North Dakota Trip and Travels

I got asked to work two weeks to work on a couple projects in North Dakota.  To be exact, it was in Gladstone which is about 10 to 15 miles east of Dickinson.  Dickinson is a big city and Gladstone is a really small town, all it has is a grainery, a bar, and a post office.  It was supposed to be a week and a half we were supposed to be there but our boss extended it so we wouldn't have to come back after Thanksgiving.

We had a Sunday off.  We did actually go to church.  I went in levis though but it was nice to go to church.  We just went to Sacrament meeting, then afterwards, us four guys went for a drive on Enchanted Highway.  It supposed to have the world's biggest metal sculptures.  Here's some pics.

North Dakota has nothing out there and it was very cold with the Canadian winds blowing from north.  We've had some mornings in the negative temperatures and one day the highest it went was 12 degrees.  We spent the first week doing outside work and the cold week doing inside work.  We got a LOT done.

This is one of the two projects.  This one is a pain because this duplex is huge and very tall.  We got a lot done on this one.  We were doing log siding in this picture, also the rear deck.  The other project is a small home about 10 blocks away.  Still have a lot work done on that one too.  They are basically all modulars, we built them in sections in the shop in Mt. Pleasant, Utah and shipped all the boxes up to North Dakota and stitched them up.

On the way home was beautiful.  We drove through Montana, West Yellowstone, and Idaho.  The above pictures are the sun rises at Island Park, ID and the Grand Teton Mountains.  I love sun rises!  We were actually gone from our homes exactly 16 days and I won't do that again.   Well, I got see a coyote and a bison.

Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon

On the day after the Capital Reef visit, my parents and I met my brother and his family at Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon.  This is my other older brother that has never been the slot canyon.  We went with my oldest brother about 2 months ago at Little Wild Horse and even got caught in a flash flood.  So we went again and showed my brother the area.

I've never been to Goblin Valley but I thought it was really cool.  The rocks and hoodoos were amazing and it was interesting on how they were formed.  My niece and nephews had a blast and they were having so much fun playing and climbing on the rocks.  Even the dogs were having the time of their lives, even my mom's dog.

After Goblin Valley in the morning, we went to the slot canyon.  It went pretty good.  I have to say that because the last visit was in a flash flood.  Even mangley old grandpa hiked through it this time and he said he was glad he did it.  All he had to do was go through this hard section at the first of the hike which he didn't do last time.

The slot was more pretty this time because the sun was out that made some light through some parts.

Everybody made it through and we all thought it was really cool.  I'm glad I got to go through it without getting soaking wet this time.  With all the kids from ages eight months to 11 years old, 2 dogs, and 2 senior citizens, it took us a good full 4 hours.  I had a good weekend with the fall crisp weather which was very nice.

Capital Reef

 My parents and I decided to go check out Capital Reef.  We left Friday during the day and when we got there, there wasn't really that much people which was very good.  Maybe it's like that all the time, I don't know.  But it was nice.

The weather was pleasant and it felt comfortable.  But a little chill in the air towards to the evening.

We took the scenic drive when we got there and also took a drive in Capital Gorge just for a little bit and walked around.

My plan was to hike Hickman Bridge but due to rock fall last spring, the trail was closed.  So my mom and I decided to hike Cohab Canyon Trail instead which was just a trail in the area that has a lookout at the top that overlooks Fruita.  It took us maybe an hour and a half to two hours.  My dad stayed down at the bottom with my mom's dog.

The national park has a lot of hiking trails I would like to hike sometime in the future.  This place doesn't have as many visitors and it would be more fun and bearable to hike.  Great fun!

 After we were done there for the day, we stayed in Torrey and ate.  The next day was to meet my brother and his family and see Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon.

"Update Dan"

This past week has been marvelous.  Great weather, great biking, and fun times.  I had the privilege to go biking while the weather was great.  On Wednesday, I went up the Flume Trail.  Thursday, a moderate intensity ride along the base of Bald Mountain, through the farms and around the base of Black Hill, all on the roads, then Sunday after church, I went on the Flume again.  In the nice weather.  Probably the last time when I go out with no jacket or arm warmers but it was great while it lasted.  Now tonight, it's pouring rain and it's going to be cold.  Also snow in the mountains. 

That's means I got my fat bike ready.  I had a good winter last winter on it, and hopefully a better one this year.  The only changes I did on my Moonlander was new red water bottle cages and nylon Fyxation pedals.  These pedals should be a lot better.  I also bought a Pearl Izumi thermal jacket last Saturday at a Trek store.  It fits really good but I am worried about how warm it is when I go out in single digits in January.  My XC ski jacket works really good for it but I'm hoping its the same thing though.  I am asking for a frame bag for fat bikes and winter hiking boots for Christmas, then I am all set for a few rides this winter.  It might be until middle of December until I actually go fat biking when the snow is better.  If it's an early winter, great!  I get to go fat biking.  If it's a late winter, then great too!  I'll just keep riding my mountain bike.  Either way, I'm happy.  As long as I keep pedaling.

Good Water Rim Take 3

This is the third year in a row I do this trail called Good Water Rim Trail near the San Rafael.  Otherwise, called the Wedge Overlook, or Little Grand Canyon.  I love this trail because it's very unique and scenic.  There are no major climbs or anything and you can just go really fast through a maze of turns following along the rim.  And it goes on forever.

This is same self-portrait I do every year right in the same spot.  Hopefully many years to come!

I like this trail because it's 15 miles singletrack one way then 5 miles on the road on the return trip.  This time I parked right at the kiosk halfway right on the road so I wouldn't have to do the climb on the way back to the car, I did the climb first on the first couple of miles on the road then did the trail, then did the 3 miles back all downhill to the car.  It's nicer.

After my ride, which took 2.5 hours to complete, I decided to drive down to Buckhorn Draw to see the pictograph panel there.  They were amazing.  I had a good alone time trip and a great way to enjoy a fall ride this time of the year.  The trail is getting easier every year though, probably a good sign!

Arches

My brother and his family invited my mom and I to go to Moab, UT last weekend.  My dad was invited too but he didn't want to go.  So we went on a Saturday morning to meet them to go to Arches National Park.  I've been to Arches many times before but there were a few things I haven't done there before.  Was to hike up to Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch.  The great wonders.  Hiking up to Delicate Arch took faster than we thought, it took us 2 hours instead of three, pretty good with a bunch of kids.  I carried my 3 year old niece on my shoulders most of the way.  Then we were done for the day and we went back to camp. 

 The next day, we walked around the visitor's center for awhile, watched a movie, and had the kids earn their Junior Ranger badges.  Then we hiked up to Landscape arch and some other arches on the way.  Landscape is amazing.  So was Delicate Arch.  So unique.  I carried my niece again and she had a blast while I was hiking.

There's my brother's family.  They ran out of battery on their camera so I took this picture of them with my cell phone.

This is the little thing I carried with me on my hikes.  Her parents call her Thing Three and I call her Little Thing.  She's too cute.  My brother carried Thing 2 and Thing 4 sometimes, maybe Thing 3 while I was taking breaks from Thing 3.

The only thing I didn't like about the park was the people, a lot of them.  So I had to deal with it.

After 2 days wandering around the park, I barely had enough time to go for a 2 hour bike ride.  I decided on the Moab Brand Trails just north of Moab because it's more convenient for me and for everybody else.  Plenty of fun trails with all different kinds of terrain for all levels.  Also the parking is so convenient to get to from the highway for my mom.

While riding, everybody else went to Dead Horse State Park.  I always wanted to go to Dead Horse State Park again but I wanted to ride instead still.  I took my bike with me all the way to Moab so I had to ride.  My mom was going to go to Dead Horse State Park and she was waiting for my brother and his family but I guess there was some miscommunication going on and I guess she ended up going to Moab to get a drink and gas and waited for me at the parking lot enjoying herself.  Speaking of the ride, I had a very good, fun ride.  I did North 40 Trail, the EZ Trail, then Deadman's Ridge, after that was some other trails in the south of the Brand area like the Bar B and Bar M trails and then the Lazy Trail back to the parking lot.  Great, great riding.  Made me want to go back.  I rode for a good 2 hours and the weather was very perfect.  Couldn't ask better than that.  Well, that was it, what a great weekend, saw Delicate and Landscape Arches, camped, and biked hard.  Especially with my family.

Strawberry Narrows

I wanted to try out the Strawberry Narrows bike trail for a long time.  I finally went and it was better than I expected.  The trail is right by Strawberry Reservoir which is close to Heber City.  My dad and I took off and we took the short cut from Spanish Fork Canyon instead of driving through Provo and Heber City.  Way faster.  We stayed the night at the Lodge at Strawberry Bay and it wasn't so bad and they even had a restaurant there.  I did some fishing also that night and had some great luck.

The next morning, I took off at the other side of the lake and started riding my bike from the eastern side of the lake by Aspen Grove campground.  I started there and rode about 11 miles through the twisting trails, through the woods and by the lake.
 

I was in for a real treat, the trail was really smooth, flowy, and awesome.  It was a little chilly though but I guess a light jacket and arm warmers made the morning bearable. 

I was kind of struggling during the first half of the ride, I was bonking and such so I decided to not do the longer ride.  I decided to turn around at the 5 mile mark which was at Broad Hollow.  Broad Hollow is a little past at the View Point which is halfway of the trail.  I wanted to do the whole thing until Poison Ridge or close to that but I was bonking and didn't want my dad to wait that long for me either.

Fishermen.  I was one of them the day before, except on shore.

Before I turning around on my ride, I sucked up a lot of energy gel and after that on the way back, I wasn't bonking anymore and had a lot more energy.  I felt pretty good and I felt bad that I turned around soon enough.  It was getting warmer too.  I could have gone maybe another couple miles or maybe all the way to Poison Ridge.  Plus my dad said to me when I got back that he wouldn't mind that I would take all day.  Oh well, maybe next time I will go on a longer ride.  But it was great while it lasted.

I caught this 20 inch cutthroat trout the night before my ride.  And another big fish but it was smaller than this one but still big.

This is in Indian Creek on during the drive home.  It was a very good gravel road from Strawberry Reservoir to Rays Valley Road.  It was a very good drive.

I would go there again another time and do the whole trail next time.  I loved it, it was scenic, electrifying, and awesome!  And the fishing was fabulous.