.  Because now once at the bottom, we had to go back up.  After our lunch, we conjured up enough nerves to retrace our route back to the plateau.  Back on level ground, we looked at each other and in our macho way said, "a piece of cake".

ON THE WAY DOWN

THE BOTTOM,  1000FT BELOW

LUNCH, OUR LAST MEAL

WHY ARE THEY HAPPY? WE STILL HAVE TO GO BACK

THERE ARE 3 BIG HORN SHEEP IN THIS PHOTO

HIGH PLACES DON'T BOTHER THEM

WE MADE IT TO HAPPY HOUR

Tomorrow morning bight and late, we head south toward Bluff, Utah.  We plan on staying in the tents for a couple of days, while exploring the local area looking for Indian ruins.  The Adventure continues.

EXPLORING MOAB

We've upgraded our living arrangements and we're staying in a townhome in Moab.  With all the comforts of home, it's nice to return from a day of hiking and exploring in time for happy hour on the patio overlooking the golf course.

The Moab area is well know for being an off road mecca.  The place can get crowded with both 4-WD vehicles and mountain bikes.  One challenge for the bike rides is to transit the entire White Rim, a jaunt that takes them 4 days.  They usually travel with a support vehicle.  For the 4-WD owner, the trails range from smooth graded dirt roads to the most extreme trails one can imagine.  Here's an example.




With names like metal masher, steel bender and hell's revenge, you can see that there are some really tough trails out there.  These being a bit over our head, we opted for some tamer options.

One trail we went on was Onion Creek,  A beautiful narrow canyon with the road crossing the creek over twenty times.  With campsites along the way, it is one of those places that we hope to return to.

ONION CREEK ROAD

Anytime one goes to Moab, a trip into Arches National Park and a hike to Delicate Arch is a must.  Cathie and I have hiked to the arch on at least 6 occasions.  Mike and Nancy had never been there so the hike was on.  The weather has been cool, but no rain to speak of.  Hiking to the arch is a good way to get warm, since the trail is mostly up hill.  With spring break starting, we had plenty of company on the way.  Mike tried and tried to get a photo of the arch with no one standing under it.  Finally he just gave up and he and Nancy walked under the arch for their own photo.

  MIKE, NANCY AND THE ARCH

THE OTHER SIDE

At the end of the day, there's nothing like a home cooked meal, with Mike doing the cooking.

THE CHEF

NOW THAT'S A MEAL

MORE PHOTOS

ON THE SHAFER TRAIL

LOOKING AT THE RIM FROM ABOVE

NANCY AT MUSSELMAN ARCH

ON THE EDGE

ON THE OVERHANG

JUST ANOTHER VIEW

END OF THE DAY CIGAR

THE WHITE RIM TRIAL

We left San Diego at a bright and early retirement time of 8:30 and headed north on I-15.  We pulled into Cedar City in time for dinner and decided to hold up in a motel for the night.  The next morning this is what we woke up to.

Several inches of snow fell during the night and it was cooooold.  We drove in the snow until Richfield, Utah, and with the wind behind us we made good time to Moab.  We stopped and picked up our permit at the Canyonlands Visitor Center for our campsite, at White Crack, on the White Rim Trail.  The exit route was still closed so we would have to drive in and return the same way.

THE WHITE RIM FROM ABOVE



The next  morning we started on the trail at 9:00.  The first part of the trail is on the Shafer Switchbacks which drops down from Islands in the Sky at 6,000 feet to 4,500 feet. It's on a very pretty road.  It's pretty steep, pretty narrow, pretty rocky and pretty scary.  The road hangs on the side of the sheer cliff the entire way down.  We made the bottom of the grade in one piece and started out on the Rim Road.

SHAFER SWITCHBACKS

MIKE ON THE SHAFER

THE SHAFER ROAD

It was 37 miles to our campsite and the ranger had told us to expect it to take 5 hours.  That seemed pretty slow to us until we were actually on the road.  Although 4-WD is not required everywhere, the road is so rough that in order to traverse many sections, 4-WD low range is the better way to go.  The views were sensational as the road hugged the edge of the rim.  At times the drop off on the edge went down 1000 feet, so it was best to pay attention.  Along the way we stopped at Musselman Arch, and while Nancy and I remained on solid ground, Mike and Cathie walked across the arch.  The top of the arch is about 4 feet wide and if one was to decide take a dive off the edge, you would have about 500 feet to think about the decision.

