Day 63
From Ferron to Emery, via Little Grand Canyon of Utah and
the San Rafael Swell
Part 1
We're in the news !
To read the whole article, click
here
After getting a lot of recommendations and advice from folks used to desert riding, we
hit the road, just the two of us...no guide, no group...
A map, a GPS, the desert...
Wait a minute...What does that sign say? Click here
Euh.... If I remember correctly, a couple of days ago, we had... Thunderstorms...All
day long...Interesting...
This time of the year, flash floods are frequents, and serious...
..."Hurry up!! Take that picture...!!"
Pfiou! There's only a small stream down that one...
Roads across the Swell:
For France, it's a nice road with all kinds of cool plants that shine in the sun along
it...
...While for Marc, it's a playground...
...A perfect landing!! (Well, maybe a little shaky...)
Polaris
Industries - Canada
Polaris Industries - USA
Another kind of playground...How can we know how deep it is?? With all this rain we
had, it might be pretty deep...Only one way to find out for sure...Try it...On foot, of
course...
Armed with a stick, Marc tests the bottom of the river...About 6 inches of mud to start
and then, about 8 inches of water, the bottom is very solid, it's all rocks.
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Piece of cake!! |
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Did you note the difference in vegetation?
Around the San Rafael river: Kinda looks like mini palm trees...
...And that's about 1000 ft from the river...
That just about says it all...To survive here, you, everything, needs water, lots of
it...The air is very dry, we're at over 6000ft elevation, and the sun shines hard! We
should make an habit of driking at least the equivalent of one glass of water every hour,
thirsty or not. Otherwise, if you wait until you're thirsty to start driking, you'll never
be able to quench your thirst.
 
Yeah ! We made it...this far...
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After heavy down pours, the rivers rise dramatically and very
quickly. Fortunately, they come back down pretty quick also. That made it possible for us
to cross them 2 days after the storms. But we just got into the Swell, we still have about
3/4 of it still ahead of us.... |
| Bof... |
"Flash floods". |
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...On the other hand...A little flash floodding would have
been cool... |
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Utah rocks! |
Rocks...
...Rocks...
...and more rocks...
....Piles, mountains of rocks...
...of all shapes...
...sizes and colors...
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Unrelated: Cows recreate too??? |
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Here we are at our destination for tonight. |
...There's nothing anybody can do about it...He has to do it...everytime!!!
"Marc!! Please come down!!"
Understand why it's called the "Little Grand Canyon of Utah"?
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the old man seems to have quite a belly on this picture, it's strictly due to the
pack sack that pushes him forward...;)
Your comment here...
( Yes you are right, we really are very fortunate to be here...But, you can be here
also, if you really want it...Is'nt that why they call America the land of opportunity??)
Sunset on the canyon. (Ok, lets see if you're following closely: Can you notice
something different with the quad? Something very obvious...)
The hardest part yet is to decide which photos will make the site...
A little romantic dinner. Alone, canyon side, sunset, bottle of wine...
..."Marc, did you double check the support legs under the tent? We're going to
test them...
Coming soon, part 2 of our trek across the San Rafael Swell...
...The unknown (to us...), the unexpected (to anybody...). Stay with us !!
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