Moab with Dave and the Women

 The Durham Jones & Pinegar Women's Law Group held its annual retreat in Moab over the March 7-8 weekend.  Six of the women lawyers came to the retreat, as well as one of the summer clerks, Alexis Jones, pictured above.  The centerpiece of the weekend was running/walking the Moab Half Marathon.  Dave was appalled to spend $75 to walk the 5-mile alternate race, but he was a good sport about accompanying me. 

We rode the bus to the entrance of Negro Bill Canyon, where our race began.  There were beautiful views of dawn over the Colorado River as we rode along.

Some Moabites were so embarrassed at the use of the word "Negro" in the name of their canyon that they taped it out.

It was a beautiful walk, through the red rock canyon all the way to Moab.  We passed drummers on the way, entertaining the runners.  As we neared the finish line, among the stragglers, it was almost more than Dave could do, not to dash in front of the last few chubby women jogging slowly ahead of us.  As we plodded across the finish line, the announcer said excitedly, "We have David and Gretta Spendlove, 67 and 64, running in together."

We spent the afternoon with Alexis Jones and her husband, Trevor, driving through the red rock country and taking little hikes along the way.  We stopped at Dead Horse Point. 

We also hiked to Mesa Arch in Canyonlands.

 

The group ate one dinner at Miguel's Baja Grill, with great Mexican food, and another dinner at the Red Cliffs Lodge, 14 miles up the Colorado River.  The sunset over the Colorado was spectacular.

During our free time, we explored some of the galleries of Western photographs and Native American jewelry. As a combined birthday and Mother's Day gift, Dave bought me a handmade silver mosaic bear pendant, inlaid with carnelian, lapis, and smoky oyster.