Wednesday, April 16/2014

We awoke to cloudy weather this morning with the sun trying to make an attempt to shine.  I am not sure if it will be successful as it seems pretty "socked it".  There is a bit of a wind blowing as well although that really is no surprise.

Desert pinyon pine and juniper bushes in the foreground.
Too bad it was so cloudy out - these pics are pretty dark!!

We loaded the quads, got our jackets on and headed out for some adventure.  The trail initially was pretty rocky but it soon gave way to the desert sands of the bench lands.  We travelled through lots of juniper and pinyon pine and passed several small herds of cattle which obviously graze here throughout the year.  There were several calves with their mom's so obviously this harsh environment is suitable for the sustaining of these cattle.  They looked pretty skinny compared to our plump rounded cattle back home though!!

part of today's trail

With our fancy map in hand, we travelled on, often stopping to check where we were.  It would have been a lot easier if the Bureau of Land Management (from where we got the map) had bothered to put the numbers of the many trails on the map.  We did manage to track ourselves pretty good though and not once did I feel like we had no clue as to where we were!!

John, heading down the dusty trail 

Trail Markers - too bad our map didn't have the trails numbers!!

One of the many "domes"

Awesome pinnacles

The sun eventually did make an appearance but not until later on in the afternoon.  It was a welcome site although since we had dressed for the weather so neither John nor I felt chilly at all during the ride.

incredible scenery

Our trail!!

Due to the sheer vastness of this area, we felt like we were totally alone.  The silence was only broken by the occasional call from a passing bird or the sound of a jet plane over head.  It was truly amazing that in a world of millions, we were totally alone.

Alone Cane Wash

See how the water has eroded the rock?

It was here at one of the trail heads to Cane Wash that we heard voices and discovered three hikers coming our way.  They were on their way to Sid's Mountain.  Not sure where that was but they were happy in their travels.

One of the mines along the trail

Uranium mining was done in this areas years ago and the remains of some of the mines is quite evident.  We stopped and took a few pics then carried on down the trail where we soon accessed the main road we travelled yesterday with the camper and headed back to camp.

Old abandoned truck

Calf Mesa Uranium

Can one ever get enough of this incredible scenery?

John, beside the old International  truck.

An old Lincoln car….this miner must have done well for himself!!

The motor was still in the car!!

One of the few "camp spots".  Complete with homemade stone table
and seats

There were a few short side trails we explored before heading home and one took us past The Sinkhole.  This is a natural vertical shaft in the middle of a meadow.   It is surrounded by a split log fence to keep tourists, wild horses and burros and I assume the farmer's cattle from falling into it.

The Sinkhole

At least 50 feet down

Four wild burros

We did encounter a few burro along these short trails just before we ended our day.  It was awesome seeing them and they really didn't seem to mind that I stopped to take a few pictures.  They looked healthy and happy and soon carried on their way.

panoramic view of the skyline

Finally back at camp.  We travelled 50 miles today of this incredible area and tomorrow we will see even more.   For now, it is into the shower to wash off all the dust then, sit back, relax and watch some of the hockey playoffs on TV while John cooks supper.   Mmmmm…….life is Good!!