Wickiup Event

The GeoCache Spring Event was held at the Wickiup off Highway 70 about 35 miles west of Green River. Dennis and I normally go down the first of the week before the crowds gather. This time is no different but the week started out cold, windy and miserable. Heading over to Price, I encountered wind, snow and bad roads. After arriving in Price, Dennis and I finished loading the trailers and headed to the Wickiup about 3:00 pm.

Heading down, we continued to have strong winds but made it to the Wickiup. We had to move the camp as we encountered a guy camped close by. We moved farther north east but close to where we normally were going to camp. After setting up camp, Dennis cooked the kielbasi and I cooked the bacon wrapped cheese jalapeno's along with a salad. It was a great dinner. That night it turned chilly and both of our ater pipes froze. The temp had to be in the teen's.

The next day, we went for a cool ride to the slot canyon that Dennis wanted to take the group on Saturday. I stayed on top while Dennis and Torrey went down into the slot canyon for a ways. The ride back was just as cold but fun to be out exploring Central Utah. After we got back we found out the pipes in our trailers had thawed enough to use the water.  That evening we had company pull in. Mike and Debra came with their son.

On Thursday, we pretty much did what we wanted. I went for a few rides and Dennis went out exploring. Our "Hobo" that was camped close by kept coming over and spending time with everyone. He was a weird one.

Friday, others came in and set up camp. We had a fire set up for Chris and his corn and he did not disappoint us on Friday evening. I understand it was beans not corn on Friday night. It was pretty loud. Saturday, several went to explore the slot canyon but I stayed at camp because Hobo Jack kept wandering around and I didn't want him alone with the women and kids. The guys finally came back and we had our potluck dinner by our trailer because the wind was pretty strong coming out of the west. The dinner was mixed with dirt but was pretty good otherwise.

Sunday, everyone loaded up and headed home. I'm glad Raylene came down on Friday night to join me. I really like camping with her but don't get to do it too often. The only problem I had besides the frozen pipes was my batteries kept draining using my CPAP. After I got home I did some research and found out my trailer is wired wrong and I need a different kind of battery set up. I hope to take care of that before the next trip.

A few picks from the trip;

Dennis digging out the fire pit. Hobo Jack watching

Dennis

Rock formations by Reid Neilson Draw

Slot Canyon by Reid Neilson Draw

The Wickiup

Rock formations by slot canyon

Someone had extra cement for a fire pit

Want a stove?

By Carson Draw

Wickiup at dusk

Dennis and our camp hobo

By Carson Draw

Giving birth can be tough

Pot Luck dinner with the group

   

Trip to New Mexico

March 18, 2013 –

I decided to take a trip to New Mexico to visit family and to do some family history. What was I thinking? Ride in a car for 8-9 hrs? Am I nuts? I guess I am. I left Orem on March 18^th and made a stop at the Price cemetery to take a few pictures of the Huntsman’s buried there and try and find the grave of Ruth Huntsman (my great grandpa’s 1^st daughter).  I gave the sexton the history of Ruth (the daughter) and her family. They did not have that. All they had was it was an infant.

I felt that while I was in Price, if I didn’t stop and say hi to Udink’s, I would be in trouble. I stopped and chatted with Dennis for a few minutes and we talked about the trip to San Rafael next month. Traci stopped to say hi and headed back to work. I took my journey south to Moab, Monticello and stopped in Blanding to see if any relatives were buried there. I could not find any Huntsman’s, Adair’s or Slade’s. I then headed to Bluff and found the cemetery up on the hill north of town. Pretty cool. The rock formations around town were neat!! I found one Adair buried there and some Perkins but no others.

Since I was so far down south, I decided to head down to Mexican Water, Tease Nos Pos and then over to Shiprock. It took longer but I made it to my sisters’ house in Kirtland by 5:30pm.

We went out to eat with my other two sisters at a Mexican restaurant. Love the Mexican chili down here.

March 19, 2013 –

Loading up pictures, looking at Family History lines, etc. Took it easy today as my leg had swelled up twice it’s size from my trip down here. Went to a Zoner, put ice on my knee and kept it elevated most of the day.

March 20, 2013 –

Headed to Hammond, NM to take pictures of graves and see the area. Then went over to Aztec Cemetery to take pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Greenleaf's graves, Uncle Roy, Uncle Ike and Uncle Monk.

March 21, 2013 –

After doing research last night and this morning, Gwen and I have decided not to go to Red Mesa, CO since all the work has been done. I do have a few corrections to make but can have relatives do the work for me. 

Heading to town (Farmington) to shop and a few other things. Bought a birthday present for a good friend from my former work place. I wanted to get her something authentic from my home town so I bought some turquoise. Gwen saw a pretty necklace at the store. I couldn’t believe they wanted $325.00 for it. Prices sure have gone up since the 70’s. I guess you gotta pay for the real thing. 

Gwen and I went back home but first I had to have a Lotta burger for lunch. There are a few things I have to do when visiting New Mexico, have a real Navajo taco, have authentic Mexican food and eat a Lotta burger (which has green chili and jalapeno’s on it).I had heard there was a storm coming in so decided to cut my trip short and head home in the morning.

