Heaven's Gate

As Goldie slipstreamed behind Jim and Gayle into Zion Sunday, I realized that sometimes it's the little things that endear one to a person, place, or thing. For me, it's always been the sinuous red cinder pavement in Zion—improbably etched and tunneled through a canyon labyrinth—that warms my heart and tells me, "I'm Home."

Take a couple of deep breaths and a minute out of your day to put yourself in the driver's seat, as we enter one of the most glorious places in Utah's red-rocked desert, if not the entirety of God's green earth.

It would be interesting to try and quantify the effect of Red Rocks…to take a random sample of stressed out megopolites, measure pulse and blood pressure before, and after, viewing the above photos. Having coerced the kids into readiness for school, yourself ready for a long day at work—you've fed the dog, petted the kitty, and kissed your closest of kin and wished them a good day, fought the daily battle of freeway lunacy, and eased behind your one-eyed monster—try to recall these images of Zion, breathe deeply, and think about the day when it's time for a new plan. 

If you've been keeping up with the Life's Little Adventure's Blog, you already know we hiked with Jim, Gayle, and Debbie to Observation Point from the topside, as opposed to from the bottom.  This was a first for Bobbie and I, in a place where the list runs short of "firsts."

 After setting a boondock camp in the vast BLM lands that surround Virgin, a plan was made to bike some of Gooseberry Mesa's network of trails. The "Little Adventurer's" and BCB'ers took separate Subarus and attempted to gain the mesa via Rockville's classic one-lane bridge, as Bobbie and I had done previously a decade or so ago. Well, times have changed. The road hasn't seen a blade for a long, long time; there were deep ruts and oil-pan seeking missile-rocks, waiting for just one errant judgement by the driver. Then, as if that wasn't enough, we had to contend with a covey of ATV'ers that wanted to get around us so we could eat their dust.

Long story short, we made it but got separated. Bobbie and I had a nice ride on a couple of rim trails, which helped to lower my blood pressure. We heard that Jim and Gayle made it too, but chose a different trail to ride. Oh well, sometimes the best laid plans get blown up.

That catch's you up on Current Events, but there are several adventures from Capitol Reef still in the bag. I will supplement real time with those flashbacks so you don't miss a thing. 

May your day be blessed,
Peace out,
Mark and Bobbie and "The Gang."