We took Topo on her first road trip. Stop #1: Prescott, AZ where we enjoyed Prescott Brewing Company, camped and hiked at White Spar Campground. Stop #2: Sedona, AZ where we met Scott's mom and my parents. We hiked the gorgeous red rocks and took a day trip to an old copper mining town, Jerome. Stop #3: Flagstaff, AZ, where we enjoyed a local brewing company. Everyone had a great time, including the little one.
Topo took her first official jeep ride and it was a success! We spent a Sunday afternoon traveling through the Muddy Mountains, just West of Valley of Fire State Park. Patches showed Topo how to lead the way for the jeep, sniff bushes, swim, and scale rock formations. The dogs had just as much fun as the humans.
We took advantage of the three day weekend by spending a day hiking to another hot springs along the Colorado River. Along the way, there were remnants of cars that had fallen off the roadway above. We also brought Patches this time. Although the hike had a few rope sections, where we handed Patches off to each other, she did fantastic.
With a day off for the MLK holiday, we chose not to rest, but to hike some more. We trekked up snowed covered trails to Gass Peak, the peak that overlooks the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley. With new tires, Scott's jeep got us to the trailhead quickly. Patches led the rest of the way, for over 6 miles and 2,000 feet in elevation gain. The views from the summit were spectacular. With a pair of binoculars, you could nearly see our house.
We took the eastern route on the way up and the western route on the return.
Just south of the Hoover Dam there are quite a few hot springs. Winter is a great time to hike the area around Lake Mead. Along the way we saw Big Horn Sheep and get this....a bald eagle (Sara's first ever)!!! The springs were around 105ºF. We brought bathing suits and climbed right in...along with a few other people. On the way home, we stopped at Boulder City Brewery and enjoyed some local beer.
The plan was to go down to Wilson's Tank and then over to 99 Mile Cabin. That was until the truck battery jumped out of it's tray, landed on the master brake cylinder, arced the lines blowing out the primary brake line and starting a small fire. Don't worry, the truck will be okay, eventually :) ....and we did make it back home, just never quite to the cabin. Despite the unfortunate end to the day, we saw some beautiful scenery along the way, including amazing views of the Las Vegas Valley.
The blue wheel is where Scott's truck spent the night. You can see how close we were to our destination, 99 mine.
People talk about Times Square being cold for New Years. Well, we topped that by ringing in the New Year in Sand Hollow, UT, surviving 20° nights in the Skamper. Scott, Duane, Marcia and I rode Side by Sides around the beautiful, red dunes on New Years Day. Scott and I then headed over to Zion Canyon to see the dusting of the snow on the canyon walls. Happy New Year everyone!
The ride we took at the dunes...where both Arctic Cats happened to get stuck in the sand.
Base Camp. A brisk high of 45° and lows in the teens.
Most times of the year people can't drive their own cars up and down Zion Canyon, but this was the first time either of us were able to drive the canyon ourselves. We stopped at Weeping Rock, which 'tears' were frozen icicles. Before heading home, we stopped at Zion lodge to enjoy some good beer.
Zion Canyon, Utah
Snow in the Canyon.
If you ever want to go to a fun, small (and I mean small) town, you MUST go to Oatman, AZ. We drove down to Oatman by way of Christmas Tree Pass, where we took a slight detour to the "Graves" site. Here, we got to check out an old homestead and Patches found some Gambels Quail. Unbeknownst to us, she ate one her catch of in the backseat of the truck. Oatman has quaint shops, burros you can feed, and a great bar, wallpapered in dollar bills from the old mining days.
Christmas Tree Pass (northwest of Laughlin, Nevada)
Christmas Junipers along the way.
Thanksgiving was a great opportunity for Scott to meet my parents. We spent four days in Las Cruces, New Mexico, enjoying the rare, cloudy weather. The clouds hovered over the Organ Mountains, which is where we did two great hikes. What we didn't expect to see was the array of fall colors; all across the city, trees were turning. We also explored downtown Las Cruces, where we bought some authentic Hatch chilis at their farmer's market
Our Thanksgiving Day hike in Aguirre Springs.
Day two hike in Soledad Canyon.
The Fam :)
We, along with Scott's mom, took a day trip to the ghost town of Ryholite, Nevada, just outside of Beatty (where you can get the best chili and cold beer). The ghost town has been revitalized with some unique art.
Rhyolite, Nevada
Our first trip together was for the 4th of July to Brian Head, Utah. We watched fireworks over the lake and rode the Bombadier around the area. I even drove it, not realizing it didn't have power steering...fortunately I recovered quickly and we didn't end up in a ditch. We camped with Duane (and his massive motorhome). We then drove north to Marysvale, UT where we took the jeeps up to the Radio Tower, over 11,000 ft.
Our jeep ride up to the Radio Tower in Marysvale, UT
We spent the 4th of July watching fireworks in Brianhead, UT surrounded by great people, including Duane. We rode quads and relished in the cooler weather (including hail!). From there we headed off to Marysvale, where we took the jeeps up a great trail will a beautiful view of the area. It was Sara's first time on a quad and first time in a jeep.
