Namaste,
Well.... I'm home and rested. I did leave Durango at the buttcrack of dawn on the 31st of December. Overnight it had snowed almost a foot and although I knew the roads were going to be challenging I wanted to get over the pass before it was closed. I started out and it was a little more stressful than I expected. Once the sun came up and I made it to Cortez I felt a lot better. As you head north through Dove Creek, things started getting a little better. I crossed into Utah and the sun started to poke out. I turned into Canyonlands Needles district. I was the first person to take that exit.... I knew this because no one had driven on the fresh snow. I stopped at Newspaper rock, and then on into the Needles. Most of the roads were closed; As well as, the visitors center.I took a few pictures but nothing spectacular. I was starving and one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Moab was for Miguel's fish tacos. Well..... Miguel's was closed! So I went to the Moab Brewery..... And dang if it wasn't closed too! I found a little Mexican restaurant and had a burrito. I headed up to Arches and climbed Delicate. I have done it in winter before, but never on a 4" sheet of ice. It was beautiful. I came down and worked my way over to Turret Arch... The sun was starting to set and it was amazing.... The biggest problem was the park was filled with people who had no idea that they were on sacred, living soil. There were people going off trail, people standing inside the arches, kids banging rocks on the arches...I was livid!!!!!! I made sure people knew that they were off trail, but it didn't matter. I went to the hotel and checked in and then cleaned up for dinner. I went to Zax.... It is a landmark in Moab! I sat there for a long time editing pictures and just being there. It was packed out for New Years eve. About 10:00, I went back to my room and crashed out! I woke up at 4:00am when some drunk butt pulled the fire alarm! I didn't go back to sleep, so I got up and dressed and headed for Island in the Sky. The roads were frozen and the truck said it was -7! I went to Grand View Overlook and watched the sun come up. There were not any clouds in the sky so there was no contrast. I headed over to Mesa and though I would have a peaceful hike but when I was 1/2 a mile away I could hear people. Once I got to Mesa I was PISSED! There were 30 people standing inside the arch. How in the heck can you shoot the arch if you are standing inside. No one cared that I was standing back waiting for them to clear. I got a few shots and then headed back to the truck. I contemplated what to do next. There was not much I could get to in the conditions. The LaSal pass was closed, so I couldn't get to Peal..... I went to the hotel and got my stuff, and headed south. I though I may make it back to Albuquerque or even Santa Fe, but once I got on the road, I knew I was headed home. It was 918 miles and according to my Google Maps 15 hours and 46 minutes. I made it to Farmington, New Mexico and got on 550. The roads were solid ice, so I had to really slow it down. Once into Albuquerque I was able to kick it up and it was a straight shot into OKC. I made it in just under 13 hours. Wednesday I just kinda hung out playing with pictures and sleeping on and off. Thursday my girls from work wanted to go to lunch so I met them.... We had a good laugh at my expense and then I came back home to chill with Trey. I was going to rent a stump grinder for the three trees I need to remove from the yard, but it wouldn't fit in the Yukon. Trey and I went and got a new game, and he tried to teach me how to play. Not a big gamer!!!!! We ended up going to Louie's and grabbing some wings. Friday was my birthday and Jordan was going to come for dinner, but she got called into work so we went to Norman and met her for lunch. She had to go after lunch, but Sherrie, Trey and I went to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. We walked around for a couple of hours before going by Jordan's salon to get Trey's hair cut. We came back to Edmond and went to the store. I wanted home made chicken salad for dinner. It came out really great, and we just kinda chilled for the rest of the evening. It is freezing cold outside. 28 degrees and windy. I am suppose to spar Mike Giroux at noon today. I wanted to go for a jog this morning, but it's not gonna happen! I may just have to relax for a minute! :-)
Love you all!
Mat
