As I was driving back from Moab I notice that Fruita keeps getting closer to Grand Junction

When you get on the highway at Fruita going to GJ the sign says 5 miles to go. YaY! weirdness!

After the Kane creek adventure I hooked up with the La Sal loop in Spanish Valley and rode it around to the Sand Flats Road

It was cold enough up on the hill to make me put my coat back on. Covid-19 has most of the campgrounds closed in the area. That’s not stopping some people from camping there anyway, but hey, this is ‘murica. It was a pleasant ride on mostly decent pavement around to the Sand Flats Road. They call it Sand Flats for a reason. The road is half-dirt, half-deep sand with a few rocks jutting out at odd angles just for fun

The Sand Flats Area includes the Slick Rock Trail which is super grippy when dry. Super slick when wet. I stopped for a scenic break out on the slick rock

The Mtn Bikers always look at the moto’s with distain on the trial because they don’t know it’s actually a moto trail that you can ride bicycle on. Silly rabbit

Down from the Sand Flats Road into Moab and the cross-walk is looking festive! As I was loading the bike up a deer came to see me

Kane Creek 4×4 trail part II

As you recall I got skunked on my quest to ride Kane Creek 4×4 route from end to end. Thwarted just two miles from the end I turned tail and rode back to Moab the way I came. Turns out that was a good plan!

My concern was that the trail would get worse and I would get stuck between two sections I could not ride. That was SOOO true. The two miles I bailed on were mostly unridable. Unless you are an expert rider on a trials bike

I did have a grand time walking it though. This area is so beautiful in the spring! There were tiny lizards running to and fro, green trees, and a clear flowing creek

The Cactus are blooming in the desert this week! It’s a delight to see them! I went for a Mtn Bike ride the other day and it was grand!

The next day I took to the hills with the Husqie Adventure 450 and went north to Douglas Pass

Covid-19 has us trying to stay near home and failing miserably at it. The campground is full of people from 100’s or 1,000’s of miles away. I had to ride more than 10 miles just to see the sign (below)

I was out social distancing the other day and rode past the old school house west of Glade Park

It looks like the playground still gets some visitors

Fifty miles farther west from the school house and I’m getting a good view of the LaSal Mtns near Moab

Seems like the blooms are a little late this year. Didn’t get much spring rain so maybe that’s why

Took a tour of the Book Cliffs in Utah today. Looped out at about 105 miles of BLM gas-field roads. Saw a couple herds of Elk too. It’s still early spring/ late winter up there

Found a cute little valley which will be a delightful camp spot in about a month

The main gas-field roads were plowed and snow-free (dry too). The side trails are going to be awhile

And then they closed the campground where I volunteer. Escapees from big cities and mountain resorts have been arriving in the desert in droves. Along with the summer travelers whose plans have been thwarted by Covid-19 they have filled up this small town. The Utah desert is closed to overnight visits so the Grand Valley is about as far west as you can go. Stay at home orders, toilet paper hoarding, you know the drill by now

On the up-side there have been a lot of beautiful Zoom meetings as people come together online to stay connected

We headed over the mountains from Denver to Fruita the other day and got caught in a traffic jam. Brake light city! I had to do some fancy steering to avoid a collision and the swerve action emptied the cabinets onto the floor. Dumped the boys on their butts too

The only real damage I can find is a box of crushed crackers and a box of spilled pasta. Maybe a broken back-up hard drive too. We got SUPER-LUCKY!