drivetofive

Odometer (ILX):  78,139

Fill up your water bottles and grab your granola, because we’re heading for the hills.  This morning, I ventured up the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway – also known as Highway 89 – in search of some of nature’s beauty.  My companions for this trek were my mother, Tia, as well as two friends, Ryan and Tyler.  Logan Canyon has always been one of my favorite places to drive.  Its well-finished pavement, banked curves, and roadside scenery make it a popular highway for motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts – that is, for the 7 or 8 months of the year when weather is prime.

For today’s taste of the outdoors, we drove several miles up the canyon and parked at the trailhead for the Wind Caves.  This is a hike with moderate difficulty due to its steep grade, though it’s only about a mile and a half in one-way length.  Right off the bat, I recognized that the elevation (5,100 feet at the base) played a role in my shortness of breath.  I was grateful for the light breeze and the semi-overcast skies which shielded us from the sun.  My mom was the clear front-runner of the group – she’d walked 10 miles just yesterday, so this was nothing for her.

It took us about an hour to make the 900-foot ascent to the limestone rock outcropping known as either Witch’s Castle or Wind Cave.  There were a half dozen or so other people hanging out at the summit who we visited with.  I was grateful for the chance to catch my breath and share a bite of Tyler’s energy bar (way to be prepared, Tyler!).  Here I’m pictured with Tyler, Tia, and Ryan.

The descent seemed to go by in mere minutes.  Before I knew it, we were back at the parking area.  For our exit from the canyon on Highway 89, I took the wheel of Tyler’s 98,000-miles 1989 Honda Accord coupe.  I’m always amazed at the condition of Tyler’s classic Hondas (he’s also proud owner of a 1990 Prelude Si 4WS).  The Accord, for being 25 years old, drove as tightly as my ILX.  The car was expertly engineered to provide optimal visibility.  I loved driving with the pop-up headlights illuminated – it felt like a step back in time.  Thanks, Tyler, for the honor!

Similarly, I owe Ryan a huge thanks for letting me drive his black Honda S2000 this morning.  I wish I’d thought to get a picture.  Its shifter was one of the most precise I’ve ever rowed.

I’ll be sharing more soon about the rest of this weekend’s fun, but hope you enjoy some pictures from Wind Caves.

Scoping out the map before starting up the mountain.

One-lane dirt trail – up & back.  Easy peasy.

Mom takes the lead.

Tyler pointed across the canyon at the “Crimson Trail” that winds up the opposite side.

Taking a much-needed break.

View from atop the limestone wind caves.

And inside them.

Crawling around and exploring a little.

The view from inside the cave is spectacular.

Back at ground level, mom takes the wheel of the 6-speed ILX.

Probably rocking out to a good song, she gave us a thumbs up as we pulled alongside in Tyler’s Accord.

Driver switcheroo at “Ray Hugie Hydro Park.”

The park was named for a relative of mine who spent the better part of his lifetime working as City Engineer.  For 44 years, Ray served the Logan community.  The $15 million hydroelectric generation power plant near this park was one of the projects that he was instrumental in carrying out.  Ray Hugie’s father and my great-great-grandfather were brothers.

Check you later!

This entry was posted on May 4, 2014 at 9:31 pm and is filed under Hikes, ILX, Utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.