Moab part 2 - trekking and rafting

Greetings from...

John was still away on his rafting class (despite the above photo suggesting otherwise), so I busied myself with more early-morning trekking/running.  We'd previously been to the Amasa Back trail area but I could only remember that we liked it.  Should be a good place to go explore more.

I started up the dirt road, pausing to check out the Birthing Panel with interesting rock art:

Someone adjusted the % grade number - the road does not really drop quite that precipitously:

A closer look - the truck appears to be carrying COVID, with the captions "mask up or belly up!" and "wealth before health":

A beautiful amphitheater of red rocks along Hunter Canyon:

Over onto bike trails, another funny sign:

These trails are wonderful for running (and I'm sure real mountain bikers enjoy them too), fun curves and dips, along with great views:

This might be Whale Rock, although from this angle it reminds me more of a many-humped camel:

The view of the Colorado River, with some haze from Colorado fires:

Now for a different perspective - some pictures from John's rafting class.  They put in at the Potash area where the water starts out calm:

Camp setup on a nice-looking beach, with colorful umbrellas for shade:

Petrified wood, always a curiosity:

Physical distancing (one of several protocols put in place to make this trip happen successfully):

Rafts loaded up and ready to set off for the day:

It must have been awesome to float through Canyonlands:

View of the river from one of John's hikes:

Rafting training in a gorgeous setting, called the Dollhouse:

Getting into some easy rapids, working on steering (John is on the back of the raft taking a picture of a classmate, with their instructor up front):

John's turn - with a little video, cool!

Another amazing view of the canyon:

John took several pictures of rocks so the class geologist could explain them - these are apparently concretions:

One of the more-rocky rapids, which the guides probably handled themselves:

Enjoying a relaxing float:

What the heck?  Human-made or natural?  Even the resident geologist could not come up with an explanation.  If you have any ideas, please let us know!

Red rock towers:

There's no limit to the beautiful scenery and views, especially when John is motivated to hike uphill:

Geology rocks!

Native American granary in the cliff:

And... the voyage is coming to an end, with the sight of the first bridge since Moab:

Back in civilization, John debated taking his bike out on the slickrock trails; I was interested in running the loop and John ended up doing some hiking around/through the area to explore instead of biking.  What a great place to run!

We started out in the nice cool hour right about dawn.  The bike path across the rocks:

It took me a bit to get accustomed to it all - the slopes, following the white dashes around, watching out for bikes.  But then I got the hang of it.  I started running off to the side and aiming for sections of rock near (but not on) the bike route, and that was a lot of fun.  I could bounce off features and take lines that bikes normally wouldn't do.  Plenty of views off to the side to gawk at.  And I wouldn't have to worry about a bike coming up behind me unexpectedly.

I love the scenery (even though the horizon is hazy from wildfire smoke):

Great views down into the nearby canyon:

Yep, it's a nice overlook!

John and I both took a picture of sunrise through smoky haze; at least it was a bit cooler without such direct sunlight on the open plateau:

Hey, there's John!  Barely visible as he walks up a wash:

Another funny sign:

One of several bikers I saw that morning:

Apparently this is the universal symbol for "cliff":

Shrimp Rock:

Fuzzy vegetation:

A view of our campground where Howie was waiting, with Arches on the horizon (barely visible):

More swoopy, fun "trail":

Overlooking Moab and the portal beyond, where the Colorado River heads southwest:

An excellent morning, and we'd love to return and run/hike in that area again sometime.

One last hike before we go, up Bill's Canyon to find a natural bridge:

It's about impossible to capture this on camera, but it sure is an amazing rock structure:

Admiring the scenery - hope we get to come back again soon!  Thank you Moab!