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.

Sunset in Moab

A storm came through with a small amount of moisture and cleared up in time to head west as the sun was setting. I took this photo from the master bedroom deck.

Torrin riding down Sand Flats Road

Torrin took advantage of one our trips into town to do a little biking. As we descended from the cabin at 7200 ft Torrin took his bike out of the back near the trail head for porcupine trail and for the most part coasted down a few miles. Smudgy photo because I took it though the windshield. The snow is non existent at the lower elevations and we counted 84 seperate vehicles parked along the campsites near Fins N Things and Slickrock. I don't remember seeing that many folks even in the busier parts of the year. Perhaps the recession has more people camping and the Moab area is the beneficiary. The two nights we spent in town to watch the basketball games at Zax pizza, the town was buzzing with people. Susie likes it that moab seems to be a vibrant little town. One secret when visiting Moab in the off season, is the Moab Brewery offers all their half pound hamburgers with all trimmings for $5.00 I had the bacon swiss cheese half pounder with fries and it was super.

Moab rim from porch after storm

The snow had quit, we had completed shoveling off the porch deck again, and the storm clouds hung over the canyon for the rest of the day but the sun was shining at the same time.

Fireplace keeps it warm

Susie enjoyed a fire each day while she read. The secret to making this fireplace insert work efficiently is to build a hot kindling fire first. Get the stove pipe hot so that it will draft the smoke upwards. After a roaring kindling fire is going and the stove pipe or flue is HOT, we can put split logs on, turn the insert fan on and turn down or off the propane heaters in the cabin. The insert with fan can heat up the cabin within 30 minutes. We have had problems with smoke before but in talking with a number of people selling solutions to the smoke problem we started with the easiest first and to our pleasant surprise it worked.

evening Sun on the LaSals

On the way back up to the cabin on the Sand Flats road after being in town to watch the NCAA playoffs and run some errands I snapped this photo through the windshield of the LaSals. The cabin is on the mesa just right of center of this photograph. I am just passing Fins N Things at the time of this photo.

Pickup 100 yards out

Susie went out to photograph Torrin building his snow toad and I took this one to show the distance away from the cabin the truck is stuck in the snow. Look directly back of the right of the fruit tree to see where the pickup made it to. We had shoveled the walkway the day before so it was clear and dried out each day in the warm temps. We are hoping the same will apply to the road where we shoveled. Each day we watched the snow melt before our eyes and at times marveled how fast it was melting.