Boondocking on the Mogollan Rim
By Ross
After a great stay at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in the Cottonwood/Sedona area, it was time to move on. We opted for a boondocking spot on the Mogollan Rim in the Coconino National Forest. From WikiPedia: "The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately 200 miles (320 km), starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border with New Mexico. It forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona.” We climbed a winding gravel road up to 7,500 feet in elevation. The wind was howling. Initially, we were freaked out a bit over the wind and isolation. Our trailer was parked along the downsloping edge of a cliff. But as we watched our first sunset from this magnificent overlook we began to settle down and settle in.
I got a chance to ride along the Rim Road and breathe in the views. The Arizona National Scenic Trail that runs from Mexico to the Utah border passes nearby, and I got a chance to ride a few miles on that too! I've been dreaming about bikepacking the Arizona Trail for quite a while so it was nice to get a taste of it.
The highlight of our camping spot: both beautiful sunrises and sunsets. And bonus highlight: I had a perfect TV signal to watch LSU beat Alabama in a hard fought, talent-filled game.
Beautiful sunset
I’m going to ride the length of this one day, including hiking through the Grand Canyon!
I rode a small sliver of the Arizona Trail.
Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome, and Prescott
By Ross
For nearly two weeks we've been enjoying the central Arizona area from our basecamp at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood just a few miles away from Sedona, Arizona. We've explored the nearby communities of Jerome, Prescott, and the Village at Oak Creek. We've eaten at some great restaurants, visited local bookstores, and sampled the local pie. Not too bad, huh!
I've spent nearly every day on the mountain bike. My favorite riding has been the trail system between Oak Creek and Sedona characterized by outstanding views of the red rock formations, challenging technical sections, and cool desert flora. So good.
Yesterday we spent the day exploring the historic, mountain-side town of Jerome. Robin liked the narrow streets, hidden parks, nooks, crannies, and steps that ascended to new unknown places. We stopped in at a haunted bookstore and visited with the owner and ate delicious burgers at the Haunted Hamburger restaurant. From our outdoor bar seat we had a birds eye view of the Verde Valley below.
Today, we head out for a weekend of boondocking and then check into a park near Phoenix.
Exploring bookstores in Prescott
Pies in Sedona
Mountain biking near Sedona
Haunted Kate’s Books in Jerome, AZ
From Moab to Sedona
By Ross
It's been a few days since our last post and it might be easier to catch up with some "Highlights" and "Lowlights". We've had a few. We've traveled from Capitol Reef National Park to Moab, UT to Navaho National Monument (AZ) to Sedona, AZ.
Highlights:
For years I've been dreaming about mountain biking in Moab, UT, known for trails running through stunning natural settings. Driving through downtown Moab early in the morning reveals bike shops busy with vans shuttling tourists onto the nearby trails and Jeepers heading out for adventure. I had a chance to ride two separate days and I loved the slick rock terrain and treacherous, adrenalin-pumping overlooks. I've made a mental note to come back to Moab for a more complete tour of the trails.
The slick rock terrain is so different from the winding dirt trails of Oregon. The "punchy" climbs up the rocky boulders require a burst of speed and torque. Before I figured this out I took a spill, scratched my iPhone, bloodied my ankle, twisted and scuffed my leather seat, and sent my Garmin flying down a slope. After brushing myself off, fetching my Garmin, and analyzing my mistake, I had no further mishaps.
When I got back to the trailer I mentioned to Robin that I had a crash and took a chunk of flesh out of my ankle and she wanted to have a look.
"That's not a gouge," she said.
"I said a chunk," I replied.
"That's not a chunk, either. That's a scratch."
So maybe not a chunk of my ankle, but certainly now a chunk of my ego is missing. Wives.
Robin adventured some in Moab, too. She walked over to watch a barrel racing competition. At first I wondered what would motivate barrels to race and then she showed me a video with horses, and I understood.
We cut short our stay in Moab in search of warm weather, so we headed south. Our first stop was Monument Valley known for the towering sandstone buttes where many a Western movie (including John Wayne’s “Stagecoach”) has been filmed. We felt like true tourists because we paid $20 to park at the Visitors Center, took some photos from the overlook, ran through the gift shop, and got the hell out of there before being stomped by all the other tourists milling around and swinging their selfie sticks: tourist jousting.
Meanwhile, back to our search for warmer weather we crossed the border and camped at Arizona's Navajo National Monument where it proceeded to snow on us in the middle of the night. Despite waking up to snow and ice and 20 degree temperatures, I liked the small, free Sunset View Campground that sits at over 7,200 feet with beautiful sunset views as far as the eye can see.
