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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
We were hoping to get the Jeep worked on yesterday but because parts were not in, we had to change our appointment to today. Tim drove to the 4 Wheel Parts store and then biked back to the campground. We spent the day reading, relaxing, riding bikes, walking, doing chores and working on a project. At 4, Tim called and we learned that they have to order another part. Work on the Jeep should be complete tomorrow. So, we wait! Nothing can be done to change things…so we extended our stay another day. Very good thing we have a flexible schedule!
The best part of my day today was my morning walk. I spoke to my mom for awhile and then to a good friend. I was able to walk more than 4 miles and the time passed sooo quickly!
The rest of this day was devoted to laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping. Sometimes we get so busy having a lot of fun that we don’t keep up like we should!
Tim got to watch the NASCAR race and we had a mobile RV wash service clean the exterior. The RV is clean inside and out and the towels and sheets are fresh and clean. It was great to be productive!
Our campsite last night was very quiet. The sky was bright with moonlight, the stars faded into the blackness beyond. I know that I could have gone for a walk down the lane without a flashlight!
A memorial along the lane.
We took our time driving back out to the main road, traveling at about 5mph. This truck and trailer was loaded with cowboys replete with chaps and horses saddled and ready to ride. Several men and horses got out a long distance behind us and then they passed us again and let out this last guy. This is a free-range area for cattle. The cowboys had lasso ropes on their saddles. It might have been fun to watch them work!
The approach to Vegas from Route 93 is a spectacular ride. The mountains are steep and gorgeous with deep canyons. You can see Lake Mead off to the east and then the Colorado River snaking along to the west.
We drove over the Pat Tilman Bridge at Hoover Dam. The dam wasn’t visible from our vantage point but we could see the river below it.
The Vegas skyline from the highway.
We spent the afternoon resting and then we took a bike ride through the campground and in the surrounding area. After being submerged in the southwestern desert for the past three months, the aura of Las Vegas is almost a culture shock for us. The traffic, the congestion, the landscaping bright with flowers, the emerald green grass, the highrises, the fountains; all the things that make Vegas…Vegas! We won’t walk the strip with the throngs of people. We won’t gamble in the casinos. We won’t go see the shows. We are in Vegas to have the Jeep serviced…then we will move on.
We did go for a nighttime ride down the strip to look at all the lights. Lots of glitz, glamor, opulence, money, and shiny stuff!
Tonight is a full moon, a super moon, the worm moon. The Native Americans called it the worm moon because it is at this time of year that the earth begins to soften.
Jacobs Landing Ranch Campground Dolan Springs, Arizona
I was walking along the river this morning when I spotted a coyote on the road ahead. It stared at me and then finally moved on down the road.
We left Parker this morning and started to travel north toward Vegas. We didn’t want to go all the way there today so we tried to find a campsite above Kingman. The first campground was closed because of COVID. This place was also closed but the owner texted me and very graciously offered to let us stay even though there would be no amenities and no one else here. The website looked great. We drove for 3 miles on a gravel washboard road and then were in a quandary about exactly which way to go. We called the guy again and got better directions.
We ended up on a plot in the middle of the desert. The lot was neglected and unkept. To be fair, this is their offseason. The owners plan to return in April and get ready for a May opening. It was plenty nice enough to rest.
We took a good walk this afternoon.
As the sun went down this evening, the moon was rising. It is almost full.
Well, the wind persisted most of the night. The tent once again proved itself to be sturdy, safe, and cozy. We are so glad we have a good quality tent!
We took our time this morning, enjoying the hot coffee and the nice warm fire. There was NO wind and the sun was out.
We decided to take a Jeep trail on the way home. This was a great decision. The drive through the Whipple Mountains was gorgeous. We basically followed a power line trail which normally is not anything special…but this was a great ride.
We stopped on a ridgeline for our breakfast.
This mountain does not look very formidable in this picture…you really cannot appreciate it unless you are face to face with it.
As we traveled, we began to see wild burros. Burros were first introduced in the southwestern desert in the 1500’s. These burros thrive in a very forbidding environment. The steep, rocky slopes, the lack of vegetation, the long distances to travel for water. These burros are just trying to chew their way along and survive. We saw about 2 dozen through the course of the day.
This pair was in the road and they ran along in front of us for a long distance before finding a place to get off. Enjoy our video.
We got back to the RV and we were tired. We unpacked and cleaned everything. We started laundry and then I went out to get groceries and run other errands.
I took a walk this evening. I walked to the casino and around the parking area, making a huge loop.
After dinner, Tim and I walked down along the river at sunset.
