We wwoke to about 3 inches of snow this morning.. which was beutiful… but not so great for the FWD car we rented an the steep driveway of our airbnb.. 

After a bit of shoveling, we were able to get out. It was blustery anand clod.. so we’ve decided to put off  our Bryce Canyon  hike until tomorrow when it’ll be a little warmer..   So .. today wwe planned to stick near ‘home’. which is duck creek village , UT. 

Diane foudn a great hike called the Virgin River Rim Trail.. It was about a 5 mile out in back only 7 miles from we’re we’re staying. It was a great choice.. it was several miles down some  beautiful unplowed  dirt roads. .. so driving the 2wd Rav4 with all season tires was not at all like driving our AWD with studded snows.. Still we got up there ok.. and foudn we were the only ones there. THe hike was beautiful.. and untraveled since the snow.. It did soem switchbacks up to the ridge.. where we had great views of the canyons on each side.. we also had high winds and low temps. we figure it was in the 20s.. and even colder with wind chill.. 

the clouds were really beautiful..a nd were moving fast. it was very cool watching them 

THe views at the top were magical !

On the road back we were the obly car.. so we stopped to check out this ancient lava flow.. evidently its one of the longest and higest in the world

SUch a nice day,. really fun being just the two of us traveling

nite all. nite sam

-me

Today is vetrans day.. so I want to start with a shout out to my dad, hugh cohn 
I

My dad was in the navy,.. I think it was one of the most formative experiences he ever had.. he had so many stories from his time  in the service..   I mss those stories !

 

my father in law gabe mariano..was in the army. He also was proud of his service 

 

thank you both for your service !

Today DIane and I heasded to Zion national park , about an hour away. Want an amzing place. !.. We did an 8.,5 mile hike on the observation point trail.. totally amazing 

Pictures cant capture this place !.. we could see the anyon on all sides of us.. Beautiful colors.. crazy geology
Th elight was playign tricks on me.. but I coulsd swear that I was a face in the rocks.. actualy a whole person, a cartoon chinese man holding a lantern.. Can you see it ? 
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the3 hike was very easy.. so we took it pretty fast.  we got back in the time to visit two more places in zion.

first stop was the bottom of the Zion canyon,. we drove the whole length

it was pretty crowded down in the canyon.. so we drove on through and picked up another trail on the western side of the park to catch the sunset

now back at the airbnb.. and planning tomorrow.. 
love this place ~

nite all. nite sam

-me

Today we woke earlyish and packed our stuff.
We’ve loved Moab.. and whispering oakes we’re we’ve been staing on te La Sal loop.. bit time to move on. 

today we ae leaving Moab an heading west to Duck Creek Village in South western Utah.

First stop on the way out was UMTRA the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action
Turns out that Moab was the center of the uranium boom (pun intended)  that follwed the manhatton project. A geologist name Caharlie steen dicovered the largest hig grade uranium mine in the us.. He nae 100’s of millions of dollars from the min in the early 50s to the early 60s.. then the bottom fell out on the market.. the mine changed hands several times then went out of business , leaving a huge pile of toxic an radioactive waste just a a few hundered meters from teh colorado river. The UMTrA project is digging up all that mining waste and takign ut by train to a safe(r) disposal site a few miles north .. Its a wird legacy that moab doesnt  talka about much,.. but we just had to see it !

the rest of the day we spent crossing the beautiful state of Utah.. the road went through so many types of geology.. it blew our minds !>> 

right on the edge of a small airport.. the backyard of the house actually boradersthe runway !

this is goign to be a nice place to stay !

more tomorrow !

nite all, nite sam

-me

Another fantastic day near Moab.  While were getting ready to leave today for a hike, this guy was busy checking out the steps to our cabin.. it loooked like he was eating the salt that had been sprinkled there.. He satye there for a good half hour.. so we were sort of like captives, becsue we didnt  want to disturb him

we headed down the mountian towards town.. even though its about 15 miles on a nearly empty road with spooky dropoffs and hairpin turns.. its now our nearly 15 mile nearly empty oad with spooky dropoffs and hairpin turn .. so its an easy, fun and scenic drive 

Our goal for today was to hike Fisher towers.. It had been suggested by our good friend Nate.. and it was probably the most amazing hike I’ve ever been on. The weather was perfect (mid 50’s).. . the scenery was unbelievable.. a the company was good too 🙂

 

the hike was about 2.5 miles each way.. and the payoff was an incredible view from the top 

 

we had lunch at the top.. which always tastes the best !

then a quick walk down.. 

 

we made the 5 mile hike in just about 3 miles.. the guide said it should have taken 4.

We then drove along the beautiful  Colorado River on the catle hill road.. gorgeous !  We stopped In Moab to walk a few wonton blocks… touristy but Nice !

We found som lingering signs of the places importance to the early days of nuclear materials.. There’s a huge cleanup operation goign on now to clean up and safely store a bazillion gallons of old uranium mining waste .. Eeeeeek !

then a drive back up 35 minutes to our cabin.. The long rive seems short with the amazing scenery 

e got back in time for the sunset

wonderful day..   and more tomorrow
so happy to be here with my girl !

nite all, nite sam

-me