The pattern of winter weather screwing me over continued this weekend.
I left Friday morning and visited Dead Horse Point State Park, made famous by Thelma and Louise. I'd always wanted to go, but never wanted to spend the money. So glad I finally did! AND, the lady working there was super nice and randomly offered to give me the senior discount!
Since it was cold and windy, I had the overlooks to myself. I sat on a bench and just enjoyed the quiet and the view. It was beautiful.
That night, I met up with my friends in Monticello. They were all down there to hike Druid Arch, which I knew I couldn't do with my hip pain. But at least I got to share a room with Katie and Sam and spend some time with them!
I wasn't sure what would be accessible on Cedar Mesa this time of year, and it turned out, not much. All the trailheads require dirt roads, and there was so much snow on the ground; I didn't want to risk getting stuck.
First, I stopped at these roadside ruins. Kivas fascinate me!
Then, I stopped at this site near the San Juan River that reminded me of Newspaper Rock.
Then, I attempted to do a hike off of Butler Wash and ended up knee-deep in quicksand. (I was very thankful that I was able to free myself since I had no cell service and no one knew where I was hiking.)
However, there was one short hike near Butler Wash that didn't require crossing the wash, so I was able to do that one, at least. And the rock art was soooo cool!
My next stop was Hal's accident site. I know it probably seems weird that I've visited it on several occasions, but it was literally on my way to the next set of ruins I wanted to see. I touched up the cairn I built. The Bible verses I wrote down about resurrection are still underneath it.
Finally, I headed for some roadside ruins. I didn't realize they were located off a dirt road, but the road was fine. Totally dry. I turned off that road onto another, and it was fine for a few miles. Then suddenly- mud. So. Much. Mud. I knew right away my car could not handle this, so I turned around. I was able to do that (with some effort), but then the mud was so thick I couldn't get back to the middle of the road. I slid off the side and got stuck.
I was mortified since I have never gotten stuck in all these years of crazy dirt road driving. But what I have learned over the years is that stuff works out. This situation wasn't dangerous, just inconvenient. I happened to have cell phone service in that exact spot (I hadn't for the past hour or so), so I called the San Juan County Sheriff and someone was there to help me within an hour. I was so relieved because I thought I might have to call Subaru Roadside Assistance and wasn't sure how much that would cost, but Officer Laws didn't seem to mind pulling me out. We did have some trouble figuring out where to attach the tow strap on my car, and by the time the whole process was over, I even had mud in my hair from getting down under the car. But I was so thankful it all worked out. He was so kind, and even followed me all he way back to Blanding.
The next day I stopped to see the Intestine Man pictograph panel...
then hiked to Jewel Tibbett Arch. My GPS took me on a different route than people usually use (which I didn't know until later), so I had to park and hike part of the road as well as the trail to the arch. But I didn't mind at all because I was totally alone out there. It was perfect. I didn't even see anybody on the road to the arch. Meanwhile, my friends had hiked to Corona Arch and from the pictures, it looked like the crowds were crazy! Moab has gotten so crazy crowded. I mean, I guess I'm part of the problem since I just started visiting within the past 10 years. But when I first started going, it was pretty easy to get a dispersed campsite, even during spring break. Now, you really have to know where to go.
But anyway, I really enjoyed the solitude on this hike and listened to Rob Bell's podcast where he shared this quote about wonder, and it was just kind of perfect.
I made it back to town in time for a jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich at Sweet Cravings, and by the time I was done, it was snowing. And it looked like it would be snowing on the way back to SLC, too. So I decided to stay one more night, which was good, because after a few hours, this was the view outside my hotel room!
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