Labor Day Weekend

Hope everybody had a great Labor Day weekend. Last report I saw they were estimating 330k people coming to Vegas for Labor Day. So what do I do, get out of town! A couple friends and I headed up to southern Utah for some camping and cooler weather. We headed out Friday late afternoon and straight into a complete downpour. Traffic was down to a mere 45 mph on the highway. Now normally this wouldn't be a huge problem but I am in my Jeep with just the bikini top on. So needless to say I was getting a little wet and some serious looks by fellow travelers. To make matters worse my drivers side wiper decides to fall apart. This is when I decided to pull over and try and take care of my wiper issue, which I didn't resolve. So Doug decided to take the lead and I just stayed glued to his tail lights. Fortunately we were only 15 miles or so from our exit. When we stopped for fuel before heading up the mountain I decided to switch my passenger and driver side wipers. So once again I was able to see. Luckily we only had a little light rain on and off as we headed up the mountain. By the time we found a suitable camp sight the rain had stopped and we were able to set up our tents in dry conditions. Later that night though while we slept we got dumped on one last time. Saturday we had a few light showers in the early afternoon but it didn't stop us from checking out Mammoth Cave, Strawberry Point, and doing a little off-roading. We had a great dinner consisting of steak and corn on the cob thanks to Dezirae and Doug. We woke up Sunday to perfect weather. After breakfast we decided to go see the Ice Cave, hike to Cascade Falls, and then head over to Brian Head. After leaving Brian Head we decided to stop at the Burger Barn by Panguitch Lake for a late lunch. The burgers were good as always. While at Brian Head we decided that Monday we would head back over there and get in a little mountain biking. After a great spaghetti dinner Sunday night we hung out by the fire and headed off to bed in anticipation for a full day of mountain biking. We woke up early Monday and had breakfast and packed up camp. We had a great day mountain biking and followed it up by pizza and beer afterwards. Doug and I did realize that we aren't expert riders but more of an intermediate level riders. After leaving Brian Head we headed down the mountain to Parowan to fuel up for the trip home. As the Jeep and I are waiting our turn in line to get to the pump, it decides it doesn't want to start. After some quick trouble shooting I decide the battery has completely called it quits. Luckily being an older jeep it doesn't really need the battery to run just to start. So Doug gave me a jump and off we were towards home. I just had to make sure I did not turn the Jeep off til we were home. We made it home and now the Jeep is in the driveway awaiting a new battery.  

Our camp spot just off Mammoth Creek Road

The FJ showing the Raptor what an off road rig is suppose to look like...

Hanging out by the fire

Doug and I on our way to Cascade Falls

Finally got the fire really blazing...

A shot of us mountain biking...

A great view from Strawberry Point

Here is a shot of us at Strawberry Point, this one is much better than the first pick we took...

Here's a pick of the full Moon that lite up the sky every night

Devils head hike-Colorado

Well I made it to Colorado. Ill be enjoying this great weather for the next nine days. Today we went for a nice hike up to devils head. It was a perfect day for hiking and the scenery was awesome.

Memorial Day Weekend Adventure... to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Well I made it back from the North Rim! What an incredible trip. We left Las Vegas Friday afternoon about 4:30 and headed toward Mesquite. We stopped for a little dinner and most importantly to top of the jeeps with  fuel. We maybe cutting it a little close on fuel this trip, even with the extra 5 gallons we each packed for the trip. We will see how it plays out! Once we left Mesquite we were in the dirt and it was after dark. After several stops to check the map we finally found the right trail leaving Mesquite and into the mountains. We weren't exactly sure what we were in for but quickly realized that the trail began to gain elevation quickly which meant a pretty steep and rugged trail at night. After 15 miles or so, and Jared and I getting our left front tire of the ground pretty good, we finally reached the summit and found a suitable campsite. I think this was our coldest night of the trip, probably due to the elevation which was 6200 feet. It had to be in the low 30's I would guess. The next morning we had breakfast and headed toward Bar 10 Ranch. Bar 10 is a working cattle ranch that also offers rafting, atv rides, skeet shooting, along with many other activities. They are also were I order my grass feed beef from. So if you are looking for some great beef check out their website. After visiting Bar 10 we headed out to Whitmore overlook but on our way we got side tracked and ended up at Paw's Pocket instead. Which would be our camp for the night. The next morning we finally made our way to Whitmore overlook to get our first views of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. After some snacks and pictures we loaded up and were on our way to Nampaweap. Nampaweap is a petroglyphs site with rock art dating back 10,000 years. After a short hike into the site and some pictures we were back at the jeeps and on our way to Tuweep to see the view and get a campsite. Well after a long dusty drive we arrived at Tuweep. To our dismay the ranger informed us that the 12 sites they had, none were available. We were all a little disappointed because we really wanted to came on the rim. This didn't slow us down though. We decided to enjoy Tuweep while we were there and take in the view and take many pictures in the process. At this point Steven all of a sudden became extremely concerned about the mileage ahead of us and the amount of fuel we had left. I wasn't  to worried about it, figured we would cross that bridge if we got to it. Jared blew off Steven's concerns with a couple of jokes and we went on our way. We decided to head back towards the Nampaweap turn off and find a remote campsite there. We ended up finding a great spot overlooking a valley. This would be our last campsite for the weekend. We woke up Monday morning to a great day with nice and mild morning temps. We had breakfast and got camp all packed up. By this time we had become experts and getting all our stuff crammed back into our jeeps! Next we were off to see the Mt Trumbull mill site and the Mt Trumbull school house. We then headed back into St George for fuel and some In and Out Burger. Oh and by the way, we still had 3.5-4 gallons of fuel in each jeep, see Steven we had plenty of mileage left. After fuel and lunch it was all pavement back to sunny Las Vegas!

Special thanks to rei for sponsoring this trip with all their great gear and dividend checks!

 First nights camp spot outside of Mesquite

 Jared doing a little cattle herding!

 Lunch stop Saturday afternoon

 Not sure what they mean exactly by that!

 Grass feed beef anyone?

 These little guys were hanging out on the patio at the lodge.

 Here we are showing off a little on the rocks!

 The trail down in the valley goes out to Whitmore Overlook. 

 This is the cabin at Paw's Pocket and were we set up camp Saturday night. 

 Jared with the one and only trail repair of the weekend...nothing major just a brake line rubbing.

 Our first views of the Colorado river at Whitmore Overlook

 We couldn't resist we had to hang our feet off the edge!

 Lunch stop on Sunday

 Some of the rock art at Nampaweap.

 View of the Colorado from Tuweep.

 Feet off the edge again...

 Jared and I resting on the edge...

 Mt Trumbull School House

Nothing like In and Out after three days of camping