March 22, 2013 –

Left at 6:30 am, stopped in Price and talked to Dennis for a bit, stopped at Utah Valley hospital to visit with Mom Wilson. I guess she’s not doing too well. Learned Dad Wilson is going into the hospital next week. The doctors are going to stop his heart and restart it. I know Mom and Dad are in their 80’s but they should be enjoying these years instead of spending them in the hospital. I lost my first parents early (Mom – 38, Dad – 60). I sure don’t want to lose my second set this soon.

It took me a day or two to recover from the trip and have the swelling in my leg reduce enough not to hurt constantly. Am I ready to go again soon? Heck ya!!!

Summer's Here??

It feels like summer today and will get warmer by Sunday (3rd). After looking at the long term weather, I am going to take the blade off the 4-wheeler so I can get out and play some. Just an update of the past few months. My surgery for the knee was November 27, 2012. Surgery went well but I had a few complications afterword. It's kind of nice to still be around. Therapy has helped a lot and I am regaining my health.

The Spring GeoCache event is scheduled for April so I am working hard to be ready and be able to take the trailer out. I may take it out in March for a few days to get used to the workout again. I have been working on family history stuff and want to visit a few cemetery's where family members are buried so I can source them to their records. Some of the places are very remote so I think it would be great to explore new areas.

The Countdown Starts

Just a quick update on my knee. I decided to go to a specialists, Dr. Devon Nelson to see why I was having problems walking. I had been going to therapy in American Fork but the pain just intensified daily. After ex-rays, I found out that my arthritis was full blown and that I was rubbing bone to bone. Only two things that you can do at this point, live with the pain and take lots of pain pills or replace the bad part and start another journey. I decided to replace the knee and had scheduled surgery for November 15th at Mountain View Hospital in Payson. My doctor tried to convince me it was the better choice. After talking with family and friends, I decided to hold off until after Thanksgiving so now I am counting down the days and not looking forward to the big cut. But I am looking forward to having less pain in the future and getting back to camping, hiking, and riding.

San Rafael Reef - NOT

I have been planning all summer to go down early with Dennis to the GeoCache fall camp event. Dennis finally picked a spot that the group had gone to I think back in 2006 (N 38° 55.890 W 110° 25.300). We continued to make plans and I decided to drop my trailer off at his house in Price and then continue down to Moab for my annual golf event (more volunteer work). As I continued to pack up the trailer, my leg started getting worse. The pain started about 3 or 4 weeks ago and was centered just below my right knee on the back side (in the calf area). I thought my arthritis was kicking up and was hoping I didn't have to have surgery or replacement like my left knee. On Thursday (Oct 11th) morning, I decided to call and get a doctors' appointment.

At the doctor's office I got some bad news, no driving for a few weeks. In other words, no Moab, no San Rafael Reef trip. Talk about bummed out. The doctor told me I had a gastrocnemius rupture (tendinitis) in my calf area. How I got it, I have no idea unless it was moving the dresser upstairs which it could have been. Oh well, it is painful at times. The sad thing is, I'm not heading to Moab or San Rafael. I guess I will have to wait for Dennis and others to post pics on their FB page or Dennis' blog (www.udink.org).


     

Snake Creek

Jeff Bowles has been itching to go riding again and asked Ken (Cluff) and I where we would want to go. He was thinking about Reeder Canyon but after discussing this with Ken, we felt that was too far for just a quick day trip. Reeder Canyon is down by Joe's Valley and takes a few hours to get there. It would have been great to see the fall colors but Snake Creek is a lot closer.

I ran over to Ken's place Thursday evening and loaded up his trailer (since I sold mine). I loaded my ATV Friday morning and then went over and loaded up Ken's. Ken's hip is getting better but he has me load and unload his ATV (and I wouldn't let him anyway). At 77 yrs old, he's not as nimble as he used to be. We met up with Jeff at his house at 9:00 am and headed up to Snake Creek / Miller Flat trail head.

After unloading, we headed up the road and up top to the junction of Cascade Springs, American Fork and Snake Creek. Instead of continuing on to Tibble Fork we decided to head to Snake Creek trail and take it since it was at least an hour or two ride. Ken mentioned that the gate at the bottom was probably locked and we would have to come back up to the top.

 

As we headed down there was a tree that had fallen across the trail. Ken started heading north through the trees to find a way around it. It took him about 20 minutes but he finally made it. I was hesitant to go because I didn't know if we could get back up the same way. We thought about hooking our winches on and try pulling the tree to the side but it was a big heavy tree and I forgot to take my saw!

Jeff went around the tree the same way Ken did so I decided to follow and worry about returning later. Ken told me this was an easy trail and it was a first but then I got to a sign that said, "Keep Right, Use Extreme Caution". It wasn't extreme but when you put on the brakes you slid quite a bit and to go fast down the hill was not advisable.


The colors were great with green, yellow, red, and other shades. At the bottom it was quite warm and we found that the gate was not locked but looked that way. We decided to head up a ways to have lunch and I knew as soon as I let Ken lead, he was going to go most of the way up, which he did. I decided to head on up to where the log was across the trail where we had lunch.

