Day 27: Slickrock in Moab, Crested Butte, CO & the Milky Way

We were woken up to a Forest Service truck this morning around 8:15am. They were checking on the picnic areas and toilets. Andrew had wanted to get an earlier start this morning as he was going to ride a trail or two and wanted to beat the heat. We weren’t ready to wake up, but it was actually already too late. By the time we finished cleaning up after breakfast and on the road, it was already 10:20am. We drove up to Slickrock Trail in a state recreations area. Andrew got dressed, set up the GoPro and hit the trail as quickly as he could, but it was already very hot out! Since the Ellsworth is still immobile, I stayed with the truck and worked on typing up blog posts underneath a shaded picnic table. These little chipmunks surrounded me. They were entertaining to say the least.

Froggy style...

The mountain biking terrain

Andrew had a good ride. He was out for about 90minutes and came back looking fatigued and uncomfortable hot. We had a snack and loaded back up the car. Andrew did a quick rinse off with more wipes in the restroom - then we hit the road towards Crested Butte, CO. Yay...several hours in close quarters next to stinky Andrew! Unfortunately, we had to bypass Fruitta, UT on this trip. We just didn't have enough time and it was late afternoon by the time we drove through the town, so the heat would have been unbearable. Maybe next time.

Andrew and I had a nice, relaxing drive. We finally got some rain and with that, hail. It was sporadic and never lasted terribly long, but Andrew's truck was finally wiped of almost a months worth of dirt and grit. We drove over the last mountain before Crested Butte around 6:15pm. I was so excited as we drove through all the birch trees. I snapped a lot of pictures and admired their beauty.

We drove through Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte on our way to the 401 trail head area. It was getting dark so we focused on finding a place to camp for the night. Andrew wanted to get a feel for the area so he would know where to find the 401 trail in the morning. By the time we found a place to sleep for the night, it was already dark outside. We set up the light and put our head lamps on so we could function. Andrew focused on the fire, once more and I worked on chopping up the chicken and vegetables for dinner. Soon, I found myself searching the grounds for a place to drop trowel to pee. I happened to look up and sure enough there were a million stars in the sky and I could see the Milky Way. We had not noticed how bright the sky shone because the fire was altering our vision. I called Andrew over and showed him what I had discovered. Once the fire died down, I pulled out my camera and attempted to capture the beauty in the sky. I was actually quite impressed with the photos but they still look nothing like what my eyes could see. The photos of the Milky Way didn't quite turn out.

Heat lightning off in the distance - or the glow of the city