Day 59 & 60

September 3rd and 4th, 2007

In Ferron, for
the ''Arapeen ATV Jamboree''
Utah's best kept secret !

<< avant / before

          after /  après >>

To kick-off the Jamboree, participants gather in the middle of nowhere, at about a 30 minutes riding distance from town, for a Dutch Oven dinner...Delicious!

Our cooks are masters at the art of Dutch Oven cooking. They prepared a fabulous meal for us.


September 3rd to 7th, 2007

This jamboree is very appreciated by folks who come back year after year to enjoy the superb scenery of the area.

Mark & Terry Williams do a wonderful job at organizing it.

A small community, a great camaradery. THANKS!

 

Dinner is served outdoors, in the open, and although it rains here and there around us, it seems we'll be lucky and stay dry. Mark says that, out of the 5 years they've been doing it, it never rained on one of their dinners yet. Of course, Sanpete county being the driest county in Utah, odds are we'll be OK!

 

Dinner's served right on a ledge. Here's the view to the east...

 

...to the west...

 

...and to the south...Only in Utah can you see Pink Rain !!

 


September 4th, 2007.

We're following the guide on the "Fix it Pass" ride, in the San Rafael Swell.

Mark, our guide, is very knowledgeable about the area. In fact, he even wrote a book about it!

 

Here he is explaining some weird geological phenomenon...or whatever...

 


Please click here to learn more about this Jam.  www.arapeenatvjam.org

 

A lot of ATV trails use dry creek and river beds. We are now entering the north end of a canyon.

 

It's pretty incredible to run into a potable water spring down here. All around us, there's nothing but rocks and sagebrush...

Our friend Gerry is checking to see if it's cold or not..."Yep! It's ice cold!"

 

It's super nice to have someone with us that can give us so much more infos.

 

 

TOTALLY UNRELATED!

Wild Burros. (a crossing between a horse and a mule...I think...)

 

The canyon gets deeper as we move along...

 

I-70 as seen from the bottom of Eagle Canyon. Impressive, is'nt it?

 

Cool rock formations are plenty along the trails here. We see quite a few of those arches. How pretty is this one? It's called Eagle Arch.

 

Yeah ! Guide
Yeah ! There's so many things to see and learn around here, a good guide makes all the difference between just a pile of rocks and a fascinating geological phenomenon.

Bof... Another good reason for not getting a good night sleep!!
Bof... We set-up camp for the next few nights on a nice cool patch of green grass, near the fair grounds right where the quads meet in the morning...

But, in the middle of the night, the sprinkler system (for watering the grass) comes on, creating a series of scattered local showers that completely soak the area...Including the tent...At about 1:00AM, every 5 minutes, for 45 minutes, the tent gets washed by a powerfull water jet...and then again by 5:00AM for another 45 mins...And then by 6:00AM, the quads start vrooming by, getting ready for the days' ride...

Conclusion: If you see a green patch somewhere, watch out, there must be a nasty sprinkler system hidden somwhere...

 

 

The "Icebox" is an appropriated name. It's a cave big enough to hold all of us so we can enjoy our lunch in it's cool shade. They say the Swasey family, that lived near here in the 20s, used it to store it's meat ! Pretty neat! 


We don't mind a short walk in such a beautiful environment.

 

This little cabin was built in 1921 by the Swasey brothers for their horse operation.

 

 

And here are the pictographs everybody wants to see...(Note that the guy at the left IS ACTUALLY NOT taking a leak...)

 

So, we were saying that here are the pictographs that everybody came here to see...

 

There are quite a few other painting around too...How can you explain that a painting made with blood and berries could last over 2000 years when the paint on our houses will hardly last 5 years???? Guess their reciepe was a lot better than our is...(hope they did'nt use lead paint...)

 

 

Polaris Industries - Canada                            Polaris Industries - USA

 

 

Fix-it Pass got it's name when the jeepers that used to use it got tired of fixing it every time they were riding it. It never got fixed and it's now ATV accessible only...

A couple of good advices and...you're on your way! By looking at the picture, you'd think the trail would be on the right hand side of the rider. And that was actually the case...Before the rains completely washed it out. Now it's a ravine several hundred feet deep so, keep left!

 

Definitly not and easy pass, that Fix-it Pass. Of course, it had to rain on the hardest section of the ride...

Here's the trophy awarded to those who survived to tell about it!

4sept_18_fixitpass.jpg (25170 octets)

 

Survivors on the way back home. Was a good day today, we did'nt loose anyone!

 

We barely saw a little tiny part of the San Rafael Swell but it was great !

 

...T.B.C...

<< avant / before

            after /  après >>


Vue d'ensemble/
general view

cliquez pour agrandir
>> Cliquez pour agrandir /
>> Click to enlarge

 

carte  détaillée/
detailed map/

>> Cliquez pour agrandir /
>> Click to enlarge

 

 

 

Interesting to note that Polaris financially contributes to the maintenance and improvement of the "Arapeen Trail System" via a grant program aimed at helping local clubs and organizations. The "Arapeen Trail System" users and administrators wish to thank Polaris for doing so.

 

 

 

                 GPS

Au / At     Ferron
              ( municipal park)
Date        4 sept / Sept 4th
Lat    N    39 05 14'9
Long  W  111  07 47'8
Elevation 5892 pieds/feet

 

 
50C   122F
     
  40C   104F
     
30C   86F
     
20C   68F
     
10C   50F
     
0C   32F
     
-5C   23F
     
-10C   14F
orages.gif (1331 octets)

Lots of sun in the AM.

Lots of thunderstorms in the PM.

 

 

 

 


Facile

Moyen

Difficile 

Easy

Moderate

Difficult 

I survived Fit it Pass !4sept_15_trail.jpg (18468 octets)


Les statistiques

Total

62 Miles
2406 Miles: à date/to date
$20 Resto
$0 Épicerie/Food
$0 Essence/fuel
$0 Camping
$0 Divers/Misc.
$20 Total


 

 

                

Déjeuner/Breakfast:
-fruits, juices & donuts

Dîner/Lunch:
- salmon tortillas

Souper/Dinner:
-sept 3rd:ATV Jamboree dinner:
Chicken breasts + baked potato + salads.
Deserts: cherry or apple cobbler with ice cream, all this served in the middle of nowhere!!

 

 

Les Oscars-The Oscars:
...et le gagnant est... L'ITEM LE PLUS APPRECIÉ:

 

THE MOST APPRECIATED ITEM:

''Dutch oven''

 

 

 

Nous sommes fiers de vous présenter nos partenaires.
Ils nous ont fourni un soutien important afin de nous aider à réaliser cette aventure. MERCI À TOUS
 

 

 

We are proud to introduce you to our partners.
Their precious collaboration helped us live this fabulous adventure.

THANKS TO ALL.

Polaris Industries - Canada
Polaris Industries - USA



RM Motosport





Durocher Transirt









Cellutron





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