CATHIE ON MUSSELMAN ARCH

VIEW FROM THE EDGE

LUNCH ON THE TRAIL

It took us about 6 hours to reach our campsite, having traveled at a respectable speed of 6.7 MPH.  Our camp at White Crack is the most popular campsite on the trail and there is only one site, so we had it all to ourselves.  It is located on a point of land overlooking the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers.  The views were  unmatched.

VIEW FROM CAMP

After setting up camp in a strong wind, and rain showers, the sky cleared and we had dinner of ham and beans, which hit the spot.  Because of the cold, it was about 40 degrees, we hit the sack early just to keep warm.

The next morning we woke to calm wind conditions and sunny skies.  I got up before sunrise to make coffee and enjoyed to sunrise and the solitude.

WHITE CRACK CAMP

After a breakfast of warming oatmeal, we broke camp and headed out about 10 am.  We spent another six hours driving out, and enjoying the sites the entire way.  This was one fantastic road and we only saw only half of it.  The washout was expected to be repaired a couple of days after our trip.  At dinner that evening in Moab we talked about another trip on the White Rim to see what we missed.  It was unanimous, NO WAY, it's just too damn bumpy.

MIKE ON THE EDGE

JUST ONE OF THE VIEWS

A ROAD TRIP TO MOAB

We're heading out again, this time on a road trip to the Moab area. Friends Mike and Nancy will be tagging along for a 4 wheel drive adventure that starts out on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. This is a 100 mile 4WD road that traverses the plateau below the Islands in the Sky district of the National Park. The trip usually takes 2 days and a permit is required for the over night stay. Last year a flash flood destroyed a portion of the road towards the end, so we will probably have to back track and return the way we went in. Here's a photo of the destruction.

If we survive the White Rim, then it's a week in Moab staying in a vacation rental (shown here) and exploring the numerous off road tails in the area. After that it's anybodies guess, but we intend on heading south to the area around Bluff, Utah for more exploring and perhaps discovering a previously unknown Indian ruin.  As is the custom, I will post updates when I have something to say and when WIFI is available.

LOOKING TO SAVE ON AIRLINE TICKETS?

We have all heard of extra fees charged by the airlines, but in England they've been writing songs about what fees some low cost airlines have been adding on.

ANOTHER RANT

It's been a while since I used my blog to rant, but it's my blog and rant I will.  The last time it was about Michael.  You remember him.

Anyway, this time it's about Charlie.  Unless your head is in buried the sand or you've been in the outback for the last month or two, you have probably heard about him.  In fact you probably heard about him EVERY DAY!  I guess I've got to hand it to him, because he is now getting more free publicity than he's ever got before.  He may be an idiot, but he's a smart idiot.

The other evening I sat down to watch the NBC evening news and the lead story was about Charlie.  This fine example of reporting was deemed more important than what was happening in Libya or elsewhere in the world.   The happenings with him were so important to CNN that they repeated an hour long interview with him in primetime.  Every day in the local newspaper there is something about Charlie.  So is Charlie's fault?

Perhaps the news media is to blame.  They spend an inordinate amount of time and energy covering everything that is spewed out of  his mouth and all the talking heads are clamoring to have him on their show.  So is this news?  Hardly, but since when did the news actually report the news.  Not for a long time in my opinion.  Yes, you get some news, but you also get a lot of crap.  The only news show I watched that didn't have something about Charlie was BBC.  So is the news media at fault?

I don't think it's either Charlie's or the media who's at fault.  It's society, which is made up of a lot of people who like to watch crap like that on TV and read about in the paper.  The media may feed it to them, but we all know, or at least should know, that the media is in it for the money.  Just like Charlie.

So as long as there are idiots out there who eat this stuff up, there will be people like Charlie, and business like NBC and CNN who will make money from it.

Ok, I've calmed down now.

 

WATCH OUT FOR INTERNET SCAMS!

Recently a lot of folks who are in my address book got an e-mail from me with a link to a Canadian drug company.  The thing is, I didn't send it. Someone apparently had hijacked my address book and e-mail account.  So I changed my password.

A couple of days later my cousin contacted me about an e-mail he received from my sister wanting to know is she was alright.  Here's that e-mail: (I've changed the names to protect the Innocent.)

This message may be coming to you as a surprise but I need your help.Few days back we made an unannounced vacation trip to London,UK. Everything was going fine until last night when we got mugged on our way back to the hotel,all cash and credit card were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.


I've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all they asked us to wait for 3weeks but we can't wait till then and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the hotel bills, we are freaked out at the moment ... I really need your financially assistance Please let me know if you can help us out?

you can wire the money to me through western union all you need is the Name on my passport and location below.

lost in London (name)
Location:7 Walworth Road London, SE17 1RL, United Kingdom
Amount:$1,450
I'll def refund your cash as soon as i get home.

