Big vacation to southern Utah. We scored permits to ride the White Rim, but the road was closed at Potato Bottom because of high water on the Green, so we did an in-and-out. We still rode just as far: over 100 miles. and in that 100 miles there are probably three trees on the whole rim. NO shade.

Just the two of us, so we switched out bikes. Then we decided to both ride the same bike. I rode Brad's 29er for two days. It is faster on the flat, more stable on the downhill, and climbs more easily. So what's not to like?

Then Moab and Arches. Very crowded at Arches. We visited fiery furnace first thing in the morning all alone, but contended with hundreds of people in the Devil's Garden. Rode to some dinosaur tracks at Klondike Bluffs.

Went to Goblin Valley, then to Capitol Reef. We were wandering around the visitor's center, listening to a ranger talk, and thinking: boy, she sounds familiar. It was Andrea, a ranger we knew from Grand Canyon. She gave us some good tips for hiking. We climbed Navajo Knobs, Golden Dome, and walked through two of the "slot" canyons.