By contrast we arrived in the Sedona area with sunny, 72 degree weather and settled in at a lovely campground. We'll be at this campground and a nearby state park for the next week. This excites us. Good weather and a relaxed schedule.
And now for the Lowlight:
We left our water pump on and somehow the kitchen faucet turned on while we were driving down the road. The faucet was emptying water onto the sink cover and we think much of the water went into the gray tank because it was now full. However, we had water all over the floor from front to back of the trailer. What a disaster! I discovered it during a stop and my heart sank. We had planned on boondocking but now we were out of fresh water and our gray tank was full. So we called a local campground and they had a nice site available. We towel dried everything, put on the fans, and analyzed the situation. We were lucky, we think. And we'll never leave the water pump in the "on" position again.
Moab mountain bike trail: Navaho Rocks
Monument Valley
Sunny and seventy-two near Sedona
Capitol Reef National Park
by Ross
Like Butch Cassidy on the run from the authorities, we've been on the run from the freezing temperatures. And it seems we're surrounded but not yet ready to give up. We love our morning stretching and exercise ritual usually performed on a tarp or yoga mat just outside the trailer. Waking up to sub-freezing temperatures makes that difficult to impossible. So lately we've gone directly to green smoothies and sightseeing.
We've seen some beautiful places over the years. Capitol Reef National Park is among the most beautiful places we've ever been. The red rock canyon walls are magnificent and varied in colors, shadows, and textures as we drove along the scenic paved road and up into the washes via gravel road. Get bored with one section? No problem, just drive on a mile and everything changes. We even came across the slot canyon where Butch Cassidy had his hideout. Robin commented how tough these people had to be to live through winters in these canyons. We were cold just hiking around and retreated to the heated seats of the pickup truck.
Are you ready for more pie reviews? Within the national park is the Gifford House where they sell fresh pies and cinnamon rolls. We picked up four (4) single-serve pies: two (2) strawberry-rhubarb, peach, and cherry. Yesterday, we dug into the strawberry-rhubarb pies and that was some of the best pie either of us have eaten: buttery, flaky crust with a chunky, delicious filling. Rating: 5 stars.
This morning we're on the road to Moab, UT where we initially planned to stay a week so that I could mountain bike; however, due to cold weather we're going to stay for two days then head to Arizona's warmer forecast.
By the way, we pulled out the National Parks Trivia Pursuit game and played a few cards. We'll play a few cards every time we hit the road for a new destination. There a 100 cards for a total of 600 questions. Just so you know: not everything's a competition (but I'm winning 3-2).
Escalante to Capitol Reef National Park
*Robin
Recommendation: If you ever get the opportunity, start at Bryce Canyon National Park and take Hwy 12 through the Grand Staircase Escalante Monument to Capitol Reef National Park. It a stunningly beautiful drive with precious gems of small towns (Escalante, Boulder) tucked along the way.
We drove from Escalante today, with the express plan of stopping at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. The two women chefs that started this restaurant have won multiple James Beard nominations for their cuisine. In addition they have been staunch supporters of keeping the Grand Staircase Escalante Monument untouched. Sadly, the current president scaled back the size of the monument to allow coal leasing and mining. Our two-day drive through the Monument area showed us why this area is a national treasure.
It was such a treat to have a gourmet lunch at Hell’s Backbone as we hit the halfway point of our drive...in the middle of the wilderness. (Menu attached if you are curious.)
As we were leaving Boulder we had an additional treat. Two cowboys were driving their herd of cattle along the edge of the highway, with three border collies assisting. We paused to watch (and not startle anyone). As we passed we saw another cowboy in the pasture below lassoing a steer (another dog was helping). It felt so rare to see a real slice of old-fashioned Western life in action.
The moment also reminded me of my dad, who was a cowboy on a ranch in Fort Collins, Colorado when I was born. It’s always been a dream of mine to see him on a horse, lassoing cattle!
We're settled in at a small RV park to explore Capitol Reef for a couple of days. Funny coincidence, the Washington Post featured Capitol Reef in a travel article two days ago…calling it as stunning as Zion, but less traveled.
Bryce to Escalante via Kodachrome SP (and a Flat Tire)
By Robin
An adventure isn’t an adventure without mishaps. If we had to have our first flat tire, we picked the perfect day, time and location.
