One More Time

Not a Mountain Lion

We enjoyed the ride out to the Colorado River so much that we decided we'd do it again. The morning was cool with a bright blue sky when we headed out from camp. 

This time we decided not to add a side ride since the temperature was very pleasant & we'd ridden almost 50 miles over the last few days.

Just outside the campground I noticed movement through the sage. At first the thought was we'd finally caught sight of a mountain lion. Nope, we were not that lucky. It was a coyote mousing in the sage. 

Its color was so different than those in Montana & the movements were so cat-like that the first impression was lion. Oh well the search continues... 

Watching the coyote watch us was quite entertaining. Its curiosity was fun to watch. We thought the bikes were giving it mixed signals...people on bikes are quite confusing to some animals. For some reason white-tail deer always run toward us when we're riding in the Burg. The coyote finally decided we were boring and disappeared in the undergrowth.

Coyote being curious

Our bugaboo...soft sand

We continued on toward the Colorado River Road. Once again it seemed as if we'd be all alone on the road...well except for the every present lizards. Occasionally it looked as if there were fresh tire tracks in the soft sand & we could still see our bike tracks from the previous ride.

We travelled fairly quickly since we didn't stop to take too many picture. Well wildflowers caught our eye from time to time. We kept trying to spot a red cactus. Yellow prickly pear were everywhere, but the red flowers were not blooming...seemed odd.

Plains prickly pear cactus

Pale evening-primrose

Junction Butte & Island in the Sky Messa

Suddenly we spotted a parked truck...we were not alone today. Evidently they knew the road got a bit more interesting & parked it before reaching the slickrock & shark fins. We noticed two sets of tracks walking through the soft sand & eventually caught up with 2 guys with packs hiking the road. 

We kind of surprised them when we rang out bike bells...not sure they were expecting people either. Waved and moved on to tackle the difficult track ahead of us. 

Cindi on a break

Ever forward

Once at the steep slickrock Bill decided we must **video tape the accent. I was the 'lucky one' to make the first accent...I chose poorly on the 1st attempt. I can't say my 2nd attempt was an improvement. By my third try I was more stubborn and decided that I was going to get up that darn rock. Yelling all the way uphill. I can't say it was pretty. I was a bit too hesitant & should have hit it harder, but I did manage to stay upright and get to the top without wreaking. Of course Bill made it on his first attempt & was much more confident in his approach to the hill. Lesson learned for any future slickrock rides.

Past the shark fins

The shark fins were much easier to ride through & far fewer pedal strikes than our first ride. See lessons can be learned even at our age! 

A welcome change & no feet flying off the bike pedals...not to mention the pedal pins striking shins. It definitely will leave a mark on your shin...ask me what my shins looked like after our first ride.

The Overlook was just as impressive as our first trip. The Colorado River looked more muddy & slower...still no people around & we never saw the two backpackers on our trip back up the road. We assumed that at some point they headed down into the canyon.

Colorado River from the Overlook

Heading back we finally found a red cactus in bloom so of course we had to shoot a few dozen pictures. Looked like every insect in the Park found the red prickly pear too. Lots of bug activity on each bloom. We headed back toward camp. No real problems except for a couple of sand spinouts as we headed back toward the visitor center. 

Red plains prickly pear cactus

Once back in camp we sat in the shade until time for an ice cream at the Needles Outpost. Now that place has a very interesting history. Located right outside the Park's Entrance it has campsites with showers, a small grocery store with ice...and ice cream bars. 

We sat outside & watched the black-chin hummingbirds attack the feeders & each other. Never expected to see hummers in the desert...so much excitement from such a tiny bird.

After watching the hummers & trying to get a good shot we headed back to the Visitor Center to upload our bike stats from the day's ride... 22.05 miles over 2:14 with elevation gain 915 feet and 353 calories burned on the trip. 

Looked like we had worked enough to deserve our the ice cream. Tomorrow we leave for St George, UT and Ward Mountain for more biking. I managed 65 miles of riding over 5 days...Bill actually had about 10 miles more. He did a couple of late evening rides that I skipped for chasing bunnies & birds.

Cindi taking in the view over the cliff at the Overlook

Red pillar below Colorado River Overlook

Bugged up red prickly pear cactus

Black-chin hummingbird

Abajo Mountains from the Overlook...red pillar below rim

Desert cottontail near campsite

Us at the Overlook

*click to enlarge any picture

**tried to upload the videos of our hill climb...not playing nice for blogger so will try some editing.