myXJ.net Archive

Salt Creek Canyon (Moab, UT) Salt Creek Canyon is a short trail in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. It used to be a much longer trail that you could take to see Angel Arch, however in July 2004 the National Park Service closed much of the trail to

Pole Canyon Rim (Moab, UT) Pole Canyon Rim consists of a network of two-tracks just to the Northwest of the Top of the World trail. It is not a popular trail and is a great place to get away from the crowds. Much of the trail is easy, but there

While I was in Moab over the weekend, I stopped at Back of Beyond books (as I usually do when I am there) and I found this book that was on my 'want list' Arches of the Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowits Plateau by Jens Munthe

Just a few HDR photos I took yesterday while at Delicate Arch.

I decided to take my bike out for a short ride on the Gunnison Bluffs trail that is only a few miles from home. Amanda and I hiked part of this trail last spring, so I knew it would be relative mild to test out my bike off-road. Start of

Amanda under Delicate Arch Having been to Arches National Park a number of times, it was strange that we had never made it over to the most famous arch located there; Delicate Arch. We set out this morning to make the hike to Delicate Arch. Here's a few photos from

I have wanted one of these for a long time, and there is currently a great deal going on where you can get a free SPOT messenger if you purchase one year of service (which you would need anyways). Click here for the deal! I ordered mine today and it's

Made a purchase from Amazon last week and in order to get free shipping, I had to add another item to my order. That's always a great time to add a book from my wishlist 🙂 This time I picked up Ancient Ruins of the Southwest by David Grant Noble.

Yesterday Amanda and I headed over the mountains to Denver to pick up a few parts for my Jeep. I got a good deal on them, so even though it costs me $60 in diesel, they were still worth the trip. We also got to eat at Friday's while we

Here's a little something for both my Jeep and my bike! I have been planning on getting a rack for my bike that will work with the spare tire carrier on my Jeep (so I can go exploring on my Jeep and bike in the same trip). I know my

Having neglected my Jeep for the past year because of a lack of a garage, it is time for me to get started fixing a few things before my exploring season really starts to pick up. I washed my Jeep today and pulled it into the new garage...where it will

After adding the new accessories to my bike, I headed out for a ride on the Colorado River Trail. It was a nice sunny day and the temperature was somewhere above 50 degrees. Here's a few pictures... Stopped near the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad bridge Unpaved portion of

The rest of my birthday presents showed up, along with a few items I also ordered for myself... Overall shot taken today....added the Sette quick release fenders, water bottle holders and the small pack up by the handlebars (great for holding my camera). I also added a mount for my

I ordered some books from Amazon a little bit back, and they finally showed up today. I should be set for reading now for a little while 😉 Canyonlands National Park: Early History and First Descriptions by F.A. Barnes The Dominguez Escalante Journal: Their Expedition Through Colorado Utah Arizona and

While we were in Moab on Monday I couldn't resist stopping and picking up a couple of new books 😉 This time I grabbed Outlaw Tales of Utah by Michael Rutter ...and also The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell

Just a few HDR photos I took yesterday while geocaching.

Since Amanda and I both had the day off from work, we headed off to do some geocaching around Moab. After finding a few caches on our way there, we had a late lunch at the Moab Brewery and stopped at a bookstore before heading home. Of course, we stopped

Eagle Rim Park

Took my bike for a short trip to Eagle Rim Park today in order to test out my new bike computer, which seems to be working well.

As some of you may have known, my birthday was last Wednesday. Amanda got me a few new accessories for my bike, and I got around to installing them today. Seat pack Bike computer (speed/odometer/temperature/etc) Overall picture Amanda also got me a tire patch kit that is in the seat

While we were at Black Canyon National Park yesterday, I picked up this book by Mark Pearson that I have wanted for a while. It describes a number of hikes and a few floats through some of Western Colorado's wild areas on BLM lands.

Today, Amanda and I headed over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. While most of the roads weren't open this time of the year, we did a little hiking around the South Rim. Gunnison Point Overlook Unfortunately, it was closed, too... If you look closely, you can

Just got the call from the Mesa County Sheriff's office that my Concealed Carry Permit is ready to be picked up. It took longer than I had hoped since I applied for it on November 25, 2008. Now I have to get the address changed on my permit when I

It's been almost a full year, but I finally have a garage again! When my dad came by this last weekend, he also brought some of my bigger tools that I had to leave back in Illinois when I left last March. He also helped me wire a couple of

Just some misc. moving photos from the last five days... Moab & Tellico on our stack of stuff to move Our new washer and dryer Our small pile left at the duplex with our cats Moab in an empty room ...now with Tellico

When I took my dad and sister to the Colorado National Monument yesterday, they wanted to stop at the visitor's center to look around. While I was there, I was tempted to buy some new books and ended up picking up two new ones... Grand Mesa Country: Stories from Mesa

Not much left here....just a bed and a few other items. It's pretty empty. Starting tomorrow we will finally move into our new house and have everything over there. There haven't been a lot of updates this last week because I have been busy, but I did take a bunch

Amanda and I spent all day today moving a bunch of stuff to the new house. We also brought over our cats so they could start getting used to their new home. Even though they spent most of the day hiding in a closet, they did manage to get out

Got my 92 XJ moved over to the new house today, and was finally able to get it off my trailer. I have a bunch of work that needs to be done on my 2000 XJ first, so my old Jeep is going to have to sit outside behind the

Got my first prime lens for my Canon Rebel XSi today. I decided to try out the EF 50mm since it is supposed to be a very good lens, and it also happens to be one of Canon's cheapest lenses. Now to start saving up for a nice wide angle

We took possession of the house this evening. Now it's time to start moving all our stuff over there. Here's a few pictures that I snapped while it is still empty.

Took my new bike for it's first real ride today. I started out from my house and went to Eagle Rim Park where I crossed the river and jumped on the Colorado River Trail and looped around back home. Here's a few pics from my resting spot along the trail

When I woke up this morning, I was a little disapointed with the weather outside. It was raining and foggy. I wasn't sure if I'd get a chance to test out my new 29er today. Luckily, after lunchtime the skies did end up clearing for a little bit, so I

I got my new Motobecane 29er assembled this afternoon when I got home from running all of my errands today. I just need to put some more air into the tires and fork and then hopefully I can take it out for a test drive this weekend 🙂 I only

We closed on our house today. Unfortunately, we don't take possession until Monday. I'll be posting more pictures after we take possession 🙂

It showed up today 🙂 I can't wait to get out and ride it. Hoping to have some time to assemble it tomorrow after closing on our house 🙂 Here's how it showed up... I love the color 😀

While we are at the Lucky Strike Mines (labeled as the Parco Mines on the topographic maps) on Saturday, I came across this bright yellow truck cab that really stuck out to me.....so I thought I'd take some HDR photos of it. Enjoy 🙂

On Saturday I headed out and met up with Derek and his friend Jay in a TJ at Crescent Junction. Our destination was the Yellow Cat area north of Arches National Park to explore some old Uranium mines. This is an area I have wanted to explore for a while,

Went and explored the Yellow Cat area today. Here's a couple of preview pictures until I am able to writeup the full trip report...

I have been saving up for a little while, and I have finally ordered something that I have wanted for a long while.....a mountain bike 🙂 I ended up ordering a Motobecane Fantom 29 Pro. After trying out a few bikes locally, I felt that a 29er fit me the