Family Vacation Report(s)

Anderson - Harber Trip



Even thought the first trip was over a month ago I figured it was still worth reporting. We spent a week in McCall Idaho with a few of the Anderson crew. My mom, Eric, and Cate made it for the trip while the rest of the fam were caring for babies back home, or spreading the good word in Mexico. It was a great change of scenery from Vegas; I like the desert, but I love the mountains! The Payette river was at a super high volume and raging. On the drive from Boise we stopped to check out a few guys paddling the class V section of the North Fork, those suckers are nuts.



We kicked back and enjoyed the cool weather, played tennis, a little golf, and ate at some great restaurants. Thanks again to the Andersons for the good time.


Moody - Harber - Hoopes Trip


The second trip was a bit more recent. Laura went down a few days early to Baton Rouge to get in all the southern living she could squeeze in before the Gulf Shores trip. I ended up flying into Pensacola mid week to meet everyone in Gulf Shores. The Moodys rented an awesome beach house that everyone could stay at; great access to the beach and super close to a nice pool.



We ate some great seafood, hung at the beach and played a few games of Risk (possibly the greatest game ever conceived by man). For those on the left coast that have not experienced the Gulf it's quite a bit different from the Cali beaches we're accustom to. Super fine white sand and warm water, the only draw back might be the jellyfish. I'm happy to report that this year I did not have to experience a jellyfish sting (unlike last year). Laura on the other hand just about became topless on the beach in an attempt to remove a jellyfish tentacle from her bathing suit.

I enjoyed seeing a different a part of the country that sometimes makes you feel like you've traveled out of the US, and of course Laura always loves going home. Thanks again to the Moodys for the fun trip!

Virgin River Rim Trail

When Mr. Sabrosa says that it's going to be epic riding on Cedar Mountain he really means it. I figured I was up for the challenge since I had been doing fair amount of riding, and the thought of escaping the Vegas summer heat was very attractive. The team included Mr. and Mrs. Sabrosa, the Tammer, and myself.

We started at Strawberry Point just a bit past Duck Creek; elevation 9000 feet. I felt like I was at the basecamp of Everest since I had just come from Vegas, about 2000 ft. The ride is 33 miles of some of the most incredible single track I've ever been on. Most of you are familiar with the Cedar Breaks area, well the trail basically skirts the edge of that whole plateau and then drops down to Woods Ranch. If your thinking that it couldn't have been that tough because the trails starts at Strawberry and drops down to Woods Ranch, you're wrong! I had slightly underestimated it myself; in total we climbed over 4200 vertical feet at an average elevation of 9300 ft.

Round about the 20 mile mark I started hurting; probably a combination of high altitude, some gnarly climbing, and not enough food. When the bottom falls out like this there's not a lot you can do but suffer through the rest of the ride. I told the crew that I was officially in "The Hurt Locker, " and yes John if the ride had continued much past Wood Ranch Davey Jones would have been involved. Although it was slow going for me after that point I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Towards the end of the trail we rode through some beautiful aspen forest, this is when the trees started talking to me. Maybe this is what Indians experience when they're on their vision quest.

Even though I got punished pretty bad the ride was well worth it. I would definitely recommend the ride if you're up for amazing singletrack, incredible views, and a ton of climbing.