San Rafael Swell

Exploring new places is one of my favorite activities. I love to find hidden gems and magical, new locations. On this trip, we wandered through slot canyons, stood in wonder in front of ancient rock art, and found water in the middle of the desert. I'd say it was quite a successful long weekend.

But, as always, nothing is ever perfect. We did try to take a long "short-cut" that ended in a washed-out, impassable road. We had to turn around and backtrack - so much for the short-cut. And finally, we popped a tire toward the end of the day, ultimately driving home a bit more slowly on a spare. And so it goes.  

Morning Glory

As October was nearing an end, we loaded up the vansion for one last desert "hoorah" before winter. We drove into Moab and found a campsite nestled in among ancient dinosaur bones and history.

We decided to hike to Morning Glory Natural Bridge, well, us and at least a hundred of our closest friends. The hike was absurdly busy, as most hikes in Moab are these days, but still lovely. There was an abundance of water, which the dogs were happy about. The trail follows a creek for a good while with several crossings.

We made it to Morning Glory Natural Bridge just in time to see a group repelling down from above. Although it wasn't the most peaceful hike and a feeling of solitude was seemingly nonexistent, it was still a great way to celebrate the changing season and soak up the last bit of warmth the desert had to offered.

Mount Garfield

Mount Garfield is an iconic desert highpoint seen from i70 on the drive to or from Grand Junction. Not knowing much about the hike, it had been on my list of adventures for a while. My husband agreed to hike it one Sunday on our way back to Carbondale.

We found the trailhead easily. Justin didn't heed the warning posted before the highway underpass; however, and we ended up driving through a pool of water that was nearly high enough to reach the van doors. He punched it through the standing water while I yelled at him (oops!); it's safe to say I was a bit shaken up upon starting the hike.

Mount Garfield is a four-mile round trip hike with 2000 feet of elevation gain. We began hiking up the STEEP spine section - pausing nearly every fifty feet to catch our breath. I felt the onset of vertigo just as we were reaching the end of the spine, thankfully. After the spine the hike is moderate with several more ups and even a couple of flat sections.

We made it to the top and enjoyed the view just as the rain clouds began rolling in. We snapped a couple of photos and headed down quickly. We made it safely across the underpass ravine again, and then we were homeward bound.

Indian Creek

When the snow starts melting in Carbondale, Colorado, I start itching for the desert. I find comfort in the warmth of the red rock, the twinkling stars at night and the blooming desert flowers. Each of these things reminds me to appreciate every season, and every springtime desert trip teaches me to make the most of mud-season back at home.

We packed up the vansion and drove to Moab. Our destination was Indian Creek, a spectacular car-camping spot tucked up against Canyonlands National Park. We spent four wonderful and refreshing days at Indian Creek, exploring nearby canyons and soaking up the sun.

It was exactly what I needed; it always is.

Desert Bachelorette Party

It came time to celebrate the soon-to-be Mrs. Kurt-Mason, so we packed up and headed to the desert - New Mexico to be precise. When I run away to the desert I usually go to Utah, and I was pleasantly surprised to find so much adventure and beauty in New Mexico.

Our first stop was the Chama River where we were planning on duckying down, but ultimately floated in tubes due to the low water levels this year. Tubing was, of course, a blast despite the ominous clouds that ultimately lead to rain.

Once off the river, we made our way to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM where we spent the night. Our night at the Ghost Ranch proved to be quite unique. The landscape was stunning, the views were phenomenal, the accommodations were quaint and minimal; however, I'm not sure they appreciated our loud partying as it's a place for spiritual retreat and was extremely quiet with the exception of our group.

In the morning we hiked up to Kitchen Mesa, which offered spectacular views of the surrounding desert. The hike was fairly easy aside from one section where you're required to do a bit of scrambling. We took a break at the top to wish the bride-to-be, Abby, happiness in her marriage and to share our excitement for the upcoming nuptials!

It was a fabulous, unconventional bachelorette party that left me with fond memories and a bit of a headache, too.

Desert Adventures

I love the mountains, but sometimes my soul just craves the desert. And because of that craving, my husband and I usually find ourselves in Fruita or Moab at least twice a year. On this particular trip to the desert we met our friends Steve and Mel from Durango and hiked Fisher Towers together.

Fisher Towers is a popular Moab hiking and climbing destination, and it's obvious why! We hiked for about an hour and a half then stopped for a lunch and beer break. The crisp wintery Euphoria (Ska Brewing) went down smooth on that warm fall afternoon in the desert. And it paired with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches surprisingly well, too!

After our hike, we said goodbye to Steve and Mel and went searching for the perfect camping spot. Moab has become such a popular destination that camping can be hard to find at times. We lucked out finding a great spot out of the way several miles past the Amasa Back Trailhead.

The next day we decided to explore Dragonfly Canyon (aka Culvert Canyon) down Potash Road in Moab. It proved to be a spectacular hike with pools or water, high canyon walls and even an arch near the end of our hike. My Utah Hiking book does explain of the trail, "I can't tell you exactly how to get there. I can only point you in the right direction and enthusiastically suggest you go!"

The trail is not well marked in all spots, and we seemed to have done a lot of meandering before finding our way up to Jeep Arch. It was truly a spectacular hike, and we plan to make our way back there in the near future.