Easter Weekend

This year for Easter I decided to go to Cherry Creek with Ron & Nicole and Cory & Randa. Raylene stayed home since her sister and husband came over from Colorado Springs.

I headed down to Cherry Creek on Wednesday but was not able to get the camp spot Ron wanted because there were a lot of people already camped around the Sand Dunes. I could not believe it. I headed farther into Cherry Creek and found a good spot about a half mile down. I set up camp and then called Ron. He said that we have more people coming than he though. Instead of 6 or 7 trailers we now had 14 to 15. I found a good spot about a mile north so I packed up and headed to the new location.

Thursday I rode around a little since I have never been in this area. A wind storm came up and caught me off guard. I had to scramble to keep camp from blowing away. I'm so glad I did not have my contacts in or I would have gone blind. I rode again on Friday and waited for the group to arrive. They showed up just after noon. We had eleven trailers and two motor homes, a big group. It was mainly Tom Manzenerez and his family but there were a few additional friends from the Elks. The group had a bond fire going and were hanging out around the fire. I decided to call it a night and read before bed.

Saturday morning it tried to snow but we decided to go for a ride anyway. We headed out to Porter Rockwell's old ranch along the Cherry Creek. Too bad vandals have destroyed the house. We decided to return back to the camp by going through the creek and along the fence line. We had some fun in the creek. A few decided not to cross and one machine got stuck. That evening the group had their normal rain dance around the fire. But they did not stay up as long as they did on Friday.

Sunday, I decided to come home with the rest of the group. I was the first to leave and decided to take Redwood road instead of I-15. It takes a lot longer and I will not do that again. It was an okay trip and seeing Sand Mountain lit up like a small City was awesome but I think next time, I will camp with less people. 

My truck by camp on Wednesday

Camp on Wednesday all alone, sweet!

Marty (left) and Ron's trailer

More trailers arriving

Group mingling

One of Porters ranches

Group at Porters ranch

Crossing Cherry Creek

Group getting ready to leave Saturday

Dibbles outhouse

Group getting to leave on Sunday

Muddy!!!

Brad Harris and I needed a break and decided to head out to 5-mile no matter the condition of the trails. We parked on the west side of 5-mile by one of my geocaches. From there we headed south to 12-mile pass but only got as far as 10-mile close by the ghost town Topliff. The north side of the hills were very very wet and it was hard to avoid them all the time. Of course, who would want to. We came to play.

It is still too muddy to be out in a few spots and I learned that the hard way by almost flipping my 4wheeler. Mud has a way of stopping you pretty quick or causing you to slide all over the road. Good thing I was wearing a helmet. 

Brad and I did go up in the hills where the ground was still frozen and had lunch. It was so nice and warm we took our normal siesta. After lunch we continued south west towards 12-mile and found many of the trails too muddy to continue. Brad's machine was not protecting him from the mud and he had it everywhere. It's a good thing he brought extra clothing otherwise I would have had him ride in the back on the way home. On the way back to the truck, we went out to the pony express road. It was good and hard packed and we were able to make good time.

I was surprised at how many people were coming out to play. We thought it would be very cold day but as the day progressed it kept getting warmer. I'm glad we went out early and avoided the crowds.

Looking north west towards Stookey Mtn.

Out by 10-mile pass

Stookey Mtn.

Checking out the edge of the cliff

Ah, nap time!

Brad finishing up lunch

Brad trying to climb a hill that was too steep and soft.

Notice the mud!

Brad taking pics.
 

 

12-Mile Pass

With the mild weather, I decided to head out west of Allen's Ranch and ride the 4wheeler to the west end of 12-mile pass. I should have stayed home and waited until the ground dried out but where's the fun in that. It was tough going in a few spots but it was a great day. There was still too much snow in several places, lots of mud (I should have stayed out of), and a fair amount of wind. The temp was about 50 degrees but with the cold wind, it sure didn't feel like it.

My goal was to go to the west side of 12-mile pass by Topliff. I didn't get that far as the road was too muddy in several spots and I didn't want to damage it anymore than I already had. I did get myself in trouble after hiding a cache on a north slope. I continued heading north and realized I was in a newly plowed field. I should have turned around but dummy me decided to go between the plowed sections heading east back towards the main road. I found ATV's don't float very well and being out in the middle of a field, I had no trees to put the winch around. Good thing for rocks, speed, and 4wheel drive. It was still a challenge getting to the other side. When I got back to the trail, I noticed my safety flag dragging on the ground. I'm surprised the whip didn't snap with all the mud on the flag. I'll have to remember next time to leave it off. While out riding and heading home, I saw deer and antelope. Pretty cool. I think the next warm day, I will wait until the ground dries before heading out to Little Moab area. I've learned my lesson.

Moab with the Guys

Several of us in my local church ward planned a trip to Moab, UT.  Jordon's dad has a Condo there which we planned to stay at. After contacting several in the ward, there were six of us planning to go. The night before we left Steve Baxter said he had the flu and would not be going. That left Jordon Farr, Jeff Wilks (our Bishop), Brad Harris, Zac Orton and myself. We left on Friday, January 28th about 9:00 am. On the way down we experienced a flat tire on the trailer. Someone behind us flagged us down and told us we had a tire shredding.

 Its a good thing we had a good Samaritan behind us and a few spare tires. We made it down to Moab and went out on our first ride about 3:00 PM. We headed out to Gemini Bridge and then on to Four Arches. There was a lot of snow, great views and a lot of picture taking. Having a fear of heights, I didn't get too close to Gemini Bridge. Everyone else took pics and I will get a few from them.

 After the ride we headed to the La Hacinda for dinner and then onto the Condo. The Condo was great. I was tired and went to bed early (11:00pm). The guys stayed up and played pin pong.

On Saturday after breakfast at McDonalds we headed to Hurrah pass. We rode to top and down other side. It was a great ride.

 Back at parking lot we noticed the tire low again on the right side (same one we had a flat on). We headed to gas station to fill it up and could not get our fingers between tire and floor of trailer. We headed back to the Condo and took out four of the 4wheelers (which we left in Moab). This raised the trailer up enough to allow us to get our fingers between the trailer floor and the tire.  We brought the trailer and one 4wheeler home (mine). We figured the trailer had a broken spring but made it back home about 6:30pm without anymore incidents. It was a great trip although I wish it had been longer. We are already planning another trip. Of course, we need to go get the rest of the 4wheelers.