Shafer Trail & Long Canyon Loop

Bob and I drove from Potash up to Canyonlands National Park via the Shafer Trail and then took Long Canyon back to the Jug Handle Arch at Highway 279. This is one of the more scenic routes you can take here in Moab. It's like driving through the Grand Canyon. Click on photos to enlarge.

Mashed Potatoes

While everyone else drove Mashed Potatoes, I pretty much walked it. It was my job to mark the difficult and optional routes over or around obstacles. If you are on this trail in the future and see a bright green stripe marking the way, I'm the one to thank (cash donations are accepted).

Unimog

On Saturday's ride, there was a very unique vehicle, made by Mercedes-Benz, called a Unimog...

Although it was too big to handle the narrow trails and sharp turns that the Jeeps could, it appeared to be able to go up and over just about anything it came across. If I ever had to drive across Siberia, I think this would be the vehicle I would choose.

Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Eagle's Dare, Rusty Nail

I enjoyed yesterday's jeep ride so much that I joined Bob and a smaller group to tour Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Eagle's Dare, and Rusty Nail. If you would like to test your and your vehicle's limits... or just scare the crap out of a newbie passenger, then these are the trails for you.

You would not think that riding around in a jeep all day would tire you out but I am absolutely beat. Then again, wondering if you are going to slide off the side of a cliff and go up in a fiery ball of flames may have been a contributing factor. Click on photos to enlarge.

What do you mean we're going up that!

What do you mean we're going down that!

Corona Arch (note people in bottom left)

Here's a video of Bob going up the Witch's Crotch (I did not name it) on Golden Spike...

Here's a video of a hill climb taken from inside the Jeep...

Flat Iron Mesa

My neighbor, Bob (The Grey Fox), invited me to join him and a group of his rowdy friends to go "jeeping" on the Flat Iron Mesa where you encounter obstacles such as the Easter Egg Roll, the Tilt A Whirl, and the Intimidator. Bob is one of those ORV veterans (million plus miles), whose driving skill and encyclopedic knowledge of the area, made my first "jeep experience" an absolute delight.

Moab ORV Trail Guides

In researching ORV trails in the Moab area, I came across two great online guides, Rally on the Rocks and Red Rock 4-Wheelers. Trails are rated from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult. So far, the most difficult trail I have ridden has been "Steel Bender" (trail rating 6)...

I am waiting on my friends from the Arizonian to attempt "Pritchett Canyon" (trail rating 9+) so I can get some really good action shots like these...

Highway 279

The day started out overcast with a 20% chance for rain but the sun popped out after lunch so I drove Highway 279 south along the Colorado River to Potash. The climbers were out en masse scaling near vertical rock faces...

Click on photos to enlarge

Jug Handle Arch

Sand Flats Recreation Area

Back in January I was contacted by a representative of the Sand Flats Recreation Area asking if they could use one of my photos for a informational kiosk that was to be posted at the entrance to the area. Of course, I said "yes" as I figured this is as close to fame and fortune as I will ever get...

Posted at the entrance to the Sand Flats Recreational Area

Click on photos to enlarge

As you are returning to Moab just outside the Flats entrance, you will see the "Lion's Back", a stone structure that people used to ride down (it's now closed and privately owned). If you look closely at the following photo, you can see in the bottom right hand corner a vehicle that crashed and is wedged between the rocks...

Click here to see a video of a jeep driving down the Lion's Back. Click here to see a vehicle crashing at the base - fortunately, the passengers suffered only minor injuries.

Back In Moab

It's no secret - Moab is one of my favorite places to visit. Over the next month or so, I hope to document why I enjoy this area so much.

Here are some photos I took while walking around the park after dinner...

Spring is here

La Sal Mountains

Having this many buzzards circling your RV cannot be a good sign

Replacing Power King Tow Max RV Tires

Last October I had a tire on my RV separate doing $2600 in damage. It only had about 12,000 miles on it and was properly inflated. I even had a tire pressure monitoring system which gave me no warning at all.

Working with a subrogation specialist from my insurance company, I discovered the tire, a Power King Tow Max, was made in China and distributed through a Canadian company, Dynamic Tire, which did everything it could to delay taking the tire back for inspection. After three months, they finally had me ship the tire to them only to deny my claim two months later. The subrogation agent indicated that she would continue to pursue the matter in as much as she had four other claims with this same tire.

Knowing that I had three more of these tires on the RV, I decided to replace them with something else. In doing my research, I was shocked at the number of fifth wheels that have had tire separations. It appears that the RV manufacturers choose to go with tires that are rated too close to their max load for the vehicle. For this reason, I chose to move from “E” class tires to “G” which at 110 psi are rated at 3750 pounds (make sure your rims/wheels are made for 110 psi). Time will tell if I made the right decision.

