The "Tip o' the Mesa" geocache...

on the high and pointy prow of Adobe Mesa was established by yours truly 10 years ago this month, and it was logged for only the third time just two days ago by an intrepid adventurer. It takes determined effort and the better part of a day to make it out to the end of the mesa from the Castleton-Gateway Road. The logged comment was terse: “Stunning view.” Yep.

The prominent prow of Adobe Mesa stands 1,800 feet above the viewer in this image.

Fun activity: GEOCACHING.

Mostly a glorified campground...

with minimal paleontological interpretation, future visitors to Utahraptor State Park are likely to be somewhat disappointed. The local chapter of the Utah Friends of Paleontology hosted a presentation delivered by park manager Joshua Hansen this evening where he provided some details on the new park being developed north of Moab.

I’ve requested that this diagram be posted on-line so that the public can understand the development plan. One will still be allowed to travel Willow Springs Road and Dalton Wells Road without paying an entrance fee.

High power rockets soared today...

above Ray’s Mesa in a remote corner of the Grand Valley in Colorado, just west of Grand Junction near the state line, organized and coordinated by the local Warp Core rocketry club. About a dozen men of all ages participated in the event and huge fun was had by all.

Launch controller Ben’s view of the launch pads, with my two-stage Majestic model rocket on the center launch rail ready for flight, the first of the day. Someone had to fly in order to check the winds aloft and I volunteered this high flyer.

My two-stage boosted Majestic soaring to an apogee of 2,275 feet (693 meters) on two “F” engines, with a successful recovery under parachute for a flight lasting 2 minutes and 18 seconds, softly landing about 150 feet (~50 m) away from the pad.

Dozens of launches were made throughout the morning by the various club members. Nerd alert!

The point of legal diversion...

of Castle Creek where most of the streamflow is routed into a sluice which then enters a 1.8 mile-long (2.9 km) pipe and is ultimately delivered to a farm’s irrigation headworks lower in the valley. The natural river channel is mostly dry for the next two miles until the point where excess water is returned to the creek.

Two observations: 1) It’s not exactly a healthy riparian system, and 2) blue tarps have limitless applications.

View upstream.

View downstream with the natural channel of Castle Creek off to the right.

Castleton Tower casts a sharp shadow...

on the face of Adobe Mesa at sunset during this time of year. The shadow will slowly creep further westward (to the right) over the next two months when it will nearly align with the prominent prow on the summer solstice. The Tower is nature’s sundial, a natural time-keeping gnomon.

More senseless closures...

of long existing roads in Castle Valley by the tools at the Bureau of Land Management. This one will make vehicular-assisted evacuations in case of search and rescue at Castleton Tower a bit more problematic. Real smart.

Someone is going to be injured by the much-too-thin and virtually invisible wire cable that is strung between the newly installed posts.

One of the closure signs recently installed by the BLM elsewhere in Castle Valley and shown in a previous blog post has already been ripped down. Hayduke lives!

The Ken's Lake Proving Ground...

in the southern Spanish Valley is a nice alternative launch site for higher powered rockets. Several were fired off today.

The MOAB heading to 639 feet.

Frangible Arcas soaring in front of the snowy La Sal Mountains to an apogee of 1,343 feet.

Today's partial solar eclipse...

as captured from Castle Valley, Utah. Peak eclipse occurs here at 12:32 pm MDT and the Sun’s orb will only be 58% obscured by the Moon.

Pre-eclipse Sun with several sunspots snapped at around 8:00 am MDT.

The big bite at the peak of the event for observers in southeast Utah. The Moon swallowed the sunspots.

The skies remained clear and an ice halo developed, and it got significantly chillier during the peak eclipse, seen here in a wide view.

The next total solar eclipse to transit North America will track through central Utah on 12 August 2045. Stay tuned.

Winter is hanging on...

in the high country with the La Sals completely immersed in a huge snow squall.

One week past the historic median peak, based on more than 40 years of record in the La Sal Mountains, the SNOTEL network reports there is 129% of the median snow water equivalent in the snowpack. Most excellent.

Slipping into Arches National Park...

on the loveliest of spring days, my neighbor and I rode our eMTBs on the original entrance road - Willow Springs Road - a 20 mile (32 km) out-and-back from the highway. The nicest day of the year, so far.

Balanced Rock and the snowy La Sal Mountains. Look closely for Turret Arch in The Windows.

Eye of the Whale Arch. What a crazy landscape this is!

Using this perfectly functional trailhead toilet...

is verboten according to Grand County bureaucrats, thereby encouraging unprepared climbers and hikers to dig cat holes along the trail in order to dispose of human waste. All because of missing paperwork. Brilliant!

It is prime time spring climbing season at Castleton Tower, and an administrative waiver could have been granted to keep this site open during the heaviest use of the year. Easy.

No fooling around...

this morning with the launch of a small rocket to celebrate a friend’s birthday and the arrival of April.

Patriot flying into the breeze to 350 feet followed by a gentle recovery by parachute.

Spring arrives in the high desert...

in southern Utah, with the first splashes of bright color displayed by the common Indian paintbrush.

Indian paintbrush (genus Castilleja) in bloom at Round Mountain.

Upper end of Castle Valley, looking north. Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) is beginning to slowly awaken, too.