Business Trip

Sometimes you have to make the most out of your boring lonely evenings when traveling on business. It just so happens that my business travels have brought me to Moab for a couple of days to implement a system for the State of Utah at Dead Horse State Park. I haven't been to that place since I was last there with my friend GRC many years ago. My only memory is GRC wrapping his video camera in a pillow then fastening a rope and throwing it over the edge of the cliff while the camera was rolling. He can tell the rest.

I've been to Moab a million times in my life and never really ventured into the La Sal mountains to the east. This range is huge (and very tall) and is perhaps the most prominent landmark on the Colorado plateau. With the autumn leaves rapidly changing, the mountains were a red cape and I was a bull. The roads are rough but who cares when you have a rental car :) I actually started up La Sal pass road but chickened out when it got too steep. I then headed for Geyser pass road, drove up to Burro pass trailhead and then took the little spur road to the appropriately named "Gold Basin" which was definitely the highlight. (I used my SPOT satellite tracker which you can see at the bottom of this page).



The rental car and Mt. Tomasaki (12096 ft) in the background



The burro pass trail and Manns Peak (12152 ft) in the background



Gold Basin with Mt Mellenthin (12592 ft) peering it's head



Too bad the iPhone doesn't do justice, but you get the idea

I've driven the Alpine Loop in autumn many times, but due to size, quantity and the fact that I saw a total of 4 other people the entire evening makes this a new favorite. Pretty shocking considering Disney Euro Moab is only a 30 minute drive away.