AUGUST 2010

Tue 10 Star Party at Dead Horse Point - Join park staff for an evening star party complete with a constellation tour. Party is from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. Meet at the visitor center amphitheater. (435) 259-2614

Fri 13 Dead Horse Point State Park - Uranium- One of Moab's Geological Wonders: Join guest speaker Nathaniel Clark from Canyonlands National Park for a program about the geology around Moab. Meet at the visitor center amphitheater at 8 p.m. (435) 259-2614

Mon 16 Dead Horse Point State Park - Desert Dwelling Birds: Join us for a guided bird walk and learn to identify desert birds by sight and sound. Understand how desert dwelling birds survive the harsh conditions of their home environment. Meet at the visitor center at 7:30 pm. Please be sure to bring water and sturdy shoes. (435) 259-2614

Sat 21 Dog Days of Summer - An all inclusive dining experience & silent auction to benefit the animals of the Moab Humane Society. $27 per Adult, $10 per Child (Under 10yrs). 4:30pm - 9:00pm. Tickets available at Moab Barkery, Buck's Grill & Moab City Animal Shelter - Contact the Humane Society for more info at 435-259-4862.

Sun 22 Beat The Heat River Trip! - Help The animals & beat the heat, come float the Colorado with the Humane Society of Moab Valley. $40 per person. Space is limited so call today. Contact the Humane Society for more info at 435-259-4862.

Tue 24 Full Moon Hike at Dead Horse Point State Park - Join park staff for a mile-long hike at sunset while the full moon is rising. Along the way we will discover some animals that are rising as other animals go to sleep for the night. Meet at the Neck, about one mile south of the visitor center at 8 p.m. for this hour-long program.

Fri-Sun 27-29 Moab Monsoons Photo & Digital Darkroom Workshop - A personal, intensive workshop to photograph the dramatic canyons, impossibly perched arches and towering sandstone spires of Arches & Canyonlands, guided by Bret Edge & Nat Coalson. Shoot the landscape during sunrise & sunset, and during the day master the digital darkroom with Lightroom & Photoshop. For more info visit www.moabphotoworkshops.com or call 602-571-4170.

Sun 29 Dead Horse Point State Park - Incredible Insects! Meet at the visitor center amphitheater at 8 p.m. for a program about the insects that make their home at Dead Horse Point State Park. There will be a short presentation and an opportunity to explore the desert for insects. (435) 259-2614

Sat 28 First Annual Red Rock Regatta at Red Cliffs Lodge - Featuring live music and entertainment. The event kicks off with Rocky Rapid Flotilla, a free All-Crafts Floating Costume Contest, and features The Whites Rapid Dash, an All-Crafts Sprint for Glory through Whites Rapid. For admission prices and pre-registration visit www.splore.ejoinme.org/RedRockRegatta. For more info contact Ann at 801-484-4128 X502.

SEPTEMBER 2010

Thu 2 Dead Horse Point State Park - Star Party: Join us for an evening star party complete with a constellation tour. Party lasts from 9 until 10:30 p.m. Meet at the visitor center amphitheater. (435) 259-2614

Thu-Mon* 2-13 Moab Music Festival - Presenting "Music in Concert with the Landscape," the Moab Music Festival offers world class musical performances set in the spectacular landscape of the Utah canyonlands region. For more information visit www.moabmusicfest.org or call 435-259-7003.

Sat-Mon 4-6 Labor Day Red Rock 4 Wheelers Campout
Organized by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers - Overnight trips with backcountry camping, with additional day-trips on each of the three days. The club will organize the event and provide the guides, you bring all your other needs. Early trail reservations are recommended. For more info visit www.rr4w.com.

Mon 6 Labor Day - Holiday

Sat 11 Moab Art Walk - Stroll Moab's galleries, shops, and cafes and view fine locally created Moab art. The Moab Art Walk includes featured artists and receptions. Most exhibits run for a month or more so feel free to stop in anytime at participating locations! For more info visit www.moabartwalk.com or call 435-259-4446. 6pm-9pm

Thu-Sun 16-19 MOAB YOGA on the ROCKS - Backpacking yoga retreat - Moab Yoga on the Rocks is dedicated to delivering an enriching, refreshing and rejuvenating backpacking and outdoor yoga retreat. Fee charged. For more info visit www.moabyogaontherocks.com or call 801-842-6234.

Fri-Sun 17-19 Moab Century Tour The Moab Century Tour encompasses an inspiring variety of landscape to awaken the cycling spirit. Channel the energy of riding through this grandeur of Moab’s canyon country by putting purpose behind your cycling. By focusing proceeds of the Tour with cancer survivorship programs each participant becomes a powerful force against cancer. For more info call 435-259-2698 or visit www.skinnytireevents.com.

9/18-11/2 New Harmonies Smithsonian Exhibit - The Museum of Moab presents "New Harmonies: Exploring American Roots Music", an exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. Explore America's home grown music, from gospel to bluegrass, while learning about the musical history of Moab. Through out the exhibit there will be various lectures, performances, and workshops sharing the story of America's music. For more info call 435-259-7985. 118 East Center Street

Wed-Sun 22-26 Skydive Moab Festival - Come see over 300+ skydivers jump and make over 3000 jumps in just 4 days. They'll reach speeds well over 150 mph. For more info visit www.skydivemoab.com, send an email to info@skydivemoab.com, or call 435-259-JUMP.

Thu 23 Full Moon Hike at Dead Horse Point State Park - Join park staff for a mile-long full moon hike. Meet at the Neck parking area at 7:30 p.m. for this hour-long program.

Thu-Sun 23-26 MOAB YOGA on the ROCKS - Backpacking yoga retreat - Moab Yoga on the Rocks is dedicated to delivering an enriching, refreshing and rejuvenating backpacking and outdoor yoga retreat. Fee charged. For more info visit www.moabyogaontherocks.com or call 801-842-6234.

Thu-Sun 9/30-10/3 Moab Outerbike - Outerbike is an outdoor bicycle demo event open to consumers. The world's best bike manufacturers will be bringing their new models to Moab. For more information visit www.outerbike.com or call 800-845-2453.

Thu-Sun 9/30-10/3 MOAB YOGA on the ROCKS - Backpacking yoga retreat - Moab Yoga on the Rocks is dedicated to delivering an enriching, refreshing and rejuvenating backpacking and outdoor yoga retreat. Fee charged. For more info visit www.moabyogaontherocks.com or call 801-842-6234.

Two million tons would fill 60 stories of the 110-story Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). This milestone comes only 5 months after the Moab Project shipped the first of 16 million tons total.
"DOE could not be happier with the progress we are making in moving the mill tailings away from the Colorado River," said Federal Project Director Donald Metzler.

Extensions to the rail spurs at both the Moab and Crescent Junction sites have enabled adding two more railcars, which each carry four containers of mill tailings, to the two daily train shipments, 5 days a week. About 5,000 tons of tailings are transported with each 36-car trainload.

At the Crescent Junction site, the project has begun placing permanent cover materials over the tailings where the design height of the contaminated materials has been reached.
More information about the Moab Project is available online at www.gjem.energy.gov/moab.

Everyone asks me how I get the dinner out so quickly. I use the following process to cook quickly:
1. First I select the dish I want to prepare.
2. When I have what I’d like to prepare in mind, I lay out all the kitchen tools I will use for easy access i.e. cutting board and knife together, stirring spoon next sauté pan or pot near the stove and so on.
3. Then I line up all the seasonings I will use in the order I’ll be using them.
4. Then I select the foods I will use and put them where I will be using them, i.e. onions, garlic, celery or carrots in a bowl near the cutting board. I keep the cold foods in the refrigerator, until ready for use.

If you use this process, it will make your cooking experience more enjoyable because everything will be at hand. It’s the way restaurants can prepare your dinner so quickly.
My next post will be on how to use a knife and cutting board and the start of building flavors, Sofritto and the marriage of these flavors Insopora.

I hope I’ve helped you learn a little about cooking and encourage you to test it out.
Bon appetite
Your chef Sammii

Created by the Moab Travel Council

If you could take one tidbit of advice with you as you leave for vacation it would be to expect the unexpected. Surprises welcome or not, are bound to come when you set foot outside your door. How mentally prepared you are can make the difference between a meltdown and a good laugh.

All travel used to be a bit of an adventure but these days, modern technology has lulled us into thinking everything will always run like clockwork. It doesn't! The recent uncertainties of travel (such as volcanic ash clouds and oil spills) now take us back a bit to an older way of traveling which expected a degree of delay, uncertainty and adventure in getting to and from your destination.

Guests who travel with Trusted Adventures members are in the hands of experts trained to prepare for surprises, before, after and during your planned itinerary. After following a tour operator's guidelines on what to bring on a trip, don't forget to tuck in a generous sense of humor to help you embrace the unexpected. A smile and laugh go a long way to counter any stress or travel anxiety you may be feeling.

We asked our trusted members for a few more tips on anticipating and coping with the unexpected. Here are nine gems of sage advice from our alliance of nine…

1. First, plan some built-in buffer time for acclimation and sightseeing before your tour to accommodate unexpected travel delays, missed connections and lost bags.
2. Pack a carry-on day bag with enough resources (books, batteries, refreshments, change of clothes, etc) to keep you occupied and happy during unplanned delays and snafus.
3. Carry energy-boosting snack bars and bottled water on as many legs of the journey as possible.
4. Never pass up an opportunity to use a bathroom and carry a small roll of toilet tissue in your daypack.
5. Keep playing cards and travel games handy for transit slow-downs due to weather, road conditions, a religious festival or custom and immigration delays.
6. Bring an empty duffel bag for unplanned shopping opportunities.
7. Keep your camera charged and readily available for spontaneous photo opportunities.
8. Make and secure copies of your passport name page should you and your documents become separated.
9. Retain a list of itinerary-related phone numbers and addresses as well as numbers from your home or business life you may need.
We want your vacation with us to be an adventure – planned AND unplanned. Follow these tips and it will surely be as rich and rewarding an experience as possible!

Here are a few vacation ideas that lend themselves to great pre and post trip extensions while also promising to deliver more than a few spontaneous surprises!

-The Trusted Adventures Team

This Saturday, June 26, will be the 4th Annual Raft for the Cure event hosted by Moab Adventure Center. After the day's rafting adventure, a BBQ dinner, live music, and silent auction take place in the Moab Adventure Center parking lot. This year's auction features some incredible items like a New York getaway with airfare and Broadway show, an Indy-style racing experience at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and much more. See a list here:

The dinner and concert will start at 6:00 PM on Saturday and is open to the public. Admission is $15. Proceeds are donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Salt Lake City Affiliate. This year's band is Contagious with some other excellent musicians playing beforehand. We hope you'll come join the fun.

You can see last year's video and more information here:
http://www.raftforthecure.com/

Please pass this on!

A great way to save money on any vacation is to package your hotel room with activities. Canyonlands By Night & Day teams up with some of the finest hotels around Moab to create some great money saving offers. The offers below are priced for two adults and include all taxes; however, gratuities are additional. Please search through our 2010 packages or download more information and see if one fits you.

You can always call our friendly staff at 1-800-394-9978 for helpful tips, tricks and answers to your questions.