Couple More Days After That

 On Saturday took Kobae and Jax for an hour or two walk and Sunday I'm still tired from the drive and it was an early game for the Socker's so we headed off there.

In the day Milwaukee was one of the premier teams in the indoor league and I have had lots of friends on the team. Their previous coach is now the commish of the league. They were well coached and deep in talent. Things change. San Diego is incredibly strong.

Some More Days

Jax and I swung by Jackass Joe's a little stop on I-70 where you turn off for Moab. 

On Friday night the San Diego Sockers played Kansas City which in the day was a good rivalry. Not so much now. The entertaining part of the night was the Kansas City moving down to the front row and standing up with his son blocking the vision of some of the San Diego crowd. Some went up and sat in his seats when he did it. Others gave them grief to get out of the way where he announced he was the owner of the Kansas City team. He seemed surprised that the San Diego fans didn't think that gave him the right to stand in front of them and block their view. I was on the other side of the arena and watched the entertainment for a little while and then went back to the game so don't know how it turned out.

A Couple Days

 On Nate's last day I took him to town and dropped off to kayak back which takes about four hours usually. As we're driving into town just before I dropped him off the weather forecast on the radio said a storm was moving in that night. It got here early and once he turned the corner from the Pot Ash boat ramp the wind hit him and it was a battle going to the last mile.

I get to the lodge coming back from town and I saw a Jeep leaving the property that I passed. When I get to the lodge Collin says "You know what just happened? When you called to say you were coming down Hurrah I walked over the hill to show some people a trail. When I came back a couple minutes later there was a Jeep at the lodge but I didn't see anybody. I walked in the kitchen and heard noises. When I got to the living room I could hear someone having sex in the bathroom. I told them I could hear them in there. The guy responded they were using the bathroom. I ask them "At the same time?" The door opened and the girl ran out to the Jeep. The guy came out a couple minutes later and said thanks for letting us use your bathroom and then they drove off."

Right then the main house drove up. While we're talking one of the ladies said "Can I use your bathroom and I naturally answered yes but when she walked through the front door I realized there might be an issue in the bathroom so I said "Wait". Checked it and no issues.

The next day the first real snow we got this year was mostly melted by noon and Jax and I hiked around the property.

The next night we got a good snow but even that one was mostly melted by noon so I loaded up Jax and we headed off to get Kobae in San Diego.

Dripping Springs and The Petroglyph, Day Three

 Friday we have eight check ins meaning everything rents so I hang to see if Collin needs help but turns out he had it under control. On Saturday I ask Nate if he want to go with Jax and I and he does. He's gonna take a couple creek beds I haven't gotten to yet and I remember what color the rock was the petroglyph was on so I'm going to visit all the dead end canyons and random rock formations that are the right color.

Shadows are growing long and it's our third day. It's getting depressing and I'm out of ideas. Out of all the springs that are back there we hiked back to the best one and nothing in there either.

Maybe they don't know what Dripping Springs area really is. Next time I'm in town I'm going to Moab Tour Company and see if I can find them and take a map so they can show me where they found it and if they saw the petroglyph.

Dripping Springs and the Petroglyphn, Day Two

 As Jax and I were leaving Wednesday evening we passed a vehicle with a guy and two dogs head that way and when we arrive Thursday to continue the hunt we find them camped by the old cowboy camp half a mile behind the Wind Caves. I tell the guy what I'm doing and he says "Lot of people drive down the creek bed now." I hadn't even thought of that. Maybe he got stuck in one of multiple creek beds that come out of Dripping Springs so Jax and I head out to explore all the creek beds coming out of Dripping Springs.

Another day and we're finding nothing. Lots of nothing though is what makes finding an arrowhead after all these years though unbelievably special

Dripping Springs and the Petroglyph, Day One

 A summer or two ago Moab Tour Company, couple of their people showed up and said one of their customers got stuck, high centered or crashed one of their side by side. He wasn't coherent and walked out to the road and caught a ride with somebody to town. Told them he didn't know where the side by side was but here's a picture of a petroglyph that was close by. They show it to me and ask where it is. I don't know. I've never seen that one before. They describe all the places they've been and really all that's left is Dripping Springs but despite all the springs back there I've never seen any sign of Indian stuff. A few days later they come out to get another vehicle that's out here having an issue, they have like 100 of the, and say they found the missing one in Dripping Springs.

I know all the hard places on that trail so I'll go to each of them and then do a grid search around the places he might have crashed or got high centered. We spent all of Wednesday there with no luck.

We're spreading out the search as we got nothing by the road. Then a brutal cold wind comes up and we're gone and headed back for the day.

All Caught Up

 After his post I'm all caught up finally with Jax and I taking a couple days off. Sort of. I still have one Jackson Hole post to do but it's a lot of work so I've been holding off on it.