Here are some links detailing other owners’ experience with the Power King Tow Max: http://www.aboutautomobile.com/Tire/Complaint/Power+King/Towmax/Tire+Tread+and+Belt, http://www.vehicletire.com/Complaint/Power+King/Towmax, and http://www.heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/29525-Tire-separating-after-200-miles-Power-King-Towmaster

Extreme Rock Crawling

Terry and I attended the W.E. ROCK West Round 1 at Thompson’s Ranch - Congress, AZ. It's hard to believe what these custom machines can do until you see it first hand. Click on photos to enlarge.

These next photos are examples of what we here in the park like to refer to as "doing a John Richter"...

Waterfalls Climb

Here's a great video of Chris going up the "Waterfalls" the hard way...

Ride Photos

Rare sight in the desert

Not so rare sight

Genetic Defect

I have often joked that I must have a defective gene that causes me to do things and take risks that normal people avoid (I offer this blog as evidence). It turns out I may be right.

"There is a mutation of a variant of a gene called DRD4, which helps control dopamine, a chemical brain messenger important in learning and reward. Researchers have repeatedly tied the variant, known as DRD4-7R and carried by roughly 20 percent of all humans, to curiosity and restlessness. Dozens of human studies have found that 7R makes people more likely to take risks; explore new places, ideas, foods, relationships, drugs, or sexual opportunities; and generally embrace movement, change, and adventure. Studies in animals simulating 7R’s actions suggest it increases their taste for both movement and novelty."

Please excuse me but I have this sudden urge to explore new places, ideas, foods, relationships, drugs, and sexual opportunities.

Woodpecker Trail

If you are into "rock crawling", then this is the trail for you. It follows a creek bed littered with huge boulders. It took us about two hours to go approximately five miles. Picking the "right line" determines whether you will succeed or not. There are several by-passes around some of the tougher sections but we chose not to use them. Be prepared to use your skid plate...

Here's a photo of a structure at the entrance to the "Highway to Hell" made up of vehicle parts that were lost to the trail...

The Woodpecker Mine is actually a group of huge mines scattered over several acres...

If you enter Woodpecker from Mineral Mountain, you will know in the first hundred yards if this is the ride for you. Here is a video of the beginning of the trail...

Back To The Coke Ovens

Terry and I took Gary and John to the Coke Ovens via Martinez Canyon. Those guys from Michigan do not know the meaning of the word "fear" (or for that matter a lot of other words in the English dictionary). I believe that if we had ridden off the side of a cliff, they would have followed us. Click on photos to enlarge.

"The Waterfalls"

Proof positive that as we get older, we do not necessarily get smarter...

It's Snowing!

The last thing I expected to see this winter was snow...

Click on photo to enlarge

Fortunately, it's not sticking due to the temperature (37 degrees). Unlike last winter when I took it for granted that tomorrow would be another warm, sunny day, this year the weather has been all over the map including way too many rainy, cool days for my liking. Where is global warming when you want it?

Superstition Mountains behind the park

Obamacare: "What The Blank Could Possibly Go Wrong?"

Illinois Republican state senate candidate Dr. Barbara Bellar gave a speech with a scathing condemnation of the Obama administration's healthcare program. Here is an excerpt:

"So let me get this straight. We are going to be gifted with a healthcare plan that we are forced to purchase, and fined if we don't, which reportedly covers 10 million more people without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman doesn't understand it, passed by Congress, that didn't read it, but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we will be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that is broke. So what the blank could possibly go wrong?"

If I lived in Illinois, she would get my vote.

Martinez Canyon to Coke Ovens

If you are looking for an off-road "adrenaline rush", this is the ride for you. Steep, rocky ledges were the order of the day. We even took the "hard way" back which included two rather gnarly climbs. Here's a GoPro video shot from the hood of my RZR (unfortunately, it does not capture the full impact of what it is like sitting behind the wheel)...

The Perils of Off-road Riding

It's an all too familiar story - RVers pull into the park thinking they will spend a relaxing winter enjoying the warm southern Arizona weather. However, after a month or so watching others ride out the back gate in their ORVs and then return later in the day covered in dust/dirt and grinning like school kids, they succumb to the fatal attraction and purchase their own ORV.

This week two of my neighbors did just that and bought Polaris RZRs. Recognizing that this is becoming an epidemic in senior communities across the state, I decided to write about the perils of off-road riding.

It begins with you taking short rides where the trails are flat and easy but the scenery is exotic - you are seeing all kinds of cacti, critters, and panoramic vistas. You are amazed at how beautiful the desert can be.

Next, you find yourself joining a gang of rowdy seniors and taking longer, more challenging rides. The trails are getting steeper and the rocks are getting bigger. What started out as a harmless hobby is fast becoming an addiction. You are on your way to becoming an "adrenaline junkie".

Ultimately, you hit rock bottom... literally. You find yourself upside down in your machine at the bottom of an insanely steep series of rock ledges. You are okay but your ORV is toast. It's then that you realize you have a problem. If you are lucky, you find a local AA (ATV Anonymus) group and begin your twelve step program to recovery.

Got anything steeper?

Boys and their toys...

One of the things I enjoy about this park is that most of the "senior citizens" do not act their age. I offer the following video as Exhibit #1: