Saturday December 1st - Moab, UT
I left Grand Junction, CO early this morning and headed towards Moab. Partly sunny skies gave way to spectacular colors along the Colorado River. There were 200 ft. red cliffs and lots of red dirt. I was truely in awe. My inner self told me "You aint seen nothin yet". So I decided not to stop and take pictures. When I got to Moab the sun was gone and it was a balmy 38 degrees so I chose to drive through town and look around. I stopped in at the Arches Visitors Center for a slideshow and forecast. Increasing clouds and wind prompted me to try again some other time. I would like to go on a sunny day. So I set out for Salt Lake City. I drove all day in sleet and snow that didnt stick to the highway. When I came around Pt. of the Mountain there were very high winds, I had to fight to hold my lane. There is a venturi effect there. It was good to see Brian, Heather and dog Marley again. We spent most of the night chatting and went out for some dinner. Snowed overnight.
 

Sunday December 2nd - Snowbird, Utah
It snowed an extra 4 inches over night making for a great morning of snowboarding! There was plenty of powder and lots of terrain to cover. Snowbird had 2 chairs open, 1 high speed detachable quad, and a dual tram with a 125 person capacity in each car. I takes you 2,900 feet up to the summit. In the summer they hold paragliding competitions here that makes for some great cross country flights. We had a blast! Pow pow and more pow. Up top was windy with a few rocks getting uncovered but the rest was very nice. The ticket prices are comparable to Alyeska's. We had lunch at the mid mountain lodge. Its was nice with good food and microbrews on tap. By 4 o'clock we were totally bushed and ready to call it quits. "I'm gonna be sore tomorrow!" A fun time was had by all. After dinner it was lights out for some heavy Z's.

December 4th - 6th - Utah
Snow. Not much goin on this week. Spending time with friends. Playin in the snow. Waiting for some flyable weather.

Sunday December 9th - Sandy, Utah
Sunny. A day of rest from the long day yesterday. I helped Heather rake her yard and played with dog Marley. Spent the rest of the day working on Christmas project. Better hurry!

Monday - Friday December 10th - 14th
Not a whole lot of outdoor activities. Temps in the 20s. Teaching Brian how to use his new XP Gateway and his new Titanium G4 Powerbook. Truly a pleasure to work with the best of both platforms.

December 19th - 20th - Denver
Sunny, Cold. Mostly sat around with Silko watching DVD movies while Will worked. In the eve's we would go out to cool places with his friends. There was always plenty to talk about. We have a lot in common. I am really glad that I made the trip to Denver.

Saturday December 22nd - Denver - Cedaredge
Sunny - Time for the 300 mile drive back to Mom and Mike's for Christmas. The drive was similar to the one on the way out. Nice sunset view from atop the mesa on the way to Cedaredge.

December 25th - Merry Christmas!
Sunny - For Christmas I got Mexican money, a new shaver, new pants, shirts and socks. I now have too many clothes and must send some back home. Its nice spending time in the cabin instead of the motor home. We hung out and went to the lodge for lunch and a huge dinner. They had a fireplace and a tree with lots of decorations. Nice place. Friendly people. Photo of my mother, step-father and I, Jan and Mike.
 
 

Friday - December 28th - Cedaredge - Moab
Sunny - After spending the first half of the day with my mother, we said our goodbye's and I started out on the 260 mile drive to Moab. The drive was a repeat of the route I took leaving Cedaredge after Thanksgiving. This time it was sunny so I took over 100 photos. It was so cool. The combination of red rock, green shrubs and layers of snow made for some incredible scenery. I got to the top of Arches National Park with about 2 hours of daylight left. The low angle of the sun made for some excellent photos. It didnt take long to cover most of the sights by car. I watched the sunset through an arch called turret. It was then time to hit the Moab brewery for some dinner and brew. I sat at the bar, ordered a Scorpion pale ale and enjoyed the decor. The theme was totally Moab. Items hanging from the ceiling included a tent, kites, a mountain bike and a hang glider. After enjoying my garlic veggie pasta I picked the first motel I saw. It was called the Moab Valley Inn. An impressive hotel with sweet suites. I checked in and went for a hot tub and watch the movie "Heat" A great Deniro/Pecino movie. Deniro had actually stayed in the same hotel. I saw the autographed photo in the lobby.

December 29th - 30th - Las Vegas
Cloudy - Since there was no sun, I decided to skip going up to Slick Rock and head for Vegas. It was a very long scenic drive through the plains of southern Utah. It rained the last half until I got close to Las Vegas. I could see the sunset poking through the clouds. Then, about 30 miles out of Vegas, the sky turned a pink/orange that matched the color of the desert landscape. A very surreal looking picture. I went back in time as I crossed over to PST. Las Vegas came into view in all its glory. I was wowed as I drove to the city center. More like blown away. Lights and video screens everywhere. The streets were smooth and wide. Traffic moved along very well for rush hour. I scoped out where I will be meeting Kevin the next day for our Mexico trip then looked for a motel. I ended up at a super 8 just outside of Nellis AFB. I figure I'll save the tour of Vegas until I return from Mexico when I have met more people to go with. There will be several paragliders from Vegas on the Mexico trip. Wish me luck!