Lizard, Snake and Wet Feet, Oh My

My campsite at Sandy Flat has been amazing, but like anything else, positives and negatives are part of life.  It’s been really hot with temperatures around 90 (and warmer in the Brew Hut) until about 7 p.m when it finally starts to cool down. Last night, it only cooled to 74, which was comfortable sleeping weather with just a sheet, but warmer than I’ve experienced for most of this trip.

Hiking is not ideal at Sandy Flats.  While there are many trails for bikes and atv’s hiking consisted of jumping up on the rock and following it to see where it goes.  Today, I stopped in at the Forest Service and Park’s information Center and asked for dog-friendly hikes.  The gentlemen immediately gave me a brochure with several choices but recommended Grandstaff Trailhead for today’s hot weather, based upon the gentle ascent through the canyon and the ample supply of water for Elvis in the creek at the bottom of the canyon.  That was a great recommendation.

Elvis and I hiked about 6.5 miles round trip.  We aren’t sure if we made it to the end because the trail just seemed to vanish in an area of hard flat rock, but we got lost a few times so we figure we made up for the lost mileage if we didn’t make it to the conclusion.
 

The title photo for the hike shows one of the dozen of lizards that we saw crossing the trail.  Elvis was curious about the first couple, but then lost interest.
The snake caught my attention. It didn’t have any rattles.  There were several people around who had checked their guidebooks and couldn’t identify it.  I just knew it was big.

Most of the the hike consisted of crossing the stream dozens of times, which gave Elvis lots of opportunities to drink and cool off.  I kept my feet dry for the trip out, but managed to give myself wet feet on the way back. By noon, the temperatures were hot enough that I didn’t really care about wet feet.  Lots of dogs were off-leashed, some well-behaved, some not.  Elvis received one nip and one pretty good bite on the shoulder from a pit bull.  It didn’t break the skin, but I could see the slobbery indentation.   The owners seemed embarrassed, but not enough to put their dog on a leash.

We are going to lay low this afternoon with cold drinks and do some research about where to go tomorrow. Probably south or west.

Moab–Sandy Flats Recreation Area

When I arrived in the Moab, Utah area, I tried several recommended campgrounds, which turned out to be fully occupied by 1:30 p.m. Moab is a very busy area. Continued efforts paid off though when I scored a really nice campsite in Campground A of the Sand Flats Recreation Area.

The site has views of red rock for 360 degrees. Between campground A and B, there is the world-famous Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail. There is some road noise, but not terrible and it quiets down at night. I have full solar throughout the day, and I finally figured out the art of setting up the Brew Hut so that I get maximum shade in the afternoon when temperatures reach the high 80’s (and 90 in the Brew Hut). With the low humidity, high 80’s is actually very comfortable in the shade, reading a book and drinking a beer.

This campground was also nearly full by dusk. The one empty spot was across from my site. Several rigs passed it by because the site was very small, and the pavement drops off on one side. I’ve told my kids a thousand times that nothing ever good happens in the early morning hours. And that was certainly true last night.

A threesome of twenty somethings arrived at 3 a.m. last night in a small car and figured that spot was just the right size. Unfortunately, they failed to see that the pavement dropped off on one side, and the car fell off into the deep sand. I saw their brake lights flashing for about 30 minutes, and heard the tires spinning. They were still sleeping when I snuck this photo.

They finally woke up an hour later when Elvis and I were hiking high above their campsite on the slick rock. The “amazed that this happened to them” group went from campsite to campsite, looking for help. Ironically, no one who was awakened  at 3 am. was sympathetic. They did find some further-away campers with off-road vehicles and then a big truck with a tow strap to pull them out. The young adults paid for multiple nights, so while they’ve left for the day to go sightseeing, they will be back tonight.

I’ve paid for 3 nights here ($15/night), which includes an outhouse with no door, no hookups, no water, and garbage.

Still the views have been priceless.  I love walking in the pre-dawn  until the sun is up when it’s still cool, and the air is so clean.