January 4, 2021 – April 9, 2021 Our Winter Adventures

We spent much of January and February trying to stay warm.  We were reluctant to move north because of chillier temperatures. 

Yuma, Arizona was our home base for a while.  Though we had some windy days, it was warm and sunny most of the time.  It is nice to be in a place where things are familiar.  We loved riding our bikes in West Wetlands and along the canals.

One of the best decisions we made was to purchase our Roof Top Tent.  We know there are a lot of sceptics out there…we have heard from you!  Some of you think that we are crazy and a few of you think it is cool.  We have really enjoyed our off-road, overlanding trips.  This adds a new element of adventure and has allowed us to experience the wilderness in a whole new way.  We can really take our time and explore in natural, undisturbed, and isolated settings.

#1 Ajo, Arizona – This was our first RTT experiment.  We were 5 or 6 miles from people.  We were so excited and had so much fun!

#2 Ferguson Lake, California – We had incredible views over the lake, part of the Colorado River.  So quiet. 

#3 Sandstone Canyon Ocotillo, California – One of our favorites…to be out in this canyon all night by ourselves. 

#4 Sheep Canyon Borrego Springs, California – This was a windy, party night.  We learned a lot during this trip.

#5 Hawk Canyon Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Borrego Springs, California – This was a great, secluded spot where an owl hooting all night was our lullaby.

#6 Echo Canyon Death Valley National Park California – Tucked away in a tiny box canyon just us and the bighorn sheep on the ridge,

#7 Shea Road Parker, Arizona – We were sheltered from the wind.

#8 Parker Dam Parker, Arizona – This was a neat little canyon that turned out to be a wind tunnel.  The hike was great!

#9 Whitmore Canyon Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument Arizona – It will be difficult to find another spot as stunning as this…but we are going to try!

#10 Wolf Hole Grand Canyon National Monument Arizona – A quiet, remote place after a long day!

The town of Ajo was a really pleasant surprise, we liked the vibes of this place.

We got to see a lot of the Colorado River from the Mexican border in Yuma all the way to the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. 

Colorado River in Yuma.

Colorado River at Blythe.

Ferguson Lake.

Colorado River at Picacho State Park.

Lake Mead at Cal Nev Ari.

Colorado River in Parker, Arizona.

Parker Dam.

Colorado River below Hoover Dam.

Colorado River at Whitmore Point Grand Canyon.

Lake Powell.

We really liked Picacho State Park and we loved sharing an adventure and dinners, and wine with our good friends, Lee and Claudia.

Mountain Palm Springs Campground in Julian, California was a gem.  We had the place to ourselves and loved camping in the desert, under the stars.

Borrego Springs in southern California will always be a favorite stop.  There is so much to do in the surrounding area – Jeep trails and hiking.  It’is also a great campground in an artsy fartsy town and it is just really fun!

We have been to Death Valley National Park 3 times now.  There is so much to do and see that we have to go back.  We already have a list of things for the next time.  During this trip, the drive in Titus Canyon was a highlight.

We had a lot of fun in Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California.  The rock formations were super cool and the Sierra Nevada Mountains were breathtaking.

We have worked really hard to stay active and we took some amazing hikes.  Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon was both challenging and beautiful.

We hiked up and into this dormant volcano at Amboy Crater in the Mojave Desert.

Walking in Golden Canyon in the bottom of the Death Valley Badlands was another terrific hike.  It was difficult to get to the ridge…but so worth it!

Our trip was certainly impacted by COVID.  We had to take extra care to keep ourselves safe…but what better way to be socially distant and still have the luxury to travel.

We are always on the lookout for wildlife.  No snakes, no tarantulas, no scorpions.  We did get to see bighorn sheep,

and burros,

and jackrabbits,

and lizards,

and javelina,

and coyotes.

And so many beautiful birds.

Writing this and reviewing all of our thousands of beautiful pictures makes us grateful all over again.  We are immensely grateful for our health and we are appreciative of this opportunity to get out and see the country. We are free and having fun!

We have planned this summer to travel north to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  In the meantime, we hope to visit friends and family in Atlanta, Maryland, and Kentucky.   The blog will resume in early June.  Signing off…

April 8. 2021 40East

Cedar Point Campground Foss State Park Foss, Oklahoma

Laps and laps around the campground.

On the road again, 40E, all the way across the rest of New Mexico and into the uppermost, narrow portion of Texas.

The landscape looked like this all day.

Lots of signs of spring 😊

We arrived in Oklahoma late in the afternoon. 

