The ramblings of a woman,
wife, & mother, who loves:
Jesus / my man / the three,
learning about parenting /
mamahood / childbirth,
cooking foods healthy /
international / yummy,
pretending to garden /
write / design,
attempting to run /
exercise / lift weights,
enjoying traveling /
camping / adventures,
finding ways to love /
serve / sacrifice for others.

It is not to say she does these things
with style or grace, or even skill.

Seventh Day: Work & Play in the Desert

October 6, 2014 - 12:14 PM

Travel Log: 26 March 2012

Once again, getting back to work after an amazing week vacation is hard for everyone, adults and kids. But, once again, the beauty of living anywhere, specifically living in a playground like Moab and living in a different time zone, means you can still pretend like you are on vacation when the work day is done.

Since our attempt to go skiing was a bust, we decided to rent suspension mountain bikes for the boys so they could ride on the infamous Slickrock Trail. Josh would ride with them on his fixed frame bike, even with his wrists still reeling from pain (strongly probable stress fractures) received during the Porcupine Rim trail ride.

The 10.6 mile, one and only, Slickrock Bike Trail is world famous, requires high technical ability, and is highly aerobic. The trail is made up of beautiful, buff-colored Navajo sandstone and is more of a sandpaper texture than slick rock. It was formed ages ago by petrified sand dunes undulating across the landscape. 

slickrock

On the day we were there, someone was taken away in an ambulance for a broken leg received on the trail. Heeding the warning, we opted to have the boys try the 2.3 (tho, actually 3) mile practice loop located next to the official trail. Though it is not as long or extreme as the real trail, the practice loop is designed to be a challenging introduction for any rider considering the real trail and it was perfect for our boys. Josh took Zeke out and I walked behind Max (carrying Miriam on my back the whole time).

loop

slickrock

mimi

A 9-second video of Max riding an easy section on the practice loop. Click on black rectangle to get it to start. :)!

happymax

This is our 10 year old Max in the middle of the practice loop. It was incredibly difficult (it boggles my mind to think the real trail is harder!), he was working harder than ever (the ups and downs were no joke), it was crazy windy (see previous day's Looking Glass pics), but at this point he exclaimed with a beaming smile, "This is the best bike ride of my entire life!" 

happy boys

During our visit to Slickrock Bike Trail, Josh ended up going out for part of the real trail then I borrowed Zeke's rented bike and did part of the practice loop. If you couldn't gauge by the above elevation map, the aerobic aspect is intense and the undulations are extreme even on the practice loop. It wasn't their first ski resort trip but it was an extreme sport day, one that has never been forgotten and they are counting the days to recreate.

14 as of today.

NEXT STORY...

Response to Seventh Day: Work & Play in the Desert

Leave a Comment

Required, but not displayed.

HOME

Welcome! I am glad you're here! If you are new and would like to get caught up on what's going on, check out these quick links to get you started:

About Me and This Blog...

Begin Our Adventures of Fall/Winter 2012 to CA, MN, CO
   Ladies Trip to Napa Valley
   My Parents Rode in a Plane!

Begin Our Adventures of Summer 2012 to MN and CO
   Vacation to the North Shore and Cabin
   Boulder for the Summer
   Life in Boulder

Begin Our Adventures of Winter/Spring 2012 to UT
   The Drive to CO/UT Begins
   Vacation in Moab
   Living in Moab / Denver

Begin Our Adventures of Fall/Winter 2011 to CA
   The Drive to CA Begins
   Living in the SF
   Living in the Suburbs
   Coming Home to IC

Begin Our Adventures of Summer 2010 to Eastern Europe
   Life at Czech English Camp
   Travels in Germany & Austria
   Travels in Czech & Poland

FOLKS

Fam Q
LM - Czech Guru
RM - CSS Guru
JLProject 
Mrs. Windham
Joe Pyle Wedding Photographer
RedThreadLove

RSS FEED

RSS Feed

www.flickr.com



Cramer Family 5