Like many STers, one of our favorite places is Moab, Utah. We've been heading out there every fall, and often in the spring, for many, many, and lots of years. Maybe even Lin Ottinger was a young man and uranium was king when we first started hanging out there. We never tire of it and it's never been enough time so we decided to correct that with this trip.

Moab seemingly has everything to do that we love all condensed into a reasonable area. Our biggest adventures usually center around mountain biking and climbing. Although there was a lot of climbing on this trip, alas this girl didn't get to participate since I had just had foot surgery in September, and squeezing on a climbing shoe, well, just wasn't going to happen. So this TR is sadly short on climbing pics with actually only one, from the Indian Creek parking lot. Oh well. There was a lot of climbing but the climbers didn't seem to be very camera savvy. Mike, Art, Phillipe managed the usual haunts: Indian Creek; Wall Street, Arches, Castleton, Ice Cream Parlour and a few other places. They were able to hook up with Jaybro and Daphne for a couple climbs. Mike (Ferretlegger) is notorious for "adopting" young climbers out at the crags and providing them with food and shelter if weather turns ugly. This trip was no different and we had a wonderful young couple, Greg and Amanda, spend ten days with us. He also adopted another young climber, KC, who had recently just completed an EL Cap wall.

Greg and Amanda are on a multi month road climbing road trip. They introduced themselves as "sport climbers" at which point Mike blanched. However after a few days he had turned them into hard core tradsters and sent them down the road with a bunch of his gear, which we made plans to connect in Yosemite sometime this spring to retrieve it. Amanda and Greg had never mountain biked so we got a chance to take them out some of my favorite trails. Amanda was looking pretty grim the first mile or so, saying "this is what you do on rest days?" She hadn't even been on a bike since she was like 7 years old. Given a few more miles and she was flying over crap and using all the travel her bike had with a big smile on her face.

We ran into another couple women that had come up from New Mexico to "mountain bike" because they heard Moab was the place to do that. They didn't really know the trails or what there was but by golly they were game. One of the women, Carol, had never mountain biked, was still quite over weight, but had lost 30 pounds to come on this trip. She was dedicated and she was gonna do it! Indeed she did. Mike coached her through a fairly tough, somewhat technical trail up in Deadhorse Point. She did a few soil samples but she always got back up and rode on. What an inspiration.

My good friends Dawn and Lisa from Boulder always come down to join us for awhile. Lisa is an ultra trail marathoner and also comes to do the Moab Trail Marathon, one of the hardest trail running events in the US. She is also an extraordinary mountain biker. Dawn is as sweet as they come but can take on trails that would make most folks scream for "momma". She is also a gnarly motocross rider and she and her whole family have trophies to prove it. The day before the Marathon we all decided to go out for an easy ride and Lisa could stay "loose". Ooops, soil sample time. She took an endo and smacked her face, her ribs, her legs....and although not seriously injured she couldn't do the marathon. Oh boy. There were more injuries on this trip...must mean a good adventuring!

The last week we were there Mike said he really likes Moab a lot. Really a lot. So he decided to buy a house. We spent the last few days of our trip looking at houses. We didn't need to look at too many before we hit on the "right" one. A newer house (3 years old) with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Being a newer home we aren't facing upgrading the kitchen or bathrooms but instead we get to figure out the landscaping and decks. The Bay Area will still be our "home" but now we have a place for family and friends to come and visit one of our favorite places.

Enough blah blah blah....didn't happen unless there are pictures to prove it.
One of ST's favorite dogs, Slack! We didn't get enough time to spend with Slack and The Larry, but we'll back in January and can hopefully get some "quality time".

We got to see Valley Uprising again in Moab at the historic Star Auditorium. Having seen it a few weeks earlier in Yosemite to an incredibly raucous audience it was surprising to see the Moab audience so sedate and "good listeners"

Injuries occurred like on any good adventure. I took a nasty biff on my MTB early on. Big ugly arms rips. Lisa contused her ribs on a fall but the trophy goes to Jaybro who ripped off half his nose. Mike and I got voice messages on our phones while in Arches. "Hey guys, I had a little accident and have to go over to the plastic surgeon in Grand Junction. Can I get a ride" WHAT WHAT WHAT....unfortunately we missed timing wise and when I contacted the Moab Hospital they said he had been taken by ambulance! WHAT WHAT WHAT....Mike immediately go in the car and took off after them...ambulance chaser and he's not even an attorney. I won't repost the HORRIFIC pictures...you can read and look for yourselves.
My ripped arm
Jay's saga:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2525617&msg=2547223#msg2547223


Lots and and lots of mountain biking....

The friends we met where we were staying and took on some trails. Carol lost 30 pounds for this trip and had never technically mountain biked. She rocked!

More mountain biking
My good friends Lisa and Dawn trying to get a better view...really....
Took a side trip over to Fruita to do some biking. Very pretty
SNAKES On The Trail
!
Mike on his new Santa Cruz Tall Boy

Our young adopted couple Amanda and Greg on their first mountain bike ride. Mike has turned them from sport climbers to trad climbers so we let them ride with us.
Amanda getting ready for a fairly technical drop. She nailed it!!!

Mike and Amanda sorting gear in the Indian Creek parking lot with some Paul's Balls! (Unfortunately this is the only semi climbing related pic I have...the climbers with all the good pics headed to Mexico. Boo Hoo

And since we like Moab so well why not buy a house! Good times await for family and friends!
Mike standing in front the new house with a nice view of snow capped La Sals.

We'll be back in January to furnish the house and hopefully my foot will be climbing-ready!

Susan