We decided to get off the highway to camp at Foss State Park.  We had a lovely waterfront site.  It was windy but warm.  Tim rode my bike…his has another flat.  I walked.

Fish tacos for our dinner. 

April 7, 2021 Eastward HO!

Blaze In Saddle RV Park Tucumcari, New Mexico

It was 26 degrees this morning when I took my walk around the Home Depot, Walmart, and mall parking lots.  Honestly, there was no wind and there was no humidity so it really wasn’t that cold.  The sun was quickly warming the world around me.

We drove today on 40E for 315 miles.  The drive was a little easier than yesterday, Tim could actually use the cruise control.  My navigation skills are not being utilized…just drive on 40E and keep going!

We passed mesas and cliffs of colorful sandstone and lots of red rock country.  We passed the lava flows of El Malpais National Monument.  This is another area that we would love to explore someday.  There is so much to see…we will never see it all!

A bunch of casinos along the way.

We haven’t explored too much of New Mexico.  The prettiest parts are at higher elevations and in the northern portion of the state.  It is on our list to come back when it is warm here. We could still see snow on the mountains!

Right now, our days are about chunking away the miles.  We are hoping to have our slide-out covers repaired in Red Bay, Alabama and then we need to be in Atlanta by April 15^th.

I walked speed laps at the rest stop while Tim ate his breakfast.  It is hard to get all my steps in when we are driving all day.

The trees around Albuquerque had bright green buds and pretty pink blossoms.  Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year.

The city has some of the prettiest bridges.

I took another walk once we were settled at the RV Park…I don’t want to lose all my positive momentum!  The park sits right on Historic Route 66 and so I walked along the road for nostalgia…because I could!

I don’t have that much to say today but I am under intense pressure from my partner to summarize this trip with a montage of pictures…look for that in the days to come.  That’s a project I can work on while I am riding. 

April 6, 2021 Across Navajo Nation

Home Depot Parking Lot Gallup, New Mexico

I got a nice morning walk.  I got to talk to my sister, my dear friend, Lois, and my mom.  All that chatting really helped the miles go by!  The area outside the RV park had some nice red rock and a hiking trail.

We traveled east of Page on a scenic route through Navajo Nation.  There were a lot of signs reminding people to mask up and to avoid gatherings and ceremonies.  It also looked like there was a curfew in place from 10pm to 5am. 

We passed, but did not stop, many open-air markets selling horse hair pottery, kachina dolls, Navajo jewelry, and cedar berries.

Breakfast spot.

The valley beyond.

Most of the day we traveled at 5,000- 6,000 feet.  There were isolated villages and long miles of sparsely populated mesas.  There were small ranches and lots of abandoned buildings and shacks mixed with well kept yards and houses.  There were also lots of roaming dogs.

The mesas, buttes, canyons, washes, and hoodoos were gorgeous.  There were miles and miles of sagebrush, desert grasses, and tumbleweed. 

The scenery was gorgeous but the driving was tough.  The road was winding and steep.  The winds were blowing and the road surface was poorly patched asphalt.  At 3pm, the driver needed a nap! 

We arrived at 7,000 feet and there were big stands of ponderosa pine and even some vestiges of snow. 

At last, we were in New Mexico.

We were looking for a camping spot.  The county park outside of Gallup was closed because of COVID.  Our other options were Cracker Barrel, Walmart, backtracking on 40W or driving another hour to Grants, New Mexico.

The Cracker Barrel RV lanes were very small and couldn’t accommodate us.  We looked at Walmart but decided on Home Depot next door.  We did some shopping at Home Depot, got our dinner at Applebee’s, and got supplies at Walmart.

We are at 6,500 feet of elevation. It is supposed to be 21 degrees here tonight so we might get a little chilly…but we have lots of blankets, a propane furnace, and each other!

April 5, 2021 Lake Powell

Page Lake Powell Campground Page, Arizona

As I walked this morning, I passed the trailhead for the Secret Sauce Trail.  Saint George has a complex system of extreme mountain biking trails.  I would like to do more hiking.  I would like to do more kayaking and canoeing.  Mountain biking though, is NOT on my list.  I have no aspirations to do any mountain biking.  It looks too perilous…rutted, bumpy trails strewn with obstacles.  I prefer to ride on a smooth surface!  I do admire the agility, quickness, and balance of those that ride.

This morning we had a choice.  We could take the scenic road to the south along Vermillion Cliffs or we could take the scenic route to the north along the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.   Today we chose the shorter route.  We left Utah.

