Moab: Midlife Crisis Tour!

All of us on Porcupine Rim. Castle Valley behind us.

Last weekend I was able to go to Moab, UT with some friends I grew up with (Thank you Jess, Tammie, Michelle, Suzanne, Brandi and Kathy!). It was Such a great time. Not just the riding, but the time with them.

Tyson looking out over Slickrock.

We left home Thursday morning; Rusty from Mt. Home, Tyson from Houston, Kevin from Fredonia, and Kyle (he flew in from Eugene Wednesday), Dave & I from Idaho Falls. We met up in Provo and headed for Moab. The first, and only, time I had been to there was 8 1/2 years ago. This was the last time we all went down there. Tyson and Rusty have been there several times, but not the rest of us.

Rusty on the Slickrock Practice Loop (Can you see him?).

Kyle climbing slickrock...tires just grab on to it like no other!

Kevin on Porcupine (he was fearless on the full suspension!)

We were all quite a bit out of shape. When we got there Thursday night we wanted to get a quick ride of the Slickrock practice loop in just for a warm-up. That really opened our eyes as to just how out of shape we were! We hurt a lot! That ride is only 2 miles, and we still had 14 miles for Friday and about 10 slated for Saturday!

Me, Kevin and Tyson on the edge of Porcupine Rim, looking at Castle Valley below.

We rode Porcupine Rim Friday. It was an adventure getting to the trail head (we missed it, but that took off 3 miles of rough climbing. I really liked most of Porcupine Rim. Fast, technical, and great views of Castle Valley. It was really cool riding along the rim of a 2000+ foot drop! There were some really fast stretches and some really technical areas that were fun negotiating. The last 2 miles however were very difficult and I ended up walking the bulk of that.

Kevin after another jump on Porcupine.

After finishing Porcupine, Kevin realized that the keys to his car (the only one at the bottom) were in Rusty's van (at the trail head). We ended up hitching rides back to the trail head in order to get enough drivers to recover the cars and get us back to town. It was an adventure that will not soon be forgotten.

Tyson on Sovereign Single Track

Saturday, we rode Sovereign Single Track. It was very technical, but not as difficult as some of the stuff on Porcupine. After we got out on the trail a way, we noticed the storm clouds rolling in (the weather report called for thunder storms) and made the decision that we needed to find our way back to the parking lot and off the plateau! The return route was not the best way as there were a lot of sand traps, but we were not familiar with the trail and did not want to get struck. We did get a few drops, but nothing major. Definitely a trail to ride again!

After our first trip to Moab, we all thought that we would make it an annual trip together. However shortly after that first trip (14 days for Tyson!), we all got married, and it became more difficult to make the time to go. An annual trip is not realistic at this point, as well as all of us going, but I surly hope that it is not another 8 years before I can make it to Moab for riding again.

Yes...this is me...don't laugh too hard!

Moments of our children

Our kids are so funny. This morning, Creedance was upset because Topher was sitting on the heat vent by the table, she didn't realize that there was more than one that she could sit on and be warm. So she went and sat on one for a few minutes, I thought that the morning light coming through the patio door created great leading lines to her tiny body sitting in the corner of the large space (not to say that our living room is a large space, but to our little girl, it is HUGE).

She just sat there for probably 5 minutes before she realized I was photographing her. She looked up once and smiled and then just kept sitting there doing her own thing; looking at her hands in the lights and shadows, playing with the door hinge, admiring her new Easter pajamas, just being a child.

Today was haircut day for the boys. Topher wanted a shaved head for summer, and as a tribute to Kyle, we started off with the horse-shoe. What a great sport. I think I will bic his head for Church tomorrow!

TJ has been improving with his balance and agility. Dance class and gymnastics have been a big part of that. He also just started seeing a new physical therapist. This guy has experience with pediatric amputees, and has been a big help and has given great advice. It is still funny to see how people react when his foot falls off, or when we are swimming and they can't figure out if his leg is broken and it's a cast...or what it is. They are curious, but don't want to seem rude and ask...for our family: Ask, we are not bothered by his foot, we are not afraid of it, we try to make it fun, and just normal life.

TJ's friend, Ted is also in the dance class...he likes to do his own thing a lot of the time. The beat of a different drummer!

Finishing the unfinished basement

So we have started to make a bathroom in our basement. It was roughed in (mostly) for a bathroom, we just had to make it so we could hook the sink, tub and toilet to it, now we are building the walls and running electricity to it. While we were at it (and with lumber so cheep) we figured that we would build the remaining walls too (add a little hallway) and wire the two bedrooms for light and power. We will finish them eventually too. I would like to have the rest of the basement all done within a year or so, but we will see how the cash flow looks for that.

Jess gave me a budget of $600 for the bathroom, which wasn't too bad. We have nearly met that amount and only have the bathroom roughed in, but have the bulk of the things purchased (the only larger item we have left is the toilet now). However I am trying to convince her that we need to heat the tile floor of the bathroom as it will be tile, and such a small space would be (relatively) cheep to add the heating element before the tile ($260 with a programmable thermostat!) She has yet to budge as we will not be the ones using the bathroom in the mornings, just the kids...how mean. Ha Ha!

The kids have had a fun time "helping" me work on the walls and everything. They pick up a hammer and bang on the stud walls and act like they are working hard, then ride scooters around and around the basement. Jess even made a little ramp so they could go through one of the walls.

The first wall I built was a bit tight (only a 1/2 inch!), and I really had to beat it to get it upright and plumb...what a royal pain!

It is moving along really swiftly and I hope to have it nearly done (the bathroom anyway) before I go to Moab (hopefully I can go) near the end of April. I really want to have it done before July, and I mean the bathroom completely done and maybe one of the bedrooms.

Very small bathroom, yes, but it does have it's own linen closet.

I like this little hallway we added, it is actually a bit wider than normal, and also gives us a great place to mount a flat screen TV and creates a place to the side to have a cabinet for DVD, surround sound, satellite...whatever some FUTURE owner may want to have their TV hooked up to. We are too cheep to have any of that fancy stuff, our flat screen tube TV and digital antenna is just fine, I am thinking RESALE.

Here's the wide-ish hallway, room for the kids to stash a few toys and not be in the way (too much).