April 2017 // ADVENTR.co

Windy Weekend in The Swell

Saturday & Sunday, April 29-30, 2017

After staying up late the last four nights in a row to attend concerts and then getting up for work early the following mornings, it was finally time for me to sleep in on Saturday! I woke up around 9:00am (I really cannot recall the last time I slept in that late), packed my camping gear into the Jeep and started driving west to the San Rafael Swell where I would spend the rest of the day hiking in canyons and searching for rock art. It was very windy out all day, which is pretty typical of springtime weather on the Colorado Plateau, but a cold front had moved through the area and the temperature was pretty cool out, too. I could have done without the wind, but the temperature was perfect for hiking! Here are a few photos from the day…

Jones Hole to Whirlpool Canyon

Saturday & Sunday, April 22-23, 2017

I have wanted to hike into Jones Hole within Dinosaur National Monument for a long time but have always put it off since getting there is a little out of the way for me. I finally decided it was time to get up there and check it out, but instead of doing it as a day hike, I figured that I would do it as an easy overnight trip and camp along the Green River in Whirlpool Canyon. I really wish I hadn’t waited so long to visit Jones Hole because it was an amazing experience. This hike had it all- hiking through a beautiful lush green canyon along a clear and cold stream, Fremont pictographs, wildlife, a nice waterfall and an awesome campsite on a sandy beach under the shade of a cottonwood tree. What more could you ask for?

Lower Sevenmile Canyon

Moab Area Rock Art XXIV | Sunday, April 16, 2017

This year for Easter I decided to head towards Moab for a day hike. I usually try to avoid the Moab area during Easter Jeep Safari week, but I figured that most people would be on their way out of town today and I was planning on hiking somewhere that doesn’t see a lot of traffic anyway. My suspicions were confirmed as I was driving south from Crescent Junction shortly after sunrise and saw a line of vehicles leaving town. This morning I would be hiking down Lower Sevenmile Canyon and into Arches National Park where I could also explore part of Upper Courthouse Wash. I’ve wanted to explore this area for a while and was hoping I’d be able to find some rock art, too.

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Jones Canyon Overlook

Saturday, April 15, 2017

With all the traveling we’ve been doing lately, we decided to stay closer to home today and went on a moderate hike in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. We hadn’t been back out this way since our overnight trip into Knowles Canyon last October so it was nice to get back. We had never been out around Jones Canyon before and thought that hiking the Jones Canyon Overlook Trail would be a nice introduction to the area since I hope to do more exploring out this way later in the year.

Gold Butte National Monument Petroglyphs

Saturday, April 8, 2017

After work on Friday, Diane and I headed out of town again and drove through Utah right back into Nevada. It felt like we were just there recently? This time we would be staying in Mesquite for two nights so we could attend a concert in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Since the concert didn’t start until later in the evening and it was only an hour and a half drive to get there, we spent a few hours in the morning hiking within the newly created Gold Butte National Monument. This Monument was created at the same time as the Bears Ears National Monument back in December.

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Month: April 2017

Windy Weekend in The Swell

Jones Hole to Whirlpool Canyon

Lower Sevenmile Canyon

Jones Canyon Overlook

Gold Butte National Monument Petroglyphs