A short while later we entered Arizona.

Back into Utah.

Lunch at Paria Canyon Contact Station.

We entered Arizona again and stopped at the Waheap Overlook.  Here we could see Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam and Bridge.

Enjoy the video.

Before we crossed the bridge, we saw this tractor trailer moving this huge boat.  It was on the way to the Waheap Marina.  Traffic was stopped in all directions to allow the wide load to pass.

The view of the canyon from the bridge in the moving RV.

We camped tonight at the Page Lake Powell Campground. 

I went out this afternoon to get groceries while Tim rested.  I also found Big John’s Texas BBQ.  I got some brisket and fixings for a picnic dinner.

We drove the Jeep to Antelope Point Marina at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  We enjoyed our dinner and then we went climbing.  We hiked along the sandstone ledges, working our way down to the beach.  It was really fun clambering on the rockface. 

We would have loved to go to Antelope Canyon.  This is a Navajo Tribal guided hike.  Because of COVID, the tours are cancelled…another place to add to the growing list of places we want to see next time!

April 4, 2021 Home Away From Home Again

Desert Canyons RV Park Saint George, Utah Day 4

Our campsite was quiet. We were very tired. There was no wind. We slept well. We were ready to go back to the RV and so, this RTT adventure had come to an end.

We only had about 20 miles to drive to get back.

On the way we stopped to talk to Kyle and Allison who got engaged this weekend! We are so thrilled!

Today we did lots of laundry and rested and cleaned stuff and wrote the blog and made lots of phone calls to family.

Tomorrow we move on.

Sending lots of healing thoughts, love, and hugs to Debbie, Aunt Kathy, and Aunt Jeanne. May you all get well soon!

April 3, 2021 Wolf Hole

Desert Canyons RV Park Saint George, Utah Day 3 AND RTT at Wolf Hole

The night sky last night, was the most incredible I have ever seen.   The stars were brilliant and there were soooo many!  There is very little humidity and moisture in the air, we were at a higher altitude where the atmosphere is thinner, the moon didn’t rise until after 3am and we are very far away from any city lights; these factors make stargazing here an amazing experience. 

Good morning Grand Canyon!

We left first thing in the morning, traveling back over the 7 miles of lava flow and through the changing light and shifting perspectives. 

Up and out!

We arrived at the crossroads at the schoolhouse and took a break to eat breakfast and explore a little.

We passed an active ranch, the Bundy Ranch,  with imposing No Trespassing warnings.  They had a sign posted:  We have firearms and we have a backhoe!  YIKES!!

A young guy that camped with us on the Rim told us that Twin Point was another great place to camp.  We thought we would try and go there.  We had brought with us an extra 4 gallons of fuel, so we had just about a full tank.  It was about 80 miles to Twin Point and then we needed fuel to get out on Sunday…another 96 miles.  We decided to go west and measure our fuel use and then make a decision about whether or not a trip to Twin Point was feasible.

More pinyon forest to the next crossroad…NOPE not risking it.  We had what we thought might be a 13-mile fuel cushion.  We were too far out to risk making a foolish choice.  ABORT MISSION!  Twin Point is now on our list for the next trip!  The road was rough but the air smelled like juniper and we saw a beautiful flock blue stellar jays.  We even saw a small patch of snow in an area deeply shaded by a canyon wall. 

We took the road to the north, confident that we would find a pretty place to camp. 

The cows wander as they please, through the prickly sagebrush.

We traveled through Hidden Canyon.  We were earnestly looking for a place to camp.  Our criteria:  nice view, flat spot, place for fire…we searched and searched as one hour turned to two.

Meanwhile the scenery was lovely.  We crossed desert, descended into valleys, traversed canyons, climbed mountains all the while looking for the perfect camping spot…or any camping spot!

We finally made it out to the main road.  We took a short spur up a hill at Wolf Hole.  Here we found a pretty little site.  It was peaceful and we were grateful, after eight hours of travel, to find it!

We had wine, which always helps, and a nice fire.  We listened to music and spent the evening counting our many blessings! 

Sunset at Wolf Hole.

April 2, 2021 Camping On The North Rim

Desert Canyons RV Park Saint George, Utah Day 2 AND RTT in Whitmore Canyon

We were planning a two-night overland camping experience in the Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument.  This is an area accessible only by high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles.  The entire monument is one million acres and has 6,000 miles of rough road.  There are no services here…no gas, no water, no shelter, few bathrooms, no cell service.  There are strict warnings on the National Park Service website.  They advise all terrain tires with at least one spare, extra fuel, extra water, extra food.  In some places in the park, visitors rarely go…you might not see another person for weeks.  All of this being said…it is a wonderful, rare opportunity to be able to visit here.  We knew it was important to respect the information and be well-prepared…or it could hurt us.

The beginning was a hardpacked gravel road in very good condition. 

We began to see the mountains ahead and the landscape began to change.  In fact, all day, as we climbed mountains and then descended into canyons and valleys, we drove through continuously changing habitat and environment. 

We traveled up to Quail Hill Pass at 5,082 feet, through a juniper and pinyon tree forest. 

We drove through almost 70 miles of wilderness.  The hawks were soaring.  The weather was perfect. 

We traveled along Hurricane Cliffs.  The area was dotted with free range cattle and a few small ranches nestled in the valley. 

It is hard to wrap your head around the vastness, the scope and scale of the wide-open land.  The extraoridnary beauty, the isolation, the wildness, without being in it.

There were some derelict, neglected buildings.

The road was extremely dusty.  Though we saw few other vehicles, they definitely left us in plumes of dirt!

We passed the Trumbull Schoolhouse, built in the early 1900’s for the children of ranchers trying to dry farm in this place.

We passed through the Bar 10 Ranch.  This is a dude ranch where you can sleep in a covered wagon and ride horses in the canyons.

Now, we were in the National Park.  We drove on a rough winding road that follows a lava flow.  The sharp black rocks are embedded in the earth.  They are the result of a volcano, Mount Logan, that was active 3.6 million years ago.  Additionally, lava fountains spewed hot lava and rocks into the melting snow, leaving behind jagged dramatic black rock formations.  The overlapping flows were created 72,000 to 850,000 years ago.  These lava flows were so extensive that they blocked the Grand Canyon. The river was blocked and the water backed up 90 miles. Below the level of the blockage, the river dried up and the fish and animals perished. At one time, it was possible to walk across the flow from one side to the other…then, the Colorado River broke the dam and moved it 75 miles to the end of the canyon.

This cinder cone is 87,000 years old.

At last, we arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We set up our campsite right along the rim.  We chocked the Jeep wheels! We were 900 feet above the Colorado River and 1,500 feet below the South Rim.  We could hear the water rapids below. 

Tim’s video.

We took a hike to appreciate the views.

This was a spectacular spot…the most stunning place we have ever camped. 

We watched ravens flying through the canyon and up to a roost on a rock ledge.

This lizard was our neighbor.

A guy who was camped at the Whitmore Canyon Overlook took our pictures.

We watched rafters floating the river.

We were there all by ourselves for most of the day.  In late afternoon, a few others also came to camp. 

We spent the evening drinking wine and watching the changing light.

April 1, 2021 Pretty Ride To Utah

Desert Canyons RV Park, Saint George, Utah

There are these great-tailed grackles in the campground.  They make the coolest bird noises!

Goodbye Las Vegas!

Today we traveled along 15 North, another scenic highway.  The scenery was interesting in Nevada.

It wasn’t until we got to Arizona that the scenery was spectacular!

The road looked like it was going to dead-end into this mountain.  There was a great crease cut away and the road descended steeply with gorgeous views.  We were in the Virgin River Gorge.  The road zigzagged along with the river.

We entered Utah and then it was just a couple of miles to our campground, again in a beautiful setting.

We went to the Public Lands Office in Saint George.  There we were able to get good maps for our overnight adventure.  We are going tomorrow to explore the Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument.  We hope to stay out two nights in the rooftop tent.  We will see how our day goes and what we find.  No blog posts until Sunday!

March 31, 2021 Got Baby Back

Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort Las, Vegas Nevada Day 4

Since we knew that we had all day and nowhere to go we took our time with our morning exercise. I was able to get more than 4 miles done.

Later in the morning, we took a great bike ride around the campground and through the neighborhood.

We spent the afternoon quietly, doing some more laundry and fixing things. We got a call at around 2. The Jeep was ready! We called for an Uber and went to 4 Wheel Parts. We got a new steering stabilizer, the stock arm was not sufficient for our setup. We also had the shocks replaced. The rear shocks had been leaking oil. The new rear shocks are gas and beefier. Now we are ready to try things out! If you go to the places we have been and you challenge your Jeep in the way we have, you have to expect to make repairs…but it is oh so worth it to us!

Tomorrow we are leaving and plan to go to Saint George, Utah. There is a Public Lands Office there where we hope to get good information so that we can go explore Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument.