Yesterday, Rich and I went for a nice drive out in the hills.  We drove up Long Canyon, and down Gemini Bridges road.  I know that only about 3 of my readers even know where this is, but I like to remember where I went.  Mindy had a good time, too.  The last photo below is a photo of Long Canyon, ending in the Colorado River.  Above the river in the photo are the La Sal mountains, and the Behind The Rocks area.

Long Canyon isn’t really that long, and it’s MUCH rougher than I remember the road being.  Rich doesn’t believe me, but Janet and I took her family’s van down through Long Canyon more than once.  You definitely couldn’t do that anymore.

Once on top of the cliffs (which is where the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands N.P., and Dead Horse Point S.P. are located), it’s very flat, and you can’t miss the ubiquitous workings of Halliburton.

After leaving the Long Canyon road, and getting on the Gemini Bridges road, we drove up toward Gold Bar Rim, and found several segments of the ‘Magnificent 7′ mountain bike trail system.  It’s very nicely built (almost unnoticeable, and very low-impact).

I found a great rock in this area that for some reason is turning into marbles over time.  Lip Balm for scale.

On the way out of the area and back down to Hwy 191, you must pass the ‘Gooney Bird’.  Yes, that’s its real name.  Here he is, regally guarding the road.

Finally, far below, nestled in the amazing red rocks Moab is famous for, is Hwy 191.  To the right on the hwy is Moab.  To the left is the way to Interstate 70.  In this photo, the top horizon (the bumps you can see) is part Arches National Park.