Slickrock rocks

Woooow! I've been saying that for the last couple of days since we drove into Utah, with its red needle-like columns, canyons, mesas, buttes. Wow. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Nevada was surprisingly green for being a desert. We drove Hwy 50 out of Reno, the "Loneliest Road in America" according to the map. But it wasn't so lonely with Caballero at my side (insert cheesy grin here). We made quick work of it, pushing through to Salina, UT from Truckee in one day. During the long drive, Caballero drove and spaced out while HQ invented car-yoga, a new style of Vinyasa. She's mastered a modified Camel pose, supine pigeon, janu shurshasana and downward dog (with rear end toward the windshield), all within the confines of the passenger seat. Our hard driving was rewarded the next morning with a sudden change in landscape: all I could say is "wow" and "cooool!" like a little kid as we drove along I-70, the flaming red columns of rock in the Utah desert and the wide open vistas rising and falling past our windshield like a slow movie. A highlight was a view from the San Rafael Swell at a roadside photo op. HQ and Caballero ran around on the rocks for a bit and soaked in the vastness of the 360 degree view (see Caballero's pics posted). It feels simultaneously dizzying and freeing to be perched like a bird up there.

Since arriving in Moab, we've been driving the Relaxy Taxi around a lot. We lounged in the hotel pool yesterday during cocktail time, then went out and ate a huge pizza followed by a huge cookie and ice cream. Ugh. We burned those calories today, though. We woke up at an unreasonably early hour to ride Slickrock before it got too hot (to those of you who doubt HQ's ability to wake up early, it was BEFORE 7am). What an amazing trail. The rock is smooth but grippy, so riding up ultra-steep pitches is do-able if your legs are up to it (Caballero kept quoting Ralphy Wiggam from the Simpsons, saying, "I rode that?! That's un-possible!") After ~ 7mi of riding, we saw the most incredible views: deep yawning chasms of red rock falling away to the Colorado river to the north, miles and miles of undulating smooth sandy rock behind us to the south, and the quietest silence I think I've ever heard. Not a bird, not a buzzing fly. Just the sound of the wind, my breath, and my heartbeat. Shortly after that Zen-like moment, I fell down and bumped both my knees on the rock. Just a bruise, though. Caballero fell, too, and got some rock rash his arm. All in all, it was fun yet humbling trail, and the views and the sense of wide-open perspective and accomplishment made it SO worth it.

After another lounge by the pool, we're headed to a cozy Bed and Breakfast for check-in and naptime, dinner and a movie. Life is rough on vacation here in Moab ;)