This week got off to a great start. I got up early Monday morning while it was still mostly dark outside. Cosmo had heard something and got up to investigate and after I called him back to bed, I realized I was not going back to sleep. The van had to go into the alignment shop. It was only 3 miles up the road, but after they showed me the condition of my ball joint last week, I have been very hesitant to drive it at all. I got coffee, and checked the status of my Amazon order. I had ordered a new DSLR camera and had it shipped to my mechanic. UPS assured me it was already “out for delivery.” I felt better. I ate some breakfast and got cleaned up and headed down the road to Mitchell’s Automotive. They are in St. George, UT and I was staying on the Arizona Strip, BLM land just over the border in AZ. But I was in a different time zone! Utah is on mountain time and AZ is on (constantly) Pacific Daylight Savings Time. So even though I left at 9:30 from Arizona, and drove only 3 miles up the road, I arrived at 10:36 UT time. My appointment was at 11:00 and they pulled my van into the shop within a few minutes of my arrival. Eric was so nice. He allowed Cosmo and me to just sit in the back of the van instead of in the waiting room. My camera had arrived, so I spent an hour unpacking it, trying on the different lenses, charging the battery, etc. While I sat at my dining room/office table in the back, Cosmo took a nap laying across my lap. It took a couple hours to change the part on the undercarriage of the van, and get the wheels aligned and I was soon on my way. I headed back to the BLM land in Arizona, just a few minutes down the road. I was chomping at the bit to give my new camera a test drive. So Cosmo and I headed for the hills (literally) and I tried out my different lenses, various settings, and just generally had a good time playing photographer. I’m not very good at it yet. What I used to do manually, I will need to learn to do digitally and electronically, but after a couple hours of shooting, I could feel “my eye” coming back.
I think I often wander through the day only halfway paying attention to visual input. When I get into “photography mode” I tend to shut out other input (auditory, olfactory, etc.) to some extent and really tune into what I am seeing. When I did photography for a living, I could turn that mode on and off in my brain. I could not do that immediately on Day 1 of owning a real camera again, but I could definitely feel it coming back. I’ll have to practice in short intervals though, because I overdid it and got a bit of a headache on the first day.
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I had planned (not very well) to go to Zion National Park yesterday. I had my route planned so I could visit the park, and then camp outside the park and get up in the morning and head west to Bryce Canyon. But the night before, I decided I’d go on YouTube and see what was close to the southern entrance (where I would have been) and what there was to do that would be the best use of my day there.
First of all, nearly every video showed throngs of people “hiking” or milling around the trails. Every shot had hundreds of people in it. It looked like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. There is one free parking lot in Zion, at the south entrance. Reports say if you don’t get there by 7:00 a.m., you will not get a parking space. They suggested parking at the town south of Zion and taking a shuttle in. Once in the park, you can wait in line to get a day pass for a different shuttle, that will drop you off at the many of the trails. The trails looked like fun but were probably way more strenuous hiking than I’m capable of doing.
I looked on recreation.gov on the off chance that someone had cancelled a trip and there could be a campsite open at the last minute. If you aren’t rolling on the floor laughing, you should be. The next available site that you can drive to is May of 2023.
Also, no dogs are allowed on the shuttle or on the trails. They warned of long lines to get on the shuttle, and once you get off, do the hike and are ready to return or go on to the next trail you must wait in a long line for the next shuttle. The park itself looked quite beautiful. But every shot showed throngs of people packed in. They tell you to bring your own food and water. There is apparently only one place to eat and it is an expensive upscale restaurant, with a long, long wait to get in. The whole thing just sounded like a giant clusterfuck to me, so I texted my friend Ben to ask what he knew about it. He said he’d never been because everyone who had gone told him what I just said: No parking. No dogs, no campsites. No food. Long lines. Extra fees to do just about everything. He said that Utah is full of similar landscapes, all for free with fewer people. Zion and many of the other National parks are just tourist traps. He suggested some other places with similar views, that I can drive to, park my van and camp overnight, AND bring Cosmo along. I decided to go that route.