We split from Bryce at dawn, picked up a coffee and headed to Kodachrome State Park for the day (Isn’t that just the BEST name for a park?). Ross mountain-biked and I walk-jogged a trail that explored incredible pinnacles or spires that are unique to the area. Geologists aren’t sure how they were formed.
We hung out in the sunshine the rest of the morning then packed up for the leisurely short drive to Escalante.
As we were leaving the park, Ross noticed a sensor reading low on our back passenger truck tire. We pulled over at a flat pullout and checked. Sure enough, there was a big screw embedded in the tire. Luckily it was sunny, 60 degrees, we were in a safe, flat spot to change the tire.
We unhooked the trailer, pulled out the manual and tools and changed that giant tire! The spare is secured UNDER the truck on a pulley, which was new to both of us. It was a team effort, and we both felt pretty pleased to have pulled off the exchange so smoothly. The drive to Escalante was uneventful, and Ross took the tire to a garage for repair.
As a bonus ‘adventure,’ I forgot to secure the pantry door when we left Kodachrome. When I opened the trailer in Escalante the boxes containing crackers and box of psyllium fiber had EXPLODED all over the inside of the trailer. It was a giant mess that I cleaned up with much cursing. This is the kind of lesson you only learn once. That closet will be secure from now on!
I should have taken pictures of the tire change and food explosion. Use your imagination for those.
Kodachrome Pinnacle example
Our rig in the wild (before the flat).
Zion to Bryce Canyon
By Ross
We're finally getting into the travel groove. What does this mean? We can find a clean pair of socks within 15 minutes of sending out a search party. We have our campground arrival and departure routines down pat. Even T'Chat has settled into the travel lifestyle. All this is very important because only a few days ago, Robin and I looked at each other and asked, "Was this trip a mistake?" The mad dash down to southern Utah took its toll on us. We were feeling stressed.
But now we're starting to get the yummy, easy feeling of relaxing in very beautiful places.
Yesterday after a magical mountain bike ride through the Red Cliffs Recreation Area outside of St. George, UT, we packed up the truck and trailer and headed toward our second national park: Bryce Canyon. Robin plotted a course to Thunderbird Cafe, :"Home of the Ho-made Pies", where we picked up a slice of "thunderberry" (mixed berry) and strawberry/rhubarb.
While Robin has been developing into a master pie chef, I've morphed into the world's greatest pie connoisseur. And while any ole pie is better than a mud pie, the Thunderbird Cafe pies get a very generous 3 out of 5 stars. The filling was over-sweet and mushy (where's the fruit) and the crust lacked that flaky je ne sais quoi.
While visiting Bryce Canyon, we intended to boondock in the nearby Dixie National Forest but found part of it closed to dispersed camping. Taking a long shot chance we drove into the park and got a spot at Sunset Campground INSIDE the park: a veritable fore-TUNA. We're guessing that the subfreezing nighttime temperatures have chased the millennials away, hashtag MyVanHasNoInsulation.
This morning we headed out early for a hike along the rim from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point and then down Queen's Garden Trail to Navajo Trail and back up along Wall Street. Check out the photos because words will not suffice.
After a monster breakfast at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, we drove our pick em up truck to Rainbow Point to hike the short Bristlecone Loop where we saw a 1,600 year old bristlecone pine. It picked its ears, farted, then told us to get off its lawn. So there. That's old.
Ho ho ho!
Bryce Canyon Amphitheater
This Bristlecone Pine looks dead but is actually alive. Incredible.
Zion
by Robin
Southern Utah boasts the Grand Circle of National Parks, and today we hit Park #1 on the list, Zion. From here we plan to enjoy Bryce, Grand Escalante, Capitol Reef, Moab and Canyonlands in a clockwise loop over the next ten days or so.
We were at Zion as the sun came up…and we weren’t the earliest ones! The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived. As I am still a little gimpy, we avoided the strenuous hikes. We rode the park shuttle to the Narrows and walked to the point where the land ends and water hiking begins. Watching all the hikers head up the river in the canyon felt like we were watching some kind of apocalyptic scene. “The zombies go off to meet their fate…”
We took another little hike in the center of the park: The Grottos and Emerald Pools. Light, easy and lovely.
Zion is truly stunning. I often think about the first explorers to places like this. What must have gone through their minds when they saw these incredible rock formations and colors?