Lost in London Cousin

MY COUSIN RESPONDS:

Lost in London Cousin,

Just got your message. I can help. Have them call me.
Your Stateside Cousin

HE THEN GETS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:

Dear Stateside Cousin,


Glad you replied back,I would like you to know that my phone stolen by the muggers during the robbery incident only have access to emails for now..maybe when i get to the hotel i will tell the hotel manager to call you,right now am in a local library looking for help online..please let me know if you can head to WU outlet now and get the money wired as soon as i get back home tomorrow would def refund the money back to you tomorrow...our return light leaves in few hours from now...

Keep me posted!!

Lost in London Cousin.

Well, right away I knew my sister wasn't stuck in London.  One thing that jumped out to me was the message referred to "We".  My sister is single.  Also the hotel wouldn't let her leave.  My answer would be to, Just walk away.  Anyway my Cousin was ready to send money.  So be wary of any type of e-mail you may get like this.

I now believe it was my sisters address book and e-mail that got hijacked, and someone got my address book.  So if you get an e-mail where I'm requesting money sent to a London or some foreign address, don't sent it.

That having been said, it you would like to send me money out of the kindness of your heart, feel free to do so.

On another topic, you may have noticed the blog has a new look.  I've made it easier to navigate.  You can now go to the bottom of the page and see links to "Older Posts"  and "Newer Posts".  Also you can click on the "Blog Archive" links on the right side and look for a previous post by title.  Lastly there is a new "Clustrmap" in the upper right hand corner.  You can click on it and see how many hits there has been on the blog and where people who view the blog are from.

AND THE WINNER IS...............

After offering a prize for the 5000th hit, several people have contacted the management at Gassaways Adventures claiming they were the winner and wanted their prize. I have been unable to determine just who the lucky person is. In an effort to be fair to all those concerned, each of you who has contacted me claiming "they are the one" (and you know who you are) will receive a prize.

Just recently I was able to buy 5 iPads at a very low price. Because I only need one, each winner will each receive one. Below is a photo of their prize.

Muslim Street Singer in France

Imagine the scene. You are in France sitting quietly in the sun, filming your idyllic stop in an open air café.You look adoringly at your beautiful wife and gorgeous child..................................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_W2MWU3UDA&feature=player_embedded

THE ANNUAL QUARTZITE TREK

Well it’s January and time for our annual trip to Quartzite, AZ. Each year starting around October and lasting until April, thousands, and I mean thousands of RV’ers gather in Quartzite and camp out in the desert. It is estimated that over 150,000 people converge on the area surrounding Quartzite and stay for the winter. It is said that over 1.5 million people visit each year. Most come from the northern climates to avoid the cold and set up housekeeping in the open desert. There is a fee for long term stays to help pay for trash collection, water and sewage disposal, but for people staying 14 days or less, there is a area which is free.

This year we were joined by friends Gary and Diane, Mike and Nancy for a 4 night stay. Each day was spent walking though the various swap meets which appear to be everywhere, along with the numerous RV dealers selling new and used rigs. Most of the stuff sold at the swap meets is new merchandise and most of that is made in China. It used to be that made in Japan was the cheep junk you could buy at the local 5 and dime. Now that stuff is pretty good in comparison to the crap China is sending our way. We did manage to find a few bargains, but no one spent more than a couple of bucks. Although we all looked, none of us succumbed to the high pressure of an RV salesman and managed to make it home in our original vehicles.

Of course we had to sample the "fair food" which was ample. Indian tacos, cinnamon buns, and who can pass up funnel cake. Here our intrepid travelers sample the BAR-B-QUE, which, as you can tell, was a mouthful.

Each afternoon after much shopping and walking, we all gathered back at the RV's for the mandatory happy hour.

http://www.quartzsitebusinesschamber.com/town.html

5000 - NOW THERE'S A NUMBER

A milestone of sorts occurred the other day on Gassaways Adventures, 5000 hits. It happened on January 6th. By checking my site meter I can tell from what county the viewer is from, how long they stayed, and from what site they were referred from. Many come from a Google search looking from something or someplace mentioned in the blog. Others are going directly to the blog because I send them an e-mail about something new being posted. Some Internet service will only register the hit and provide me with no information about where the person is from. This is likely due to the security enhancements on their service. Cox Cable is one of those.

To give you an example, in the past several weeks, I’ve had hits from Sydney, Australia, Liberty, Illinois, Szonibathely, Hungary, and So Paulo, Brazil. I was going to give a prize to the 5000th hit, but I can’t tell who it was. It was probably me looking for the 5000th hit.