I needed gas and groceries and water after my 5 day stay on the BLM land adjacent to St. George, UT. I decided to not rush, and not make any decisions about where to go next, except to head east because I want to end up in Moab the week before Easter. There were several routes to do that, and I was feeling pressure to pick a route and completely redo my travel plans for the week. I decided to head to Hurricane Cliffs, in Utah. There are 4 or 5 different campgrounds, all on BLM land. They are connected, so I knew I could go to the first one and if there were no open spots (in this particular area, camping is allowed only in designated sites), I could continue on through the rest of the campgrounds and probably find an open spot. I lucked out. The first campground has sites 1 through 12. 1 through 11 were taken, but 12 was off a side road and empty. I pulled in and with minor maneuvering, I got level within a minute without needing any blocks. I ended up facing south, which gave me optimal sun on my solar panels. The wind was howling most of the day, but Cosmo and I did manage to get out for a couple of hikes and for me to continue to test drive my new camera. I absolutely love it. The scenery surrounding me was decent. Maybe not as nice as Zion, but I’ve only seen 3 other people since I arrived. The weather was sunny and in the mid-70’s.
I spent much of the afternoon re-plotting my course. Instead of heading in a big loop through the north of Utah, I decided to zig-zag eastward on the Arizona-Utah border, spending a night in one state and the next in the other. The drawback to that is that the states are in different time zones, but since I’ve stayed pretty much on “sun time” I don’t really care what the clock says. I had no appointments to keep, so time is mostly just an imaginary concoction. I scouted out some spots with beautiful rock formations and few tourists. For years I’ve told people that I want to go “where they film the Road Runner cartoons” – You know, with the giant red rock formations. I believe they are called “hoodoos.” I think this will be the month to fulfill that life goal.
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I wanted to get an early start in the morning, but Mother Nature had other plans. The wind howled all night long, and The Weather Channel told me we had gusts up to 50 m.p.h. The van rocked and the windows whistled with the wind blowing through every tiny airspace. It made Cosmo really unsettled, and if Cosmo’s not sleeping, then neither am I. We both finally fell asleep in the early morning hours, and I woke up at the first light of dawn, pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep until the sun was actually rising above the mountaintop. It was cold outside and the wind was blowing red dust everywhere. After our morning walk, I came inside and had coffee and a biscotti. Cosmo’s stomach was gurgling and he wouldn’t eat. I’m not sure if he ate something that disagreed with him, or if he was just stressed over the van rocking and the wind noises. He went back to sleep while I tried to figure out where we were going for the day. I had three places picked out, but none of them had rave reviews. One said the scenery was magnificent—well worth the rough ride up steep hills. I wasn’t excited about that option. I also needed to find water, and I lucked out and found a visitor center close to where I was heading that offered free water. That would be the first stop when the wind died down. It finally did at about noon. I headed out and drove on route 59 south, which crisscrossed the Arizona/Utah border. I got into Kanab, UT and easily found the visitor center for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I filled my freshwater tank, and then decided to head inside. I asked the ranger where the closest BLM land was and he laughed, making a circle with his right hand, indicating it surrounded us. I asked where the nicest BLM land for camping was and he said “Well, that depends on what you are looking for.” I said “OK, where is the most easily accessible, level, beautiful spot for spending the night in a van?” The woman at the cash register said “I wouldn’t trust his opinion on that” and she laughed a little. The park ranger didn’t find it amusing. So I asked the cashier what she thought. She asked if I minded deep sand and I said I definitely did. The ranger made a suggestion and then she said “That’s heavy-duty sand.” She asked again if I worried about getting stuck in sand and I said I definitely did. She said the place he suggested could be challenging. I told her I’d already had my challenges this week, and she suggested an easier road. She pulled out a map and marked it. The ranger made another suggestion and also marked that on the map. The suggestion he made was the spot I had decided on that morning. The place the cashier suggested was closer so I set out to go there first. I got on the road within 10 minutes, but as I drove up it, I wasn’t finding any BLM land. Was it all BLM? I couldn’t tell. I was about to give up and turn around when I saw a sign indicating I was entering BLM land. I drove a few miles and saw no signs of anyone camping and no places to pull off the road. I had zero cell signal to pull up Google Maps. I turned around and when I was almost back to the main road, I found a large lot with lots of big rigs. I pulled in. It was a staging area for people with off-road vehicles. Ugh. I was about to leave, when a group of people sitting outside a bus-sized RV waved and said hello. They seemed nice. I found a spot and parked. I was level. And I was tired. I got a late start and had driven a lot longer than I normally do. I decided that spot would be good enough for one night. The dirt lot was crowded, but the scenery across the street was beautiful and we were coming up on “the magic hour” so I got my camera out and gave it a workout.
I’m loving that I’m able to do what I want with this new camera.
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It got down below freezing last night. The heater kept firing up every few minutes after about 3:00 a.m. It was still in the mid 30’s when I took Cosmo out in the morning. I was up very early and wanted to get a jump on my day. I was in an OK place, but hoped to move on to some nicer BLM land. I couldn’t access my itinerary because I had no cell service and no internet. So I just drove in the direction I wanted to go, knowing I could stop for gas, and then check my itinerary on my computer or phone. I drove about an hour, and stopped at a BLM field office. I looked up the place I wanted to stay for the night and re-read the reviews. It sounded great, except that the reviews said it was very sandy and you risked getting stuck unless you had 4WD. After my recent flat tire and broken ball joint, I still wasn’t feeling particularly like taking risks. I went into the field office and asked about BLM land near Lake Powell. They said Lake Powell had no BLM land. I asked if there was any water on nearby BLM land. The ranger said I was going to be hard-pressed to find any water nearby. He did have one suggestion—to head back in the direction I came from. There was a campground there, and it was on the river. He said he couldn’t guarantee there were any spots open. I asked if I could call ahead and he said “No, it’s first come/first served.” It would have added about an hour to my trip and so I looked on my apps and found BLM land about 7 minutes away. I drove there, and it was on a dried up lake. It wasn’t very attractive, but it was OK. I started down the road, which quickly became very steep and soon I came upon a ditch that I felt was not passable. Fortunately, there was a turn off, and I got turned back around and drove up the hill. There was a large clearing near the top and I thought I could camp there for the night. I pulled in and in the back corner was a large Class A with an OHV on the back. The large rig was flying an American Flag and a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, and the OHV had two flags as well: “Buck Fiden” and “Let’s Go Brandon.” I decided not to stay.
I needed a couple of items so I drove down the road a short distance to Walmart. It was packed with RV’s, busses and vans. I counted 32 campers in the lot when I arrived. One bus, covered in mushrooms in psychedelic colors was parked along the perimeter taking up 4 spots. There were several other larger Class C’s taking up multiple spaces. Two giant rigs were parked across a row of spaces, taking up fully 14 parking spots. Some had sliders out, others had chairs out in the parking lot taking in the sunshine. This is why Walmarts across the country are closing to boondockers. People just have no respect. In this part of northern AZ, it is not just the RV people who have no consideration of others. I saw several large pickup trucks taking up multiple spaces. One pulled in as I was entering the store. It was sort of like he just pulled into the lot and totally ignored the lines. He parked in such a wonky way, that he took up 4 parking spaces; Not so much on purpose, but because he didn’t give a shit. It was very strange.
I went in and got the few things I needed. I was tired, and a little burned out. I have not been having much luck with picking good spots on BLM land. I pulled around the side of Walmart and parked. I was pretty level, far from most of the crazies and searched my apps for alternative places nearby. I couldn’t find any in the direction I wanted to head. Any possible spots were back in the direction I came from. I wasn’t willing to go backward. I leveled up the van and made lunch. It wasn’t where I wanted to be, but I was there, and I decided to spend the night, and take some time to try to plan out the next couple of days a little better than I planned the last couple. I found campsites and backup campsites for the following 3 days.
I did stop at a couple nice places on the way to Walmart. They were just so beautiful I had to pull over and take some photos. Here are a couple from Glen Canyon Dam near Page, AZ:
