Our Time In Moab

First, some pictures that were not posted from last Monday, the 8th, when we drove Onion Creek and Polar Mesa.

 Keith in the red, red canyon at Onion Creek

 Through the windshield on Polar Mesa

The iconic image of the towers at Fisher Canyon

Thursday, April 11 - The skies were gray, so we went into town for some bandwidth at the library. We had another hamburger at Milt’s. Minutes after we got back Paul and Laurie arrived and we spent the afternoon catching up.

Friday, April 12 - Dorothy had been saying for years how much she enjoyed the Fins and Things trail. I recalled it as short and scenic all on slick rock. We found out that we only did about a fourth of the trail. It’s one of the best trails in Moab if you avoid the section after crossing Sand Flats Road. That section is just rough with no redeeming scenery or challenges. The trail has a dozen or more nothing but blue sky out the windshield climbs and some sharp drop off ledges.

Paul and Laurie in their red Jeep on Fins and Things

 Rubi On The Rocks

Going Down

The Usual Suspects

Saturday, April 13 - Keith worked on Dorothy’s ailing self-belt. We could not find any fault with it such as trash in it, it just needs to be replaced. He almost got the torn head both out, but it cammed out. He jury-rigged it so she can use it with it retracting. Early cocktails and a late campfire.

Sunday, April 14 - We did not plan it, but it turned into a lazy Sunday morning. It’s 10:30 and we are still in jammies. The forecast for the next two days is clouds, wind and maybe some rain.  

That said, it was fairly clear at 4pm, so we decided to head to the not all that undisclosed, Secret Spire. I thought we had been there in 2013. See photo. Then I saw a photo of the actual spire and I had to go.

A Few Of The Things That Keep Us Coming Back To Moab

What I Thought Was The Secret Spire

 The Real Secret Spire

Tombstone Rock With The La Sal's In The Background

Monday, April 15 - We lazed around, got one or two small chores done and solved the world’s problems. After Dorothy’s LONG nap, we went into town to see the Willys Jeeps and have dinner.

Southern Utah

Tuesday, April 2 - We tried to access the White Rocks from the south. The ranger said it was easy. Maybe so, we could see them, but did not find the secret trail.

Wednesday, April 3 - I turned on the generator to cook Buckwheat pancakes. They were yummy. The noise from the generator blocked outside sounds, so we were surprised to find the others were packed up and heading to Moab on different routes. We are not ready to leave yet.

The sun was out and then it was not, then it was again, so Dorothy fixed a to-go lunch and we headed down House Rock Road to the Pawhole. I don’t think we have been there before, but maybe we have. Dorothy managed walking in the deep sand well, but it tired us both out.

Thursday, April 4 - We moved an hour west to Kanab to be closer to Peekaboo slot canyon. The slot we could not locate the last time we tried. We parked in a BLM facility on Johnson Canyon Road. It provides access to the extensive Hog Canyon ATV trails. I chatted up a local and he told me about some great pictographs. Normally I don’t excited about them, but I must have been in the mood, for we set out to see what we could see. It’s a LONG slog through deep sand and a few ledges to get there. I will not mention the name as someone reading this might think they could get there in a SUV. That would end badly and mean a long walk out.

We topped out at 6,200 and could see the cliffs of Bryce in the distance and snow on the mountains to the west, near St. George. The wonders of the orange and white cliffs in southern Utah are all within a 100 mile radius. The roads go around the mountains, so the drive is circuitous.

Friday, April 5 - It was 28 this morning. It was so warm yesterday afternoon so I did not bother putting the Reflextix in the cab windows. Big mistake.

We were out the door by 8:00. We drove both vehicles to a staging area north of Kabab. I got vague directions on how to get to Peekaboo slot. They were either wrong or we missed a turn. We were set straight when we stopped the lead guy in an ATV caravan and he said to follow him.

We went up and down some extreme sand hills and finally down into the river bed and headed for the slot. It is one of the best we have seen and Dorothy was especially glad we made the effort.

On the way out, there was a full size truck stopped in front of us. He could not manage the slight uphill in the sand. I checked his tire pressure and it was 60! I let it to 25 he had no problem. Rubi floated over the sand at 14 psi.

After four hours of wheeling, my left shoulder was sore and while I wanted to make some time toward Moab, I picked a roadside parking lot from Day’s End which was just north of Panguitch It had been converted into an RV park. We elected to go another 50 minutes to the Walmart in Richfield. It proved to be a good choice.

The low is supposed to 42 here and shorts weather in Moab.

Saturday, April 6 - We crossed the north end of the mountains on I70 climbing to 7,000 feet three times. We did not recall that. We did recall the optical illusion around MM68 that extends for several miles. Your senses tell you are going downhill, the vehicles in front of you appear lower than you are, yet the engine has downshifted, the elevation on the GPS is going up and the river is flowing west while you are headed east. 

We crossed the San Rafael Swell, always a pleasure and took three turnouts for the marvelous views.

We arrived in Moab about noon and found Sandy and Keith parked at Dalton Wells. It was good to be home. Were played Golf (cards) for an hour or so. In the late afternoon we went to Milt's for a burger and a malt. Then to Potato Salad to see if there were any drunks that would risk rolling their rigs to climb the rock obstacle. Sadly it was very tame.

Sunday, April, 7 - Camp chores and cards. Keith got out his grinder and cut off an inch of the passenger side rock rail that was rubbing on the rear tire when the passenger side was compressed. He also engineered a better fix for the tow bar than I had done to hold it in position when not towing. 

Monday, April 8 - We drove the easy and scenic Onion Creek trail. I decided I wanted to return a different way. Big mistake. First, we did 13 miles on a not so scenic trail climbing as we went up the La Sal Mountains. Around 7,200 feet we started seeing snow now and then under the pinyons. At 7,900 it was almost covering the roads. At 8,300 it was 6-12 inches over the road. I did not think we would make it and dreaded turning around and retracing our passage. 

Keith suggested 4WD Low and locking both axels. Using very light throttle Rubi went over the ice uphill like a champ.

We had dinner at the Moab Diner. I had Ham and Bean soup with a paddle melt.

Tuesday, April 9 - Laundry, groceries, dump and cards. The winds were up, but thankfully they did not make it to the forecast of 29 mph.

The temp is supposed to drop into the 30’s tonight and the highs are forecast to be in the 50’s the rest of the week. 

Wednesday, April 10 - Light rain started around 4am and continued most of the day. The hard dirt got a little soft but it will suppress the dust for a few days. At 11am, it was 38 with snowflakes!

Sandy made chili and fry bread for dinner. Quite tasty. 

Our friend’s new Transit and old KoKo at one of the best boondock places in Texas.

Love these soft swirl tipi formations at Pawhole. I wonder how they were formed?

My artistic shot for the year.

This is cool. Another artsy shot. Varnish that looks like tree roots. Never seen any quite like this.

All that’s left of the Gunsmoke set. The landowners did nothing to preserve it or tear it down.

Dorothy is always a happy gal in a slot.

I finally got a good image of a slot. Yeah me.

Getting To Southern Utah

I guess I better post this, boring as it is. It's primarily for us anyway. Next time maybe some pictures for you?

Monday, March 18 - Our first night was at the Walmart in Ocean Springs. Our campground of choice was full - spring break. We got to do some shopping at Rouse’s market. Our larder is overflowing, but there was room for coffee. They sell beans in bulk for only $6 a pound. We got four different beans. The first two sampled are winners.

Tuesday night, we stayed at the Atchafalaya Welcome Center. The noise from I10 only 75 yards away did disturb us. We took a drive and wound up a restaurant that looked familiar. Turned out we had been there a few years back when we parked at a nearby state park. We both had bowl of marvelous gumbo at 3PM. We were full when we left and did not eat anything else when we got back.

I discovered left the safety cables hanging in the carport storage. Oh, well, what’s another $50.

Wednesday morning - We saw 13 LEO’s lit up and in high speed pursuit of a tiny car. How many cops does it take? 12 following one I guess. In 3.5 hours we made it just east of Houston to another Walmart. 

Dorothy got her hair cut. Tomorrow we will try to cross Houston and head northwest towards Llano where BBQ awaits us. Probably will see the Wood’s and their brand new Sportsmobile on the tall Transit chassis. It’s a custom design by Terry. He said he has been on the phone with Sportsmobile almost every day during the build. He used their online CAD program to lay everything out. Mid-way through the build it was discovered that each square on the app was 13, not 12 inches.

Thursday March 21, our daughter is 48 today. We woke up at 4, surfed some, had breakfast and thought if we get rolling now, we can cross Houston maybe quicker now than at 9. And so we did. It took a 1.5 hours to transit from the east side of the Highway 8 toll loop to the west side. We only encountered one accident. Downside, it was dark the whole time and the headlights in the side mirrors created glare.

In 4.5 hours we made it to Llano. Long for us, but we felt good. We were famished and headed to the place we came here for, Cooper’s BBQ. We had ribs today.

Friday, I had a bit of intestinal stuff, so I only had toast for breakfast, followed by laying down. By 9, I was fine and I went on the roof to investigate why I heard air in the skylight when we were on the road the other day. I took it apart and cleaned it, but I did not find a cause. Perhaps the tape on the plexiglass is compressed? I will replace it this winter.

Saturday, the Woods showed up in their new Sportsmobile. It looks real good. If it only had a shower, a black tank and more than 20 gallons of fresh water it would be a real RV. But, it’s exactly what they want. The Ford Transit has precious little ground clearance, leaving little room for storage tanks. It allows for boon docking for 2/3 days, then it’s time to find a shower. They visited for an hour and then it was time to pick up BBQ and head west. We left with $145 worth of meat, goat, prime rib, sirloin and ribs.

We made to the best free parking spot in Texas, perched on butte overlooking a valley to the west. The sky was crystal clear and we had a fine sunset. As usual we had the place to ourselves.

Sunday, we left at 8, about 15 minutes after there was some daylight. The air had turned to a heavy haze. We continued west on I10 and turned north on US395. I figured it would be four lane. Nope and it runs through the Permian Basin with hundreds of water trucks hauling fresh water in and the waste out. We thought we had seen a lot of oil drilling before, but here is a 70 mile stretch of continuous drilling activity plus acres of manufactured homes and RV’s for the workers.

This stretch of road turned us into turned us into advocating for for a ban of single-use plastic bags. Some cultures just toss them out the window. They don’t show up as much in the south, but here they catch on brush and fences and it makes the roadside look well trashy. The oceans are filled with plastic, fish eat it and we eat the fish. But what are the options for bringing home the groceries? Cloth bags are breeding grounds for bacteria. What can be done?  

We stopped at an Escapees park north of Carlsbad. It was good we had electricity, the ac did not turn off until 6pm. It was 45 the next morning.

Monday, we continued north on US385 to I40. 385 is a decent divided four lane road north of Artesia. It’s out of drilling country and into farming and cattle country. We spent 6 hours driving and made our way to Albuquerque. Dorothy is doing a weeks wash and I replaced the sewer hose caps that were damaged during an oil change. This morning when I went to dump I found the door to the sewer hose storage had also been broken. This is bigger deal, since it’s more than just a door and it is painted. I will have to have the factory make one and ship it to us.

Tuesday, March 26 - This is day 9 and we have been moving 8 of them, with two more to go. It’s four hours from Albuquerque to Holbrook. We are exhausted.  We hate the trips out and back. Once you get to west Texas you are in what I call the gravel pit. It extends to the Pacific. Mostly flat and boring brown desert landscape.

Our granddaughter returned from a two-week European tour. She shares about nothing with anyone. She said of Paris the Louve is unnecessarily large.

Wednesday, March 27 - We made it to Utah! Red Rock country. A 10 day crossing. Fast for us. We are only a few hundred yards across the Utah state line parked on Lake Powell. Enjoyed the sunset and sunrise in the big sky of Utah. Took the Jeep up the sand dunes to see how the new tires like sand. Loved how the suspension handled the whoop-de-doo’s much improved.

Thursday, March 28 - A short 2.5 hour drive got us to Hurricane where our Jeeping friends were waiting for us.

Friday, March 29 - We explored the road to Candy Mountain. The first mile or so was quite scenic and had several excellent parking spots. When we topped out, the scenery changed to an unremarkable P&J forest. We got to the trailhead at 10:30, much too late to hike the three miles without lunch. The boring looking scenery did not inspire nor did the up and down terrain. I intended this to be an exploration and the lack of anything interesting to see until we had gone 1.5 miles turned me off.  I am willing to put max effort into hiking, but knowing our best might fail us, I want to get something rather than disappointment from the effort.

Saturday, March 30 - A lazy day at camp. Keith showed me how to install safety chains to replace the the cables I left hanging the garage.

Sunday, March 31 - Into St. George to show Keith and Sandy Snow Canyon and enjoy a delicious wood fired pizza.

Monday, April Fools - We did laundry, picked up a few groceries and drove to Paria and parked on the hill. Learned that permits to South Coyote Buttes are now in high demand, so it’s up in the air if we will get there.  This is one of the best BLM parking places anywhere. Level, gravel, trash and water with a great view.

 

Now Departing

We have been busy packing Koko, the RV, and Rubi, the Jeep, getting ready to get on the road.  The plan is to leave Monday morning.  Our clothes are packed and most of the kitchen food is packed.  I still have odds and ends to put in, but those things will be done the last day. Saturday and Sunday will be spent loading the refrigerator.  I always wonder how I will get the food from the kitchen refrigerator to fit into Koko’s refrigerator.  Somehow most of it fits.    

We need to leave space in the ‘fridge because there are places that we want to stop and shop for things we can’t get at home.  Our first destination will be Cooper’s BBQ, where we will get the best ribs we have ever eaten.  Also will get prime rib, brisket and/or goat.  People ask where we are going and we always say out west.  We love it there - no humidity!  And the newly lifted Jeep needs to climb red rocks.

This has been a busy week:  first, we celebrated our daughter’s birthday early, then friends from Tennessee came down and spent the night on their way to Texas, and then we celebrated our youngest grandson’s birthday who became a teenager.  

Good news for me is that I was released by my orthopedic surgeon who said that my foot was doing well.  I thanked him because I feel that I have a new foot and will be able to walk without fear of falling.

We usually travel less than four hours a day because we are retired and have no need to rush.  It’s a great feeling.

Stay tuned to see what’s going on with us.

Parked In Beautiful Pinson, AL

Pinson is an industrial area northeast of Birmingham. It's where heavy equipment companies are located. Cat products occupy acres and acres. It's also where Cummins has a service center, one of two in the state. We came up Monday to get in line to have our generator repaired. They expected to diagnosis it Tuesday morning, but that time came and went without any explanation. We later learned that when we left to run errands they thought we were leaving it with them so they could work on it at their leisure.

They did diagnosis it Wednesday and found the control board and carburetor were bad. I believe the first, the second is just an addon to run up the bill, but I have to go along with it.  Hopefully, the carburetor will arrive this morning and we can leave this afternoon - $1,300 dollars lighter.

We have used our time to shop for things not available in Montogomery, visit with friends, drive in familiar neighborhoods to see how they have changed and eat at places we have not been to in years.

Birmingham is still growing, unlike Montogomery. Plenty of new construction and teardowns of homes in desirable neighborhoods being replaced with mega-homes. 

We waited for three months to come up, seeking for a three-day window without rain. We finally got it. Today is the fourth day and we may have to drive through showers to get home. Oh well, it only takes a few hours to wash the vehicles. That will not get done next week tho as it will drop to the 30's here.

Dorothy Is Chomping At The Bit

Summer and fall have come and gone as have Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.  After a month in physical therapy, I was released to do my therapy at home which I do.  My foot is so much better and although it has been a difficult time, I am so glad that I had the surgery.  I still use the electric chairs available at large stores because I don’t want to push my good fortune as I continue to heal.

Wednesday was a beautiful and warm day.  As we got home, I told Don that I really was ready to get on the road.  We still have stuff to do before that can happen, but I am in the “mentally making a list" stage. Soon I will be making the actual list and packing. 

Things that have gotten accomplished:  Don had the Jeep lifted and it is really high and it is not easy for me to get in, so Don put a handle in so I can pull myself up.  I have to remember to turn around and make sure my left foot goes out first and then bring the right foot down.  It’s not a big deal, just a different way of doing things for a while. 

We‘ve been home since May, which is a long time for us and are looking to leaving in about six weeks are so. We plan to eat our way to Utah on the southern route.

End Of Summer

It finally has cooled off some and it will get a bit chilly tomorrow morning. This has been the warmest summer I can recall. Soon I will be carping about rain and cold.

This is the first summer we have been home since 2011. We have done a "thousand" little projects that would have never gotten done with our usual travel schedule. 

Finally, I will be able to accomplish some projects that have been on hold all summer such as waxing KoKo and installing a new AC with the help of our S-I-L.

The last four weeks have been all about Dorothy. She is in her fifth week in a non-walking cast. One more to go, if the x-ray shows the proper healing. Then two weeks in a walking cast, and finally four weeks in a boot. 

Our Jeep had a sudden growth spurt. A 2.5 inch lift with 35" inch tires. Next new bumpers and more armor. I have to stretch to get in. We made need a wench to get Dorothy up.