Chicago's Mountains

Larissa and I headed to Chicago for Memorial Day Weekend. Although Chicago is an awesome city with plenty to do, I found myself most drawn to the views of the skyscrapers. The highlight of the trip was taking an architectural tour of the birth place of the skyscraper. The tour consists of a boat ride down the Chicago River which puts you right in the middle of Chicago's Skyscrapers. Although I prefer natural settings, I was in awe of the immense structures that man has created.

Larissa, Peter, and I at a Chicago Whitesox game with the skyline in the background.

The Bean in Millenium Park. I was amazed by this thing as was everyone else

Is that sand on the banks of the Chicago River? Nope that would be concrete, glass, and steel.

The Sears Tower with a little lean.

I kept seeing reflections of this sketch ball. As if he was following me?

The view from the top of the Hancock Tower.

Beat the Heat on Box Elder

With temperatures forcasted to be near 90 degrees for the day, I decided to head for the mountains to cool off. The goal for the day was to ski of the summit of Box Elder Peak (11,101 ft). Didn't make the summit, but learned some valuable lessons along the way.

Lessons Learned:
1) Starting at the crack of 11 am is a little to late this time of year.
2) Get a map. I thought I could figure it out once I hit the trail but quickly realized this wasn't the case. I kind of got some directions from some horsemen that eventually got me headed in the right direction.
3) Bring adequate water or means to get water from a stream. I spent a good portion of the day eating snow to keep hydrated. Doesn't work so good.
4) Dogs are great ski partners, but they don't set a very good boot pack.



I ended up on the trail in the middle of the picture which led in the wrong direction and cost me about an hour of time.

Enough of the dirt, time to hit the snow.

A lot of the day was spent staring at this guy?

Mayes thinking about a swim in Utah Lake.

Don't let the smile fool you. I was a bit disappointed to be out of time and juice to make the summit.

Lookers left is what I wanted to ski.

Looking back on what I got to ski.

Had a fun day, but stoked to be back at the Truck 9 hours after I started.

Vernal?

I had heard mention of Vernal single track a while back, but had yet to check it out. With a recent article in Bike Magazine comparing Vernal to the likes of Fruita and Moab, I knew I needed to ride this zone. The weather was perfect and the single track was tight. I will definitely be back.

It always good to start out the day with a little pre-ride stretching

............ And a sacrifice to the Bike Shoe God.

Larissa at the entrance to Fire Sale!

Scoob trying to get me to pick up the pace.

Screw the view lets rally some single track.

I thought my new aerodynamic haircut would help me go faster, but no, I was dragging ass as usuual.

All of the tight single track left Scooby drooling for more.

The trails had strategically place scultpures. They were very cool and often incorported old bike parts. I definently got good vibes from this place.

Crow and Lacey joined us for the weekend. Lacey is stoked on her new truck and camper.

The campsite. Not much shade in Vernal.

Crow headed for a collision with a rock.

Lacey about to nail a fun switchback on Fire Sale.

Choices?

We chose Dipity and it treated us well.

Scoob finally had to give in.

Desert Smiles!