Atlanta & Asheville

After a couple of delightful days with our friends Dick & Martha staying in their lovely house in Buckhead near Atlanta, we collected Meghan , Dennis and Cormac from Atlanta airport and whisked them ( via a Georgia Crackerbarrel - see pics ) up to Asheville NC to stay with Cormac's great granny . What a thrill for all concerned.

Note the cute pillow which great granny ` Eye ` had had made especially for the visit. After a pretty horrendous journey from Roscrea , Tipperary, you couldn't have imagined anything quite so welcoming. Signalled the start of 7 very special days .

Moab -- White Rim Trail

Fantastic trip. 4 days and 3 nights 100 plus mile trip across a tiny section of the Utah Canyonlands National Park between the Colorado and the Green Rivers a little north of their confluence . Narrative to follow shortly.

Our Aspen friends Lee & Julie Miller expertly and with minimum fuss , but colossal skill , put this trip together and provided their truck as our support vehicle .

A 4 hour drive to Moab, UT stopping for picnic in Grand Junction, we met Lee & Julie at the Moab motel before hiring our mountain bikes for 4 days . Just time that evening for L & J to show us the Slick Rock trail . We had time only to do a tiny section of the practice trail , but what a place. Mountain bike trail on rock stretching some 20 plus miles in the desert signed only by white paint marks on the rock.

Met by our 2 other trip members Susan Cross ( Mary's ski Co boss ) and Mark Batmale at 9 am following morning and after leaving 2 vehicles at the pick up point , drove to visiotrs center , Canyonlands National Park and set off on the White Rim Trail ( an old uranium ming road ) in mid morning. We took it in turns to follow a a couple of miles or so behind in the truck with all our gear. How delightful to be biking without loaded panniers ! Julie , bless her, did the treacherous drive down into the Colorado River canyon. Lee did the steep uphill sections. 4 days of simply staggeringly beautiful and wild country and 3 nights out . Relatively easy biking with only limited technical skills required - thankfully. Lee and Julie did a marvellous job of guiding, and overseeing the catering arrangements . We each were responsible for providing an evening meal for all of us plus our own breakfast and picnic lunches individually.

Pics . Presently trying to get Meghan's help in Asheville to write a negative beside or underneath each pic and also to get to grips with updating blog on new Ipad 2, but no success yet.

Therefore pics from foot
1. Lee and Mary on Slick Rock " practice trail ".
2. Not required fortunately !
3. Packing at Moab motel for White Rim trail .
4. Just before the, "off". Lee,, Mary, Mark, Susan and Julie.
5&6. Our trail down the the canyon floor and where it led !
7. A typical view of the Colorado river and what seemed a precarious boulder. Probably been like that for a thousand years.
8. If you look carefully here , you'll see this is a stone bridge with a drop of about 500 feet beneath . Suggestions that we should cycle the
4 feet or so width span bridge were quickly suppressed.
9,10 &11. First night's campsite. Note the loo. Heat operated ventilation system meant no smell at all. Remarkable.
12. The candlestick.
13. First view of the mighty Green River.
14. You wanted to be sure here of your taking off and landing spots!
15. Mary testing likely "depth " by dropping small stone.
16. Thoughts of " A 127 hours " here !
17&18. The trail up to the 3rd night's campsite.
19&20. Setting off on 4th morning ( George driving and therefore responsible for ensuring clean campsite ).
21. Mary going strong ( and still pedaling ) nearing top of the " climb out " to complete the 100 odd mile trip.
22. By coincidence we were stopped on the drive back through Utah to Snowmass by this daily Amtrak west bound train - Denver to Sacramento - on which we will be boarded on June 22nd at start of our great adventure to cycle west - eastt across USA. Please note I'll be changing website for that trip - see
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/georgeandmary



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Fast expanding next generation

Travel arrangements continuing smoothly and spoilt rotten ( again ) by being met at Brisbane airport by Gina on Sunday night and taken back there again on Wednesday morning for Qantas flight back to LA. and generous hospitality , and transport back to Toowoomba ( apologies to Rod and Jen for not having time to see you again )to see Ian and his daughter Georgie.
Pics
1. Sarah and Jo with William and Dinie with Andrew.
2. Gina with 1st grandchild William.
3. Gina, Ian and Georgie.
4. Georgie and newborn Dougal.
5. Gina with view looking south over the Brisbane river from top floor of Langside Place.

Charlotte Plains

The decision to make the trip from Snowmass to Charlotte Plains, Cunnamulla, SW Queensland was a spur of the moment one coming as it did immediately on termination of my winter seasonal employment and the distressing news of Reid's rapidly deteriorating health. With a very full house at Charlotte Plains already - Reid , Robyn , Anita, Rob & Caire and their 3 children , Cammo & Carmen and their 2 children and 2 property hands Neville and Geoff - I was apprehensive about causing additional and unnecessary strain on the family. But with 5 children under 6 , a sick Reid and a mass of jobs to be done on the property , I hope that I was more of a help than a hindrance in my 7 hugely enjoyable and very memorable days there.

Pics from bottom
1.Swimming in the artesian bore drain ( almost 2000 feet unpumped ! )with Neets , Robert Reid Russell V, Charlie and Mattie.
2.Reid wishing so much he could be part of the action.
3.Rob and Cammo mustering wild goats.
4.Never without a compass !
5&6. Rob and Cammo respectively.
7. The CP sign on main road at the back entrance - total acreage 70,000 acres . 8,000
sheep and 600 cattle.
8&9 On day in Cunnamulla with Reid. The latter beside ` the Cunnamulla feller `.
10.Loading goats - $50 a head approx . `Help ` from young Robert and Charlie.
11. Clearing an overgrown and blocked bore drain - more `help` from RRR V and
Charlie.
12.Watching the Royal wedding - Robyn , Neets and Claire.
13.Claire and Reid at a children's party in Cunnamulla.
14. G and Reid beside the weir on the Warrego River outside Cunnamulla.
15. After an emotional farewell.

Brisbane & Toowoomba

Aspen - Denver - LA - Brisbane . Managed to get earlier D to LA and therefore give myself time to negotiate out of having to fly LA - Auckland - Melbourne - Brisbane !
Success with only $50 surplus. Saved 12 hours of travelling time .

Rod and Jen were at B airport to meet me . Meant 5.30 am start for them from T'woomba. They took me straight to their good friends Pete and Emma who have beautiful appt right on the Brisbane river - see pic. And what a breakfast they laid on for us - on patio with the great views over the river . Masses of wonderful fresh fruit - melon , pawpaw, pineapple , custard apple and much else . Delicious . All followed by smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and English muffin. What wonderful hosts.

Then to T'woomba via Needham St , Fig Tree Pocket, where Bob and Betty had their house, Wembury, which disappeared under the B River in 1974 floods. Very nostalgic.

Lovely stay with Rod and Jen in T'woomba. Tibouchina trees - see pic - magnificent . R & J in top form and about to set off for European tour - and then Aspen in 2012 hopefully . Goodness they looked after me well . Thank you very much. T'woomba recovered well from the devastating floods. Hard to believe now.

After yet another fabulous fruit and eggs & bacon breakfast , bus to B and flight - see pic - direct to Cunnamulla and 3 hour drive with Neets ( see last pic ) to Charlotte Plains.