Moab 2012

So this past week Lawson and I left poor little Katelyn to herself and got to have a fun vacation out in Colorado and Utah (but if you've read previous posts you know that Katelyn actually enjoyed herself quite a bit...her one big break before the new baby comes along). I usually don't get a lot of one-on-one time with Lawson outside the occasional couple hours while Katelyn runs errands or something like that, so I was looking forward to having the little booger to myself. In reality though we were mostly at my Mom's and when I left for Utah he stayed behind so I wasn't alone with him for too much time. But anyways...

So a couple years ago I started a fun tradition of going to Moab with my Dad, brothers, and anyone else that we could talk into it. Moab is home to Arches National Park as well as a ton of amazing mountain biking and other outdoor activities. When I got into medical school I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up the tradition (other traditions like the Wind Rivers in Wyoming aren't going to happen) but when I knew for sure that I would have a little break in between 1st and 2nd year I made sure that we would be able to make it out. So I left Lawson with my Mom and sister Marissa (they were the ones who actually originated the idea of me bringing him out and Katelyn getting a break) and headed out to Moab with my brother and dad.

The first day we met up with Ashton, Katelyn's brother, and did some mountain biking. I had made sure to stay in pretty decent shape back in Galveston but unfortunately the altitude kicked my butt a little bit. It was also a pretty windy day so we had to change our plan from doing slick rock (an amazing trail if you ever get the chance to do it) to a different trail called Amasa back which was completely new to us. So...it kinda sucked! It had a lot of sand and loose dirt on some pretty steep climbs which made it pretty hard as our back tires kept sliding out from under us. Combine that with the altitude and I was hurting. But we persevered and (I guess there's a life lesson in here somewhere) got to see some pretty amazing views up on the ridge. For some reason it didn't really hit me that I was riding my bike only a few feet from a 500+ foot drop...but oh well, I guess that's something Katelyn will have to worry about when I take Lawson with me in a few years!

An appropriate warning at the start of the trail...

This was the nicer part of the trail, where I caught my second wind!

My and my pops, surprisingly the old man was able to keep up!

The next day my other brothers and cousin made it out from Provo and we did an easier, although longer, trail called Mag 7 (short for magnificent 7). It was a really fun ride that went around 13ish? miles. It also had some pretty views along the way.

Here's the whole Anderson group, thanks Ashton for taking the picture! On a side note, the first thing Katelyn commented on when she saw these pictures was about my clothes not matching...really? The first thing???

It followed a canyon for a while and was really pretty. Have I mentioned that I really like Moab?

This is a little stopping point on the way called Gemini Bridges. Don't ask my why it's a bridge and not an arch, something about water forming it. Anyways, it was a cool view and what we didn't realize until later was that where we were crouching on had only about a foot or two of rock above a hundred foot drop. The rock beneath had all weathered away. Kinda crazy what perspective can do for you! (Another life lesson?)

This is pretty typical Moab mountain biking. Follow the yellow lines painted on the rocks. You can see how windy it was by the red haze in the air. Luckily it wasn't too bad for us.

During the evenings we would relax and enjoy our time at the Moab golf course. I'm not that big into golf, in fact the last time I golfed was last year in Moab, but it's fun to do in a group.

Also, where else would you get amazing views like this when golfing? Just watch out for the lizards and snakes! (Literally, I almost stepped on one trying to get my ball from under a bush last year. I don't know who was scared more, me or the snake!)

The last couple days were spent for the most part at Arches. That park has to be one of my favorite national parks. It has quite a few fun hikes and the formations are amazing!

Plus, it's like being a little kid on a playground again! We got to climb and scramble all over the different rocks. It's pretty fun, and to cap it off we spent an afternoon in the Fiery Furnace. Out of all the places to go in Arches, I would strongly recommend spending some time in the Fiery Furnace. You have to get a permit and watch a video before going because there are no paths and a bunch of special rules about where to walk (the ground there undergoes a special process over several decades to sustain life and all of it can be destroyed by a careless step). It is literally an adult jungle gym, so make sure you're in shape if you do end up going. The best part is they limit the amount of people that can go into it each day so you wander around, blazing your own trail, and can literally see no one else the whole time you're there. It's a pretty cool feeling, plus you can discover random little arches and formations that you would never see otherwise.

This is the view from the entrance. It consists of a ton of parallel rock fins that jut out, waiting to be explored.

This is an example of a random little arch that we found on the way.

 

Remember how I said there was no trail? Yeah, and to really experience it you have to be able to climb up little nooks and crannies like this. So much fun.

This is one of the fins we climbed to the top of. This is also my shout out to my bro-in-law Ashton. He was there the whole trip and this might be the only picture I have of him...guess he just needs to do some more picture worthy things!

Anyways, it was a ton of fun and hopefully next time the rest of the family will be able to come. Katelyn actually loves Moab a lot too, it's just not extremely conducive to a 20 month old and 7 month pregnant women. I'm not too sure what my schedule will be like next year, but hopefully I won't have to wait too long till I can make it back! Sorry to all the women who are bored with a manly blog post, but if it inspires anyone to go visit this amazing place then I'll be happy. Heck, I got to visit there so I'll be happy even if it doesn't!