After the hike we just got ready to go into Moab because we had plans to go to the Moab Rodeo! Its an hour and a half drive to Moab, and we brought the dogs, so it wasn't very pleasant either. About an hour in Danny suggested that we go to an overlook that was about 45min out of our way, but was really neat. I would have been happy to just get to Moab and get out of the car, but thankfully I agreed and we went. The view was absolutely spectacular. I'll post a couple pictures, but they don't give the reality justice. We were easily a mile above the ground overlooking canyons and gorges and the Colorado River. I simply, or rather very unsimply, could not fathom how any of it had come to be. We stayed there for at least an hour, all though we could have stayed all day. Every time you'd turn a corner a new perspective on the landscape would appear and you needed another 15min to take that in.
Eventually we got to the Rodeo, and I honestly had no clue what to expect. At the beginning there was a big tribute to America with several songs and flags and shit, so I promptly took that time to go to the bathroom. A stadium full of patriotic Mormons probably wouldn't have appreciated me not standing/saluting to the flag and such. There were probably about 200-300 people there, so it was bigger than expected, but not huge. It really had all the typical rodeo stuff. Barrel looping, calf tying, and, of course, bull lassoing. Although that was great, the best part was between every different "act" kids from the crowd came and did different things. As creepy as the whole Mormon thing is, they base everything they do around their families, which are huge. So we also got to see kids try and catch greased piglets and which kid could stay on a terrified sheep the longest. Great fun was had by all.
As to be expected, outside the Rodeo arena there was a "carnival," because what is a Rodeo without a carnival? It was probably smaller than the Bellevue Carnival, but just as sketchy. We rode a few rides, and while they were fun in themselves some extra excitement was added by the unpredictability of the brake and locking systems.
We'd all been looking forward to Sunday all week because we were finally going to Cortez, CO to make a much needed Walmart trip! The drive to Cortez is another 2hours in the opposite direction of Moab and we werte challenged to fit 7 people in the cab of a pick-up. While we drove the back roads 2 people sat in some lawn chairs in the bed, but once we got on the highway we all had to cram inside. It was tons of fun... On our way to Cortez we went to the Hovenweep National Monument. Its basically a couple thousand year old ruines of an Anasasi city. Even though it was cool, it was really fucking hot. For all the hikes we've been on I never wore jeans because of the heat, but then my legs got all torn up. So I finally decided to wear jeans for a hike and I was incredibly uncomfortable. Another example of myself just never wearing enough clothing.
We finally got to Cortez around 6, and even though I've left the south, there were still no restaurants open that late on a Sunday. Our only option was Wendy's, and Jesus Christ it was good. I only wish I had had the sense to get a Frosty. Walmart was good. We filled 2 carts with food and it will still probably only last us about a week. The ride home was just as uncomfortable as the ride up, I'm just glad we didn't bring the dogs this time. Once we got on the back roads and everyone had enough room we broke out the PBRs and did some legitimate drinking and driving. Obviously, Danny (the driver) wasn't drunk and was totally fine to drive, but it was still odd to be handing a driver a beer. Although it held us up a bit, the funniest thing that happened was getting stuck behind a herd of cows. Herd animals are just so stupid, so rather than run out of the road they just kept running ahead of the car. I thought it was incredibly funny, but after about 10min I think I was the only one still amused. We got home, put up groceries, and since we had bread I was finally able to make a PB&J. We also broke out the boxed wine, which has been "aging" on the counter for a while. For working on a vineyard I have drank far more boxed wine and beer than legitimately nice wine. I'm currently in the process of getting Danny to change that. However, last week I did introduce everyone to sweet tea, which was received incredibly well. Here I am, out West just continually breaking boundaries and stereotypes. Of course, we immediately found that sweet tea drinking can be immeasurably bettered by adding whiskey to the mix.
Today I became a cave creature and worked on plumbing under the house. I got satisfactorily filthy, although the brambles and tumble weeds stuck beneath the house were really fucking annoying. Right not I'm basically sitting at the kitchen table watching everyone make dinner. I should probably go help, but let's be real, I'm more help by sitting here than actually attempting to help. I'm sorry this is so long and boring, but at least you all are aware of my every waking moment for the past three days!
These pictures are kind of pointless, but they at least show the gist of the scenery.
NBD, just a few 1,000 year old houses.
COWS!!! IN THE ROAD!!!!
(I don't know why this excites me more than the ancient ruines...)
No comments:
Post a Comment