Alley & Katelyn at overlook

Two of the nicest most active girls you will ever meet. Alley and Katelyn are always up for adventure and this past was no exception. Both left the parking lot much later than me on the way to delicate arch and both beat me up to it. Katelyn ran past me on the trail and I believe ran the whole way up. By the time I got there she was ready to come back down. Alley has run it before. Here they are at the overlook enjoying the sunset before we head back to the cabin for dinner. As I recall we had salad, Bratwursts, root beer milk shakes and some of Susie's cinnamon rolls.

Susie & the last of 6 kids

Torrin and his mom Susie at the overlook. Each evening we try to get over to this spot in order to watch Nature put on a show with a sunset over the mountains, valley, monumants and it never disappoints. We have never had a guest, friend or visitor go to the overlook and be disappointed. We consider it one of God's greatest gifts to us all. A scene straight from Heaven.

speak no evil hear none see none

Katy Susie and Alley on top of the Castle Valley overlook Rock imitating the famous monkeys. These three girls along with Brady Bruce hiked a lot of miles on this trip. Nearly every morning they were up at sunup and on the trails.

Newly weds

katelyn and Dane Lundberg entertained us all with their different takes on life. Having just married a couple months ago they still find some areas of difference. katy likes to hike a lot, Dane not so much, katy doesn't like floating the river with dead beavers that attack her, Dane thinks it quite funny. One thing they always agree on is the consistent beauty of the castle valley overlook. This was after a storm passed through and left some beautiful clean looking points along the ridges.

Hells Revenge

This past week we had a sort of mini family reunion at the cabin. Dane & Katelyn invited friends Brady, Dave & Rachel Forte, Alexandra invited her friend Jordan, Trace Wilkenson, along with Torrin, my friends Ken McGinnis and Bryan Miley, Susie and me. We had a great week. We road the ranger, hiked, floated the river, dirt biked and watched movies at night.

Finns N Things on Polaris Ranger

The days were warm and the nights were cool. With some sunscreen and a Polaris 4 x 4 we did Finns N Things trail near slick rock and the cabin. The ranger was able to do this with no problem and was much more agile that when
we take the Tacoma. Here Susie poses with her kids Dane, Torrin, Alley, Katy and Friend Brady. We followed in the Tacoma and met at this spot in the trail. With lots of "S" curves we would see them coming down one portion while we were going up the other. This was a lot of fun and everyone that visits the cabin should experience this trial.

sunset over cougar canyon

Doug, Kirby and I enjoyed some mountain fresh air as we walked the North rim of Cougar canyon to watch the sun go down on a great day. Later we grilled halibut steaks with a touch of lemon and talked about our families. It is comforting to associate with others that love their wives, their kids and are trying their best to be good citizens. This weekend was tonic for the soul as I listened to Kirby and Doug express how much they thought of their families. I believe that there are many good people but the world doesn't make headlines out of them and consequently we don't hear or see all the daily goodness they do in their families and careers. The setting was super for good conversation. On our last night at the cabin we watched "Last of the Mohicans" and have deemed it a "Moab Movie" one worthy to watch while at the cabin.

Kirby Kenny & Doug Freeman at cougar canyon

Friends Kirby kenny and Doug Freeman from high school days in Hardin
Montana and I spent a couple days in Moab at the cabin. Kirby and I caught up on
the last 25 years since seeing each other. Fun to hear of the families that didn't exist the last we saw each other. Kirby is seen here sporting what he called his
favorite shirt. Unfortunately the shirt did not survive the two days of dirt biking as he used it for his riding jersey. He rode my bike as it is equipped with skid plate, bark busters and other safety equipment designed to take a beating while I rode the rental bike he secured. Good thing, as he proceeded to gain confidence each hour of riding until the second day he was powering over rocks and ledges and crossing Kane creek flowing with water. With this confidence however came a certain over confidence and within 30 minutes I saw him entertain with two solid crashes and one head on collision with a river bank. Unable to decide right or left while riding in a foot and a half of water
up Kane creek he drove straight into a dirt bank and stayed upright due to a large tree root that protruded from the side. He then decided left and came out like a pro. Riding with some new found skill and attitude he wheelied over small obstacles and measurably increased his speed. He went down on the rocky trail and immediately spoke of how valuable the safety equipment he wore and how it was indeed the difference maker in confidence in riding. He picked himself up, brushed himself off and took off like a man on a mission to have fun on a dirt bike and trail. Coming over a graduated rise of rock he hit the throttle which pushed him back on the seat, which caused him to grip onto the handlebars, which include the throttle which caused him to wheelie into a vertical position. The bike jumped in the air then went left as Kirby went face first to the right. He hit the ground with such force that he actually bounced and then skipped two times before coming to a rest. The favorite shirt didn't make it, but bruised and a bit bloodied Kirby did. Doug renamed him "Skipper" A great time was had by all.