Burning Man

Burning Man is back after having been cancelled the last two years due to the pandemic. If you would like to see what is going on there this year, checkout the live webcast at http://burningman.org/live-webcast.

Having followed the event on the Internet in past years, I am always amazed at the imagination and creativity of some very talented people. If I were a lot younger, I think I would enjoy the experience. However at my age, I do not think I would like the dust, the heat and the crowds.

Back Home

I cut my Utah trip short and have returned home early. The recent rain and flooding has made a lot of the trails I wanted to run either impassible or so rough as to loosen the fillings in your teeth. I will miss the spectacular scenery...

Goblin Valley

Keith and Jayne had never been to Goblin Valley State Park, so we drove down and had a picnic lunch overlooking the "goblins". Having taken a number of photos in past visits, I did not take any in the park this trip, but did take one on the way back that I liked...

Click on photos to enlarge

While stopping for gas in Green River, we met this couple that were towing a unique vehicle to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada...

That Ford van allows them to drive around Burning Man loading/unloading passengers as they go. It has propane burners that can set the tin roof on fire which should be pretty impressive at night.

Off-road Rescue

Yesterday on our way to Fossil Point, we came across a young couple whose van was stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Even with both our Jeeps piggy-tailed together, we could not budge the van, so we took them back to town where they got a tow truck to come out. That did not work as the tow truck got stuck. Fortunately, the tow driver was able to get his brother to bring a farm tractor out and they finally got everyone out safely around 4:00 p.m. I got a nice thank you text from the couple saying they were okay and spending the night bookdocking in the San Rafael Swell.

Moab 100-Year Flood

For three weeks I monitored the weather in the Green River and Moab area looking for a good time to visit. I finally saw a forecast for sunny skies with a slight chance of rain this week. Well, the weather forecasters here must work for the Biden administration as Moab just had a 100-year flood with several feet of water running down main street. Checkout this video at https://youtu.be/qPh0TizDHJA. Clearly, this will impact our off-road exploring in the area but I am not sure to what extent. Will be extra careful and when in doubt, back out!

Update (8/25/2022): Here is a much better video of the Moab flooding - https://youtu.be/DTZEEi5Pz5E

Coal Canyon Part Deux

Keith and Jayne from the Arizonian have joined me in Green River, Utah to explore the San Rafael Swell. Today, we did Coal Canyon just east of town. I ran this trail back in 2020 and thought it would be an easy half-day ride after yesterday's long drive to get here. However, recent rains and flooding have created washouts that now require a 4 wheel drive vehicle with high clearance. Even that was not enough as near the end of the trail there was an impassible section that required us to turn around and drive back the way we came which made for a much longer trip than I had planned.

Lakeside Property

A strong thunderstorm ripped through the park yesterday afternoon, knocking out power for about an hour. The good news is there was no damage to my park model and I now have lakeside property...

Click on photo to enlarge

Postal Truck In Cemetery

It looks like they have begun delivering ballots...