Sand and Slick Rock

Today was our last day in Moab and we were sad to leave it. We planned a nice easy half day of hiking. We went back to our favorite place (Arches) to finish off the trails we didn't yet hike, and also to finally get some video footage of the course we biked a few days ago. This time I used my trusty pink point-and-shoot and it worked like a charm. I think we may take a sledge hammer to the GoPro when we get home.

I'm glad the day of hiking we had planned was an easy one as I woke up with a terrible stomach issue. My entire core was in a knot. I felt like I did P90X Ab Ripper 25 times in a row and I could barely walk upright without lots of pain. What the heck happened to me? It wasn't the food because it wasn't 'that kind' of stomach ache. I pondered and pondered what could have happened to me and then it hit me. It was the pure STRESS of the Jeep ride the day before that left my stomach in a severe knot. Stress has done this to me in the past. Unreal. I biked 4 challenging days without the slightest bit of soreness anywhere and it will take me days to recover from a Jeep ride.

But I still managed to hike (a bit slower than usual) and I'm so glad I did. Today's hikes were my favorite ones. Once again, it was all sand and slick rock, but the views were the best. There was a 50% chance of rain so I didn't take my real camera and that takes so much pressure off. All we did was take silly snapshots of each other and had a such a good time. I loved it. My favorite place was called Sandy Arch. It reminded me of another favorite Utah park, Zion. I had fun posing in yoga poses and Karlo was like a monkey climbing on the rocks.


We were brave not to take rain gear and as it turned out the sun started to shine. It was then that we marveled at the incredible good luck we had with weather. In over 10 years of this biking event, this was the best weather they ever had. In fact, last year was so miserable that it caused a turnout of over 400 less riders this year. Apparently last year one riding day had to be canceled due to sleet and freezing rain. All 4 days were cold and miserable and this year was simply perfect. The day we arrived was the first day the park ranger said she could wear short sleeves. We had 6 straight days of perfection and on our last day, with a threat of rain, the sun continued to shine. We got into the car to start our 4.5 hour drive back to Salt Lake City and 30 minutes into the ride the rain started. Thank you Mother Nature for the awesome run we had!

The drive back to Salt Lake was beautiful. We took a different return trip and this one was much nicer. We drove through the snowy mountains and it was awe inspiring scenery for hours. Unfortunately my stomach still hurt all day and continues to persist into the night, but I guess it was all worth it to make some great memories.