What we are learning:
Traveling is different now than when we were in the Magic Bus back in 2012, or even when we were traveling two years ago. The number of people RVing has massively increased…we think it’s a combo of more retirees and more van-dwelling millennials. It’s harder to get reservations in the campgrounds and you can’t fly by the seat of your pants as easily as we did before. Reserve a space well ahead of time or be prepared to boondock.
The National Parks, hiking trails and other tourist sites are more crowded than ever. The best time to do anything is EARLY. Which is OK by us. It’s our favorite time to be out on the trails…peaceful, birds are singing, the light is so pretty.
A Few Days in Hurricane
After rushing to get down to southern Utah, we are pressing pause for a few days.
The original plan was for me (Robin) to compete in the Huntsman Games today, in the 400m. I’d been training for this for most of 2019. Although I’d had a few health-related setbacks during the year, I thought I was more or less ready to compete this week.
Unfortunately, the four days of long drives left me with a ‘tangled up’ left side (sciatic type pain and low back discomfort). It was uncomfortable trying to train during the trip down and it did not improve after we arrived. After a bit of agonizing, I decided not to try to race, as I still felt very off balance today.
This is not a serious injury; it will just take some stretching and movement work to get myself back in alignment. (Although I do already miss my health care rock stars back in Bend!) Life is all about resilience, and this is a very minor setback.
Meanwhile we are enjoying the warm, sunny weather and taking these few days to get ourselves better organized. There’s a lot of fine-tuning when you launch 2 humans and 1 cat into a new small mobile living space.
I guess you could say we are working out the kinks this week. All the kinks! 😬
Tomorrow we’ll switch to another campground closer to Zion and explore our first Great Park of Utah.
Here is T’Chat walking on a leash for your viewing pleasure:
Ely, NV to Hurricane, UT
We landed at Sand Hollow State Park and the weather is warm and delicious! We are thrilled to stow away our winter clothes for a while. Even T'Chat has shed a coat as evidenced by the fur ball tumbleweeds rolling past my chair. We will be here three nights so we'll have a chance to re-organize and re-pack our stuff now that we have a few days of experience under our belts.
Just so you don't think everything's unicorns and puppy dogs, last night we figured out that the black tank valve jiggles loose when we traverse washboard, gravel roads. So when I (Ross) twisted the end cap off the tank outlet to connect our sewer hose, I got spewed. So if you experience a bit of schadenfreude, now would be a good time to express glee.
Veyo’’s Pies, Veyo, Utah. We bought a slice of volcano pie (butterscotch), lemon and apple. 3/5 pie stars. But we still enjoyed them!
View from our site in Sand Hollow.
View from Ross’s morning bike ride in Ely.
Frenchglen, OR to Winnemucca, NV to Ely NV
Makin’ tracks! On the move the last two days, in order to get to St. George, Utah for the Huntsman Senior Games this week. (The Games is a story for another post.)
Yesterday we left at dawn from Page Springs CG and had a nice breakfast at the historic Frenchglen Hotel. I always wonder about restaurants in very isolated towns like this. How do they find and keep employees? How do they keep fresh food ingredients in stock? It must be a lot of work.
It was three hours to Winnemucca, where we camped at Water Canyon Recreation Area (BLM land) in an aspen forest beside a laughing creek. After parking (and feeding the whining kitty), we dashed back to town to do laundry at a laundromat and groceries/supplies. We usually “divide and conquer” in these situations to save time. I did laundry, Ross did groceries. T’Chat napped.
Ross found a lovely mountain bike trail in the morning and I ran sprints up the hill near the trailer. We made our typical green breakfast smoothies* by hooking our blender to a generator outside the rig. Pretty funny.
Today’s drive was long for us (4.5 hours) through a very desolate part of Nevada - Route 50 - dubbed The Loneliest Road in America. Route 50 was part of the original Pony Express route. No ponies anymore, but a great empty road in a vast landscape of sagebrush and sky.
Spending tonight in Ely, NV. Brothels are legal here and have giant signs inviting guests to visit. What happens in Ely, stays in Ely.
*Smoothie ingredients: 2+ cups of greens (spinach, kale, dandelion, chard, beet, etc), berries (blue, straw, cherry) whey protein, psyllium husk, flax seed, kefir or whole fat yogurt, beet juice, fish oil, potato starch or green banana (prebiotic fiber), water.
Water Canyon Recreation Area
Steens Mountain Loop
Highlights
The sub freezing temperatures make for an ideal sleeping environment all bundled up under multiple layers of bedding. Fortunately for Ross, Robin is first to get up and fire up the furnace and coffee. Ross stays in bed snuggling with T'Chat who after eating her breakfast is ready for a warm host.
