More culture

Furthering our cultural expansion, we visited Bandelier National Monument where the native americans lived like the sand people from Star Wars.  Some weather entered the area and we caught one of the first snows of the year.  Some interesting cloud formations resulted...

Dose of Culture

Stopped by Chaco Canyon for a bit of ancient culture and some artsy photos. We didn't learn much since no one really knows why the American Indians largely as a group abandoned their homes in AD 1300. Forclosures due to ancient predatory lending, shifty loan packaging and fraudulent high grade bond ratings by insurers perhaps?

Random miscellany

On the way out of Moab we visited the Fisher Towers made famous by many Westerns and Wile E. Coyote then travelled through a big storm rolling through the area. In Colorado the leaves are starting to turn as it gets below freezing at night.

Moab area

After Lake Powell we drove up to Moab to partake in its various activities. Mountain biking, hiking and rafting primarily. On one particularly difficult trail, one vehicle in a group of 4x4's got a little too off-center on a steep sideways slope and rolled over a few times. If it hadn't been for a couple large boulders in the way, the truck would have rolled over the nearby 500ft cliff. Fortunately the 2 people inside had only minor injuries. Another truck had an axle realignment job on a section called "The Wedge". On a lighter note, we enjoyed the world famous Slickrock trail and other precarious goat trails on our bargain mountain bikes obtained from Craigslist.

Lake Powell

One of the best ways to see Lake Powell is by kayak due to its many narrow twisted slot canyons. We took a 5 day trip to explore a few. Not many houseboats on the water when gas is $5 a gallon and it takes 4-6 gallons to go one mile. Our base camp is in the 3rd picture if you look really close.

Antelope Canyon

Near Page AZ there are the infamous Antelope Canyon slots. Most people have seen pictures of these in coffee table books. It's also in every German grade school text book because you couldn't swing a dead cat without hearing a 'Ya' somewhere. They're nice people and they're helping the local economy but could at least one female buck the trend and keep her hair long? Judi Dench must have a cult following there.

Slot Canyons and critters

We're on the road again. Hitting places we missed on our previous southwest US trip. First we went to the north rim of Grand Canyon then on the way to Page, AZ we checked out the wacky Buckskin Gulch. A serious flash flood had taken the lives of 4 people just a week before but with no clouds in sight it appeared safe. A few critters showed up in the area as well.