We found a great place for some solitude in the desert, Sawtooth Canyon Campground.  We crept back a dirt road off CA 247 to this pretty place on BLM land.  Ragged rock formations encircle a little canyon and camp sites are placed among the rocks making for nice privacy.  There have been a few fellow campers but rock wrens, California quail and ravens are our most frequent companions.  I have logged a few hours in the lawn chair over the past couple days

Save me!

It is actually playground equipment at the campground.  Very cool, huh?

Can you guess?  Ok, I’ll tell you.  They are trains; engines to be exact.  They are the two engines that met at the Golden Spike ceremony of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in Promontory Utah in 1869.  These are historically accurate replicas.  Unfortunately, the originals were scrapped out for $1000 a piece long ago.  We are at the Golden Spike National Historical Site.  The engines are wondrous to look at.  They are meticulously maintained and drive every day; out for display then back in for the night.  One each, coal fired and wood fired puffed their way along the tracks with bells and steam whistles accompanying the clatter of the rails and whoh-whoh sound from the stacks.  I love it!

A possible volunteer site for us?  Maybe.  They use volunteers for maintenance in the winter (pretty cold here though) and in the summer as actual fire tenders on the trains.  Sounds very cool to me.

A cool surprise.  The Union Pacific Railroad is moving an engine to Cheyenne, WY for restoration.  It is one of just a handful of huge locomotives built to move freight here in the west.  It just happed to overnight at the historic rail station here in Ogden Utah.  It is 132 feet long and weights 1.2 million pounds.  We saw one other Big Boy at the Steamtown NHS in Pennsylvania but out on real tracks (even with a tow engine) they are even more magnificent.  Maybe we will see No. 4014 running one day…five or more years from now.

Red sandstone arches and spires. The entrance to Arches National Park is still impressive.

Tower Arch

It has only been a couple years since we have been here so we remember a bit too much to make it all very exciting. We found a trail that we did not hike last time, the Tower Arch Trail. That is the arch that made Arches National Park happen. We came across a prairie dog colony on our way there. I love ‘em. Then, off to new adventures.

Marching Men with snow covered mountains

The BluPig restaurant has passable BBQ and Ye Ole Geezer Meat Shop makes delicious mesquite beef jerky…they had some great looking steaks too.  Red Rock Bakery makes pretty awesome scones and cinnamon rolls!

The Colorado River is running pretty full. It is muddy from snow melt off the bare canyons so rapids rafting when you are likely to get wet doesn’t sound like all that much fun to me. Anyway, lows have been in the 30s and highs the 50s and 60s. Next time we are in the area maybe we will try for a site in one of the BLM campgrounds along the river. It would be a great sight to wake up to.

There is Ancient Rock Art everywhere here. It is almost like graffiti in modern day cities. Still very cool though.

Our dive through the La Sal National Forest was a bit early for the season. There is still a lot of snow so many trails are snow packed in the higher passes. We enjoyed the views though. We came down through Castle Valley. It has been location for lots of old movies, even a few I recognize, Indiana Jones Last Crusade, a MacGyver Episode, and City Slickers. It is pretty dramatic terrain.

Jeep off-roading is THE thing around here. Trail bike riding seems to be getting popular too. Surprisingly, they also make (fair) wine. They claim that grapes are grown within a 90 mile radius of here. Humm. I will have to research to see where that might be. We tasted at Castle Creek Winery and found a bottle we could enjoy.

We are hoping the winds die down a bit for tomorrow.

Climber top of spire

It has been blustery the whole time so far and has kept us inside more than we would like. Rock climbers don’t seem to mind. We saw a couple of them balancing atop high spires today in 40+ mph gusts. Crazy.

Gasping for breath

A graceful 220 foot sandstone arch leaps from the field of smooth, river-worn boulders.  Heading for the foot of the arch, we weave between boulders, pick our way down rough hewn log ladders, and cross rock faces (occasionally with the aide of pipe handrails).  The scent of juniper hangs in the air amid sun warmed rocks.  The silence is interrupted only by the babble of the stream on the canyon floor and the birds that call this oasis home.

We soak it in for a while.

Ok, time to head back up.  Switchbacks, ladders, boulders, and rock steps.  Rest breaks on trailside boulders are all that can ease my all but constant gasping for air.  It’s only a half mile trail and just 500 foot change in elevation.  What’s the problem?

Oh yeah.  We just spent 5 months at 15 feet above sea level on the Texas coast and now we are 6,500 feet.  Wow, what a difference that makes!

The drive in Natural Bridges National Monument takes you to three of these magnificent bridges and views of spectacular canyon walls.  There are ancient cliff dwelling ruins too.  We skipped the canyon floor trail but it looks like something to do next time.

Takes my breath away

At Muley Point high atop the vertical cliffs marking the edge of Cedar Mesa is another grand view from the uplifted Colorado Plateau.  From our vantage point, braced against highly gusty winds, the mesas, river cuts, and odd tone spires spread out for miles.  Snow capped mountains dotted the horizon.  Magnificent.

There are boon docking sites out on this point.  What a view this would be to wake up to.  Maybe anther time, when the winds are a little calmer.

Holding my breath

Down the cliff face @ 11% for 3 miles on gravel switchbacks that seem to literally stack on top of one another.  Amazing.  A bit nerve racking but Kent’s had a bit of practice at this sort of thing.  The road was originally built to move uranium ore down off the mesa to processing mills.  I can’t imagine sharing this road with a stream of dump trucks!