UPDATE
I have now heard a dozen reports on the new skywalk.
All agree.
It is terrible. Over-priced, badly managed. And the cliff drop is not “sheer” so it’s not as scarifying as the images would suggest.
Category: travel
cycling Utah’s White Rim Trail?
I am SLIGHTLY tempted by this adventure:
The White Rim Trail is Utah’s ultimate multi-day party trail. The trail is a 103-mile loop on jeep road through Canyonlands National Park. Most riders spend 4 days (3 nights at campgrounds) to ride this trail. (Three days = Buff. Two days = Monster. One day = Lunatic.)
From above on the Island in the Sky I could look down on the White Rim road.
Technically, this trail is easy. But the length (and a few stiff climbs) means you need to be in good condition to do the whole thing. You’ll need a support vehicle for food, water, camping gear, and bike parts. Campgrounds (with bathrooms) are spaced every few miles.
You can ride the trail either direction. Most bikers ride clockwise, from the Schafer Trail around to the Green River, which tends to be easier. There are four big hills with over 1000 feet elevation gain, but one is downhill as you drop into the canyon the first day. A three-day trip gives you one major climb each day.
Here’s the start, dropping in from Canyonlands National Park on the Schafer Trail:
Perhaps … on another trip.
This time I am off next to the Needles section of Canyonlands.
… looks like SNOW
It only rains about 2 9 inches a year in Moab.
But my tent has been drenched for the last 12hrs.
Postponed my departure to the backcountry for a day. The desert can be very dangerous when it rains.
biking Slickrock Trail, Utah
PHOTO UPDATE:
(Using my camera self-timer on these shots was difficult.)
The bike is a Santa Cruz Blur.
First adventure day in Canyon Country …
The Slickrock Trail, located near Moab, Utah (USA), is a popular mountain biking destination with worldwide fame. This 10.5 miles (16.9 km) loop takes intrepid riders over a landscape of “petrified” sand dunes and the eroded remnants of ancient sea beds. The Slickrock Trail is one of the more difficult rides in the Moab area, both technically and cardiovascularly, and is not suitable for novice riders.
… The so-called slickrock sandstone, which forms the majority of the trail’s surface, is not slick at all, but has a surface much like sandpaper. The rubber tires of a mountain bike or off-road motorcycle will grip readily to its surface on all but the steepest hills.
The name “slickrock” was given by early settlers of the area because their horses’ metal shoes had difficulty gaining traction on the rock’s sloping surfaces.
I’m happy to say I survived the long, hot day.
I saw two crashes. But came out unscathed myself.
next – Dead Horse State Park, Utah
Just finished two fantabulous (no existing words can describe the grandeur) days in Arches National Park.
Decided to rent a convertible and head for Dead Horse Point State Park. You know it from the final scene in Thelma and Louise.
Moab for medicinal reasons only
At age 30 I began to acquire allergies.
(Before that I considered them the delusions of hypochondriacs.)
Apples now have the potential to kill me. But what I dislike most is Spring in Canada. Sneezing, coughing, watery eyes.
Each year I try to flee the misery by travelling.
Turns out Moab, Utah is a Mecca for those like me. From Wikipedia:
I jumped plane at the Salt Lake City airport and caught a shuttle to this medical enclave. Coincidentally, there are quite a few hikers and bikers about the sanatorium.
Will let you know how my treatment progresses.
original – flickr
Salt Lake City Public Library
Wow.
This place is gorgeous.
I write from the main library, a five-story tall, wedge-shaped building faced top to bottom by a curved glass wall.
Outside is a huge landscaped plaza.
A rooftop garden completes the structure. It is planted with trees, grasses, flowering bulbs and various perennial plants.
The whole library depends on natural lighting, reducing the need of lights in the library. A huge five story glass wall is where most of the light comes from.
Salt Lake City Public Library – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Having won Library Journal’s 2006 library of the year award I feel it’s even better than the new Vancouver Public Library.
Hey — same architect. How about that.
Vancouver
Salt Lake City
Here for the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, once again I am impressed with this city.
Wide streets, little traffic, no litter. It’s more like a small town than a big city though the population is about 1 million, the same as Calgary.
There are other parallels since both cities recently hosted profitable Winter Olympics. SLC is much closer to the mountains.
I’d been here before. But never to the gorgeous Gateway Mall and Olympic Plaza. This is how the big box malls should be designed.
Fewer than half of Salt Lake City’s residents are Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But it still has the feel of a Christian community.
You need to be in bed with your wives by 11PM when sidewalks are rolled up.
Is Spring coming?
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I’m off to Salt Lake City next week for the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships.
Unless the weather improves, I may NOT return!
Harrisburg PA – nice airport!
Why can’t all airports be this good?
Clean, spacious, sufficiently staffed. Free wireless internet, plenty of electrical outlets, Starbucks.
Best airport I’ve seen since Changi.
Rick McCharles 