The 400 watt solar install is charging our batteries to 100%. It's one thing to have a plan. It's a second thing to execute that plan. It's the best thing when the execution works out as planned. What this means is that we have unlimited power to run our trailer as long as the sun is shining. We did have to briefly fire up the generator to blend our green smoothie. Our blender is old and pulls over 1,500 watts to get started.
We hopped in the Ford F-350 (aka "The Beast") and drove the 50 mile Steens Mountain Loop. The views were outstanding, especially overlooking the salt flats of the Alford Desert.
Have you ever heard of Shakshouka? It's a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers and garlic, and commonly spiced with cumin, coriander, and cayenne peppers. We prepared this on our cowboy wok and it was delicious. Nothing like eating gourmet meals in a rustic campground.
View toward Alford Desert from top of Steens Mountain.
Aftermath.
Crystal Crane Hot Springs to Page Springs BLM Campground
Highlights
We survived a night in 8 degree F low temperatures! While our choice of the 4 season Outdoors RV trailer was deliberate, we remained skeptical that we would stay toasty in frigid, frosty weather. Recall that we've previously adventured in a Leisure Travel Vans Unity (cold), a Chinook Concourse (teeth-rattling cold), and off-road teardrop trailer (don't get out of sleeping bag cold). So you can imagine how pleased we were with our current trailer's propane furnace.
We braved the cold temperatures by warming to an interval workout (Robin: sprints; Ross: burpees and vertical jumps).
We reserved the private hot springs tub and turned up the heat (on the water). Very nice.
Lowlights
Our sewer cap was frozen on to the outlet and broke when Ross forcibly removed it which prompted a trip to Big R's in Burns, OR.
Robin has run out of her cookie stash and now we're out in the middle of nowhere.
Official morning temperature. We survived.
These guys cracked us up on our gas stop.
Entrance to Page Springs. Seems to be an anglers paradise, fishermen everywhere.
Bend to Crystal Crane Hot Springs
Highlights
The new Ford F-350 pulls the trailer with ease. We are so glad that we upgraded from the ½ ton Ram 1500 to the 1 ton F-350 with the PowerStroke diesel engine.
After landing at Crystal Crane Hot Springs and Campground, we enjoyed a soak in the mineral springs. Even the sprint to and from the trailer in near freezing temperatures doubled as interval training.
We whipped up a most delicious lentil and veggie soup in our pressure cooker. And to celebrate the beginning of this new adventure, we cracked open our nicest bottle of Pinot Noir that we've been holding on to for some time. We visited the White Rose Estate Winery and Vineyard on a previous trip to the Willamette Valley and splurged on some wine to take home. This was our last and dearest bottle.
T'Chat met her first billy goats!
Updated pic with F350
In the hot spring!!
Robin loves goats and goats love Robin.
Aaaand We're Off!
Today is official launch day. We spent the last few days moving out of our condo into the 21-foot living space we’ll be in for at least the next 6 months. “Will our stuff fit” anxiety is over. It fits, no small thanks to the extra space in the back of the pickup truck. We both wanted to bring luxury items (medicine ball, Ross’ overalls, ham radio equipment, kettlebells, pie-making equipment, books). Lots of organizing still to do, but plenty of time ahead for that.
Most important: T’Chat loves the rig. She’s the most adaptable kitty ever, probably because she was bottle-fed from nearly birth. She grew up leash-walking, hanging out with our rottweiler and corgi, traveling. Nothing much fazes her except the first 20 minutes of travel. She inevitably throws up on the the very first day we drive within the first 20 minutes…then never again. Paper towels will be handy this morning.
Ross and our friend Slim created a perfect setup for T’Chat in the back of the trailer. They took her old kitty condo, turned it over and anchored it in the corner. It’s a great perch for naps or watching birds and squirrels. When we are in transit, T’Chat will ride in the truck with us.
Today’s itinerary: Bend to Burns, OR. About 3 hours of travel. Leaving Oregon just in time, as temps were in the low 20’s here last night. Burns won’t be better (11 degrees!), but luckily we’re in a ‘4-seasons’ vehicle, with good insulation. We won’t hit warmer weather until we get to southern Utah early next week.
Chasing Sunshine 2020
Winter is coming. So we are heading south for warmer climates in a 2019 Outdoors RV Creek Side 21RD travel trailer. We are calling our trip: “Chasing Sunshine 2020”. We have 5 weeks to plan and prepare before our departure.
