Thanksgiving in Moab

Wheeling With All The Trimmings.
by Perry Reed
photography by Leila and Megan Reed

      O.K. I know what your thinking. Another Moab story. But really, when you think about it...(a) Do you really get tired of reading about, and seeing pictures of wheeling? Especially Moab....and (2) It's our last trip of the year and the last for one of our members until the middle of April. But more on that later.
Well the weather has been just grand so far but on Thanksgiving evening we had some weather changes and Friday morning, woke up to snow! Oh well, it is the end of November after all.
So after indulging in the feastivities of the previous day, which may I add is one of my favorite holidays, we loaded up the ol' Jeep and headed for Moab. The weather remained cloudy for nearly all our trip over, until we hit the city limits, and the sun came out. As we drove Hwy 128 through the Colorado River canyon, I couldn't help but think of all the times I've travelled this road and every trip fills me with a sense of excitement and adventure, remembering the times shared with friends while exploring the slickrock and canyons, always seeing something new on every trip.
      Along for our 2nd annual after Thanksgiving trip was Jeff, Michelle, Kali & Sami Lane, Weylin Johnson & Jessica, Dave Shannon & his trusty pooch Dylan, Sherman & Nathan Matthieu, Randy Kearns & Maryann, and Leila, Megan & me. Jeff is a accountant and his life as he knows it is pretty much over come January 1st. thru April 15th so this is now a Wild Bunch tradition to get one last trip in.
     Surprisingly it was pretty busy in town with many other wheelers enjoying the long weekend.
     Friday afternoon we met up with Jeff & Weylin and decided to run part of Fins n Things. This trail is split by Sand Flats Road. The south side is shorter than the north so we thought we'd try that before it got dark. FnT is comprised of a lot of slickrock domes and sandy washes and some pretty good climbs and descents to manipulate. It only took us about an hour to do that part of the trail and we headed back into town to settle in for the evening.
      Saturday morning greeted us with bright and sunny skies as we met up with the rest of the group at City Market, fueled up and got or necessary goodies for trail snacks and headed for Poison Spider Mesa. There were a few other groups who shared the same idea so we sort of travelled along all day passing each other and watching as everyone tackled the obstacles. The trails were exceptionally moist to say the least. A good rain had passed through a couple of days earlier and dumped about 3/4 " which made for some nice sized mud holes. Not to mention the the slickrock does get slick with just a touch of wet sand on the slopes. But we made the trail without any problems and stopped for lunch at Little Arch. It was such a sun soaked gorgeous day we just sat around and visited for a little more than an hour.
      As we made our way back, we took a short cut over to Golden Spike at Skyline Drive, a huge slickrock dome that sits to the side of the trail and just asks to be climbed. Then back through the Launching Pad, a steep down and up the other side that makes you appreciate the beautiful blue Moab sky. 'Cause that's all you see on your way up. Then back to Poison Spider and on into town.
      Saturday night found us at the Moab Brewery, which is almost customary after a great day of wheeling. Good food and good friends makes this an end to a perfect day.
      Unfortunately, Sherman had to leave us and head home that evening. And a couple of us rearranged our original plans and decided to stay a while longer on Sunday and run another trail.
So Sunday morning we met once again at City Market and chose the other side of Fins n Things as our trail for the day. And once again the weather was just perfect. (Is there ever a bad day for wheeling in Moab? I think not!) We took off on the north side of Sand Flats Rd and drove over more fins and more things. This side of the trail is a bit longer than the south side and offers more in the way of scenery and obstacles. One cutoff goes to an overlook of Negro Bill Canyon. The canyon was named after William Granstaff, a black prospector and rancher who grazed his cattle here. This is a beautiful canyon cut into the Navajo Sandstone by a small, perennial stream that begins about six miles south of the Colorado River. Toward the northern end, and not too far from the Colorado River, is Morning Glory Arch, the sixth largest natural bridge in the United States with a span of 243 feet. Negro Bill Canyon is a wilderness study area, so to see it you gotta hike it! But it is well worth the hike.
     From there we made our way over the sandstone fins to Kenny's climb, a short but really steep dome that, at first look, you might think it's impossible. But with the awesome traction of the slickrock, it's not as bad as it looks. Then it was down and up and down again to Frenchy's Fin. Yet another steep incline that let's you know that all that money spent on those off road tires is worth every cent.
      On our way back to town and just around the corner from the Sand Flats entrance booth, is a neat little climb that has become known as Little Lion's Back. Not nearly as tall or forboding as the real Lion's Back but still a lot of fun, after you climb to the top and drive to the other end, there is usually a small water hole at the bottom. "Usually small". Did I mention that Moab got a little rain? I believe that all the runoff ended up at the bottom of Little Lion's Back. With 5 1/2 inches of lift and 35" tires, this small water hole came up to the bottom of my doors. So with the exhaust pipe puttering like a little motor boat, we sailed on through. Amazingly no one collected any water inside their rides. As we gathered there at the campground to regroup, we knew it was time to say goodbye once again and turn our trusty steeds toward home.
      Dave had to make the trip back to Durango, Jeff and his family, and Weylin & Jessica to Delta, and Randy, Maryann and my family and me on to Montrose.
But, ya know what? It's only 4 1/2 months till Easter!!!