Hot Springs, Guns, Big Cliffs, Thanksgiving

We headed north for Thanksgiving again this year and carried on a few family traditions.

I took the boys back up to the hot springs for a nice long soak. Nothing like soaking in hot water when it is cold outside.

On Thanksgiving the boys went out (girls were invited but none of them wanted to join us) to celebrate our 2nd Amendment Rights and shoot things with a wide variety of weapons. I am pretty sure that some of the firearms had not been shot in decades, so we were happy when they did not blow up in our faces. Not sure what it is about guns but it is satisfying being able to hit something from a long distance with a high powered rifle. I want the boys to have a healthy respect for guns and to learn to handle them safely. I gave them alot of saftey talks but watching Uncle Creed and Todd hip shoot the shotguns may have undone some of that.

After Thanksgiving we shortened the annual Turkey Freeze Out into a day hike and drove out into the West Desert and climbed Notch Peak in the House Range, and looked over one of the highest cliffs in North America.

I truly have much to be thankful for

Ridge and Rowan partaking in the hot water

The boys hiking out

Me feeling sick looking over the 2000 foot vertical limestone cliff of Notch Peaks north face. It is hard to tell from the photo but that is a long ways down.

Ty Ty feeling tingly staring into the abyss

Toad and Ty reading the summit register and trying to stay warm

Not so Firey Furnace

We went back into the Firey Furnace on Saturday. This small area has to be some of the most convoluted topography in the world. It is very easy to get turned around in there. I have hiked through the whole area several times since moving here, but I still missed the entrance in to the Furnace and ended up wandering around for awhile looking for the way in.

Dead end in Lomatium Canyon

Sitting on an arch in a side canyon

Porcupine Rim Singletrack

Toad and myself celebrated Veterans Day by riding the Porcupine Rim trail to the river. It may be awhile before I do that section of trail again. Biking is a great way to get in shape and riding smooth singletrack or oceans of slickrock is very fun, but Porcupine Rim is neither of those. It is 12 miles of loose rocks and ledges, but the views are worth it.

The smooth singletrack of LPS before the ledgey hell of the Porcupine Rim Jeep Trail

Above the River in Jackass Canyon

Folk Fest Weekend

The entire Murdock Clan came down this past weekend for the annual Moab Folk Festival. We took advantage of the continuing fall weather biked, hiked, climbed and listened to Pete Rowan and his Bluegrass Band.

The entire Clan at that rock on everybodies licence plate, with Tuk framed perfectly in the arch

Rowan climbing the shadow of the aspens up Brumley Creek


Riding the geology of Bartlett Wash

Heading towards the end of the mesa

Halloween

If you can get the obscure cultural reference that Creed is dressed as you are super hip (notice his pants are on backwards)
Scary Pirates, Rowan was pretty excited to have a goatee and did not want to take it off

Nobody (including Tyler) knew what Ty was dressed up as, maybe K-Fed?

Extra credit if you can guess all of the characters in the Communist Party