After lunch, we headed back down towards the gate. I took a short cut at the bottom and found another way out to the road. Jeff and Ken followed. We made it back to the trail head, loaded up and headed home. What a great day. I really enjoy spending time with good friends. These rides are for the senior citizens and we take it kind of slow. When I go with my younger friends, I know that it's rushed and everyone wants to get to the end as quickly as possible. Since retiring, I have gotten off the fast lane and it's been nice to take it easy and slow at times. But my next ride will be fast and furious at the Swell!!!

Additional Pictures:

Jeff (left) and Ken taking pictures

Ken trying to find a way around the tree that fell across the trail

At the bottom of the trail by golf course

The Bib Overall twins

Looking over the Heber Valley

Silver Meadows

I have been spending a lot of time working both UGA and USGA (golf) events. I was kind of burned out so when Jeff Bowles called to go riding on Saturday up to Soapstone Basin, I decided to go camping and get away for awhile. I didn't realize that it was the last weekend before school started and the opening of the archery hunt.

I told Jeff I would go up early and see him and Ken (Cluff) on Saturday. Jeff mentioned he would bring a few friends. I left Tuesday and headed to Soapstone Basin road but when I got to the top, there were campers everywhere. I decided to head on up to Wolf Creek pass and then over to Cold Springs (7 miles) and Silver Meadows (3 miles). There were trailers and sheep herders on top but down by Silver Meadows I found a good spot to camp. As I set everything up I realized I forgot my CPAP machine. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night even though it got down to about 40 degrees.

On Wednesday, I decided to drive home and get the CPAP and a few other things I forgot. It was only 70 miles one way. It was nice to come down as phone service does not work in the mountains. I could get  sporadic service (messages) up at Silver Meadows. Kind of nice not to have service at times. Wednesday night I hooked up the CPAP and about 2:00 in the morning alarms in the trailer were going off. For whatever reason, my batteries were not holding a charge and the CPAP drained the batteries. The last time that had happened was at the family reunion when I tried to hook up two CPAP's (mine and Jack's - my new father in law) together.

Thursday I went out exploring with the ATV and found a trail I probably should not have gone on by myself. I tried to be careful and avoided some of the really steep hills but it was still spooky in a few spots. More campers came in today and one couple camped out in the weeds a few hundred yards from me. I could not believe it as it was not really a camp site, just a flat area.

Friday, I went down to Kamas to make a phone call as I had received some messages. Ken was down in St. George and mentioned he could not come but had his weeks mixed up and realized he could make the trip. It's always good to have him come riding. He recently had his hip replaced and at 77yrs old, I value every time I get to go out with him. I went hiking around camp when I came back and that evening I left the generator on all night so I could use the CPAP. It might not have been noisy for others, but I heard it all night long. So I decided to come home after the ride on Saturday.

Saturday morning about 8:30 Ken showed up and we unloaded his ATV and then sat around until Jeff and his friends came about 9:00 am. Jeff brought his and Ken's bishop and a grandson (about 18yrs old). I had ridden with them up at Hobble Creek a few years ago. I also met another friend, Allen. 

They wanted to go up to Lighting Ridge so I led out. Along the way we found a few mud puddles to play in which Jeff did. I was hesitant at first but decided I needed to get wet. I ran through one and Jeff followed. However, he hydroplaned through it and turned his wheels the wrong way. His machine dumped him off and almost came down on top of him. My adrenaline kicked in and I helped him right side his ATV. That kind of scared me. You see that kind of thing happen on TV but until it happens to you, its not real. I think Jeff will have a few bruises on his hip and back side but he did not have any broken bones. Just to make him feel better, I decided to go through the same puddle again. I even got him to go through but slower.

We headed up to Lightning Ridge but could not get really good pictures because of all the fires in the State and surrounding areas. You could see Mt. Baldy and Iron Mt but the Grand Daddies were smoggy. I hate taking pictures on smoggy days but did take a few. We had lunch and took a break for a bit and watched several groups come up to look over the edge of the cliffs. This place always gives me the creeps as I have a fear of heights. I just keep my distance from the edge unlike Ken who loves to drive right up to the edge.

 
After Lightning Ridge we took a different way down and then headed to Soapstone Basin to where I had gone on my solo ride a few days ago. This time the trail seemed easier for some reason. It was just as rocky but I guess with friends around, I didn't think anything would go wrong. Ken had already headed back to camp to rest so it was Jeff, Allen, their bishop and his grandson and myself.

When we got back to camp, Ken had already loaded up and gone home. Jeff and Allen helped me finish loading the trailer and we headed home. All in all it was a fun week but I am concerned about my batteries. Got to go get them checked out before the next adventure in September. Gotta go fishing!

Additional pictures of the area:

Silver Meadows

The morning sun looking east

Looking east towards Hanna and Tabiona

Up on top of Soapstone Basin

Phelps Brooks trail, east side (by my cache)

After a good rain storm

Jeff getting ready to ride in his favorite mud puddle

Jeff in mud puddle, Ken taking pics

Looking northwest from Lightning Ridge