Latest spring trip photos: Emmy and Vini in Vernal, UT, pointing out the great mountain biking there (we rode Retail Sale & Slippery When Wet-great fun!).  We hadn't seen Vini Norris Exton (formerly Scott) in a dozen years (one of the mainstays of the biking scene in Jackson); she received her PhD in Education on May 2 and lives in the cutest 1930 vintage stucco house and teaches English.  Clockwise (sort of) photos: four from the hike into Lathrop Canyon from Island in the Sky highway, the White Rim trail beckoning far below in the fourth; details of grass in sand; a HUGE cottonwood in Castle Valley, UT, and a cool lizard--Crotaphytus collaris, or yellow-headed collared lizard, two of which I saw along Horsethief trail above the Colorado at Loma, UT.  The lizard at the top of the page is one Rich saw on Lathrop Trail, and it is a Crotaphytus vestigium, another Collared variety.  Center bottom photo: Horsethief trail below an overlook; this is one of our favorite trails.  We also did a new mountain bike trail near Westwater and hiked the Alcove Trail to Moses and Zeus in Island in the Sky (long sandy wash!).  Rich "playing" with his malfunctioning bike--the reason he bought a new Specialized StumpJumper at Altitude in Vernal, UT (thanks Troy!).  The next photos are of what's left of the historic Dewey Bridge on the Colorado between Castle Valley and Cisco; it had just been restored in 2000, but some kids playing with matches destroyed all of that a month ago.  Sad to see this landmark gone; there are no plans to rebuild it!  Great weather--not too hot or windy.  Biked five days and hiked two.  Lots of ravens and canyon wrens, cactus, scarlet gilia and Indian paintbrush in bloom, campside beer and food.  NEXT YEAR: we will be in our house for the spring break!

blackhen