ice cold nerves and deep warm curves

Back.

The quick roundy round through some Western States finds us washed up and gritty and once again shrouded in fog. It was a fine time seeing old friends: family go-cart racing, trolling sandy reservoirs, hassling the locals, exploring Anasazi kivas and granaries in secret locations, riding bicycles, lolling about on white-water rafts, and generally kicking ass.


Secret remote location:

It is a hike from the end of a 4WD. See the ruins...

and get in them.

Ancient support timbers still in place. In several spots you could see the finger streaks in the ancient mortar. Wherever you looked in this canyon, there were little and ancient granaries tucked away in the hollows. The spring at the head of the canyon was very large and sheltered. It's clear why this place was settled.

We organized some of the ancient pottery shards we came across, and we left them all in place! This stuff is roughly 700 years old. The boys don't appreciate how rare and wonderful this adventure was. Hopefully it will still be there for them to drag their own tired, hot and bored children through. I'm doing my part by not telling.

Secret, secret.

This ancient granary was only accessible via a somewhat/slightly technical climb, and still had the capstone in place!!

Unfortunately, the 700 year old shaman mummy used some heavy hoodoo to turn his ancient bones and magical weapons invisible so we couldn't, you know, loot and stuff. It contained some tiny ancient corn cobs and some not-so ancient pack rat nests.

We replaced the capstone and were very careful with the whole investigation. RESPECT.







After the route and timing switcheroos and the drama and the dropping outs and the...

It was time to ride from Telluride to Durango the dumb way. Nearly all dirt. (Team 1/2 in the bag at altitude totally blew it from Illium to Lizard Head. Totally.) The route has changed significantly since we lived and rode there, and of course there were multiple wrong turns and let's see if we can get through on that trails. Compatible riding styles/preferences/levels of expertise enabled us to smile all the while. 22 beers packed in and on the NeckRomancer bikecamping rig helped as well. 2 days of alpinity and a camp fired night along the Colorado Trail beneath the Full Moon later we arrived at Trimble Hot Springs to be greeted by local Church of the Sweet Ride muckitty mucks.

Goodness. You would have been fine and better than fine.







From the high country back down to the high desert, it was time for the celebration of R__'s 50th...

     Happy Life, Brother. Thanks for the Good Times. Westwater at 3200cfs. Wind gusting to 45mph on Day 1. Canyon walls and whitewater on Day 2. Good crew.

It could be worse.