Finally I found an arrowhead and a little bit of pottery that goes with it. Many years ago I visited a granary that still had some petrified corn on the cob in it. Over the years each time I've visited there was less petrified corn on the cob. Fortunately I took a picture the first time of what it was like if I can only find it in the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years. Each time I'd visit I'd search trying to find out where they lived but I never had any luck. I did find a couple places where there was a type of rock that shouldn't be there and so a week or two ago when Jax and I were out exploring we returned to the place with the granary to see if there was any corn left. On the way back I had already passed the spot where I previously found rock that shouldn't be there but decided to go back and see if the random rocks were still there. They were and a few more had worked their way up from the soil. As I was about to put my left foot down and take a step I saw a bit of a point sticking out. Reached down and found these. I've found lots of pottery, scrapers, spear heads, petroglyphs, pictographs, and even petrified corn on the cob and lots of arrowhead flakes but never an arrowhead. I took some guests out to Skinny People one time, a hike I've done hundreds of time and a guest found an arrowhead but not me, nope, nothing. Got one this time and I think it's the best one I've ever seen.

Last week when Jax and I went over to visit the neighbor across the river I lost my smart phone. Never lost a phone before for more than a few hours and actually I don't think I lost this one either. Someday, probably ten years from now. Linny will be cleaning her Jeep and she'll say "I found Tom's phone." After all the years of having a dumb phone that worked one hundred times better, actually I could just say worked and it would be way ahead of the smart phone. I hated that smart phone though I now have the same phone over again and I harbor it no ill will since it's no better or worse than the one I lost. The one I lost though I hated that phone because it is the crappy alternative to a phone that worked for 15 years almost everywhere. It's still probably somewhere in the deep recesses of the Jeep but I prefer to think that I did lose it and it's out there in the wilderness with the battery slowly dying, hot by day, cold by night, and suffering mightily. That is my hope.

Collin has really found himself. He's got the place under control. I'm still doing the administrative part but he's running the show each day and night. I'm glad the deal on the hill hasn't happened yet because I still find something almost every day that I haven't told Collin about yet. There's 15 years of experience inside my head and I didn't write it down, except maybe the blog so things are still coming up in daily activities.

Unfortunately on the other hand Nate is moving back up to Salt Lake so that's a tough loss. Collin thinks he has somebody coming in to replace him but he's on his own until that happens. I'll fill in blanks if he needs me to but probably best he gets an idea of what's coming. We're full this weekend and then a couple weeks of half full. Disc golf tourney is 2nd weekend of March and then we're mostly full all the way to Memorial Day so far.

Beach is huge.

The motor home I took the disc golfers back to.

That's it. I'm caught up. Jax is stretching. Time to go exploring again.

Here and There and Somewhere Else

Jax and I visited the neighbor across the river last week. Stopped by the campground I nearly drowned at ten or so years ago. Water was still and a small pond versus being part of the river. 

Then we went by the Potash Boat Ramp to see if we could get service with the new walkie talkies. We can't.

Pulled into the former Caveman Ranch, forgot to ask what they call it now. Guy yelled at me to get out and I said "I'm your neighbor. Agent said you wanted to be a good neighbor and you were gonna come see me, you didn't." He said "She didn't tell me. Come on in." We talked for an hour or so. James Maybe. Seems like a nice guy. Ask what he was gonna do with it and he said "Don't know. Had a couple meetings but haven't agreed on anything. Not really my call." They put solar in the building and an osmosis system that collected water from the river but didn't work very well. He said he'd email me so I had a way to contact him. That was about it. Didn't really learn anything except they're not in a hurry.

Jax and I are taking short hikes around the property. Our feet need a break and we're both sore. Went to town today and saw a hiker coming down the pass with walking sticks. I said "Hayduke or Discovery?" He said "Hayduke. Trail name Toothpick." I sent him to the lodge to water up before his 48 miles down Lockhart Basin to Needles Outpost but he said they were closed for the winter but he would stock up.

Couple minutes later we run into two couples and a dog walking down Hurrah. Said they're on the way to play Disc Golf but their motor home wouldn't make it up Hurrah so they hiked it. I told them I'd hurry up in town and try and get back in time to give them a ride back.

I met a friend at the post office I hadn't seen in a long time. She was sort of glowing. Said she had an attack of some sort. Her intestines, nine feet of them as I recall or something like that, got all knotted up and twisted around each other and she died. She crossed over. She said she was welcomed by her family who were waiting for her and they had a brief very happy reunion. She said it was so amazing. Then a voice told her "Not yet. They'll have to wait." She woke up in the Moab Regional Hospital. The bill was hundred plus thousand while she was in there. She hadn't got insurance and now is in a tough position. Still she wakes up every day with a big smile happy to be alive. That's about all I can say of what she told me but my word the glow around her, so happy and now she knows what is waiting for her. That's all I could think about on the drive back. Got back just as the hiking disc golfers were finishing up and gave them a side by side ride back to their motor home almost to the bottom of the other side of Hurrah.