Coming down like crazy in Cedar City as I write!

Vacation is coming to an end: it’s been a good one, and is not yet over. Once back home in the land of USB cords I’ll have something more eloquent and visual. Right now, I’m pretty tired overall.

Monday I did some work in Moab and chatted with Josh T in the Love Muffin for a bit (the cool kids hangout it would seem). Drove up to 9.5k on Geyser Pass road and got in some mellow turns in the trees on 2″ of dust over crust. Very nice, though the new (to me) boots need a few tweaks and some serious getting used to. My soft boot, p-turn on pins style this winter has evolved into serious backseat skiing, and the Supercomps will not let you get back, at all.

Tuesday I started the backpack, realized I hate solo backpacking (why don’t I remember these things?!) and turned it into a long dayhike. I’ll go back for it, with more days and more people along. Drove to North Wash and had a nice evening reading around a campfire.

Wednesday did some canyoneering, actually put a hole in the Cold Cold World (full ballistics nylon), some scenic driving, and hiking and photographing in Bryce. Made dinner in the cold wind, and fled inside and hid in plain sight, dirtbag style, reading by the fireplace in the lodge. It got down near the teens that night, I know as I woke up shivering at 0400 and had to dig out the light quilt and stick it inside my sleeping bag to go back to sleep.

Yesterday started early on Cassidy, had loads of fun on a gorgeous morning, finding dense styro-snow that was often rideable uphill. Until about 1000 when the sun started to coaxe moisture out of the ground and I feld to gravel roads before things got nastier. Rode Goose in the afternoon, finally riding in just shorts and jersey. Hung out with Mr. Nice at his new home, enjoyed a much warmer night.

Today was a slow morning and a nice ride on Guacamole, until rain chased me away. Not fast enough, as the drive down the road was full-on clay mud slipping, sliding, countersteering, 4-low, 1st gear white knuckle nightmarishly terrifying. The Xterra is overkill and silly, until it isn’t, in which case it’s quite the miracle machine. Now I’m in the coffee shop, trying to not yell at my neighbors about their misguided statistics on the American social services system, and doing some more work.

I’ve actually done a lot of work on vacation.

Overall relishing the paradigm shift in my recreational proclivities and desires has been fun, if a little unsettling. But that is how good things feel when they’re happening.

Home on Sunday.