Thanksgiving Vacation

Thanksgiving week vacation was packed full of driving to a few different locations. First stop was Sedona on Saturday and after a rainy night and rain called for all day on Sunday we decided to beat feet to Fountain Hills to see Shawn Gregory and family and to see his 2nd home which happens to be 10 minutes from McDowell mountain park which has miles and miles of mountain biking. It was cold and rainy on Sunday but the granite terrain soaks up the moisture just fine and we knocked out 18 miles on the competitive tracks. The camp grounds are awesome with very little people around. On Monday Shawn and I went out for a 5 hour ride and rode over Tom's Thumb area onto the Scottsdale side and did a loop back over Sunrise and back to the Fountain Hills side. We were short on light for our original ride plan but still ended up with nearly 40 miles and 5k of climbing. Some awesome trails with rocky and technical spots on the Scottsdale side. On Tuesday morning Laura and I did a quick cruiser on the Pemberton Trail loop and ended up with 18 miles total. So, after a few days there we headed over to Las Vegas on Tuesday to spend a few days. We stayed at Dale Savage's house which was our third year at his house and now a tradition to spend Turkey Day there and feast like kings. Dale does an awesome job of preparing a super deluxe turkey dinner with all of the fixings. We did manage to visit with Laura's dad and also her mother. Too little time to do everything. I was able to fit in a single speed cross ride on the road Wednesday with winds and some snow up at Red Rock loop area. Also, as tradition on Thanksgiving day we ride out at Cottonwood Valley. It ended up with just Dale, Laura and me riding the NORBA loop from the Late Night parking lot; I continued onto Blue Diamond where Laura picked me up. It was cold! We departed Vegas on Friday and headed over to St. George, Utah to stay a night with Adam Pace and family to see the new house. Adam and family (he has 3 kids) just relocated from Las Vegas to St. George this past summer. Adam showed us some sweet singletrack not too far from his house. We where also able to squeeze in an hour ride on Friday, just before dusk and a Saturday morning ride at the Santa Clara Preserve Barrel Roll trail system. Great riding for sure on these trails with some techy stuff and good climbing. I'm looking forward to getting back over there soon to ride more of these trails. Maybe I can squeeze in a training trip weekend in December or January.

The following pics are somewhat out of order but who cares!?! Enjoy!




Sedona camping spot on Saturday evening before packing up and going to Fountain Hills.

The rubber duck that was to be hung on the Hung Duck trail in Cottonwood Valley. Compliments of TR.

Laura can sure cook it up while camping. Homemade onion rings from scratch with turkey burgers to follow.

Our camping spot in McDowell Park.

Shawn Gregory enjoying the sun.

Rocky Knob.

On the Scottsdale side.

Laura having fun on the Pemberton cruiser trail.

The singlespeed cross bike on my road ride on Wednesday. Red Rocks in the background.

Laura descending down on our way to the Devils Staircase.

Hung Duck tree.

Views from Barrel Roll in St. George.

Laura having a blast on Barrel Roll.

Adam and I on Barrel Roll.

Laura still sleeeping in the van while in McDowell.

I LIKE MY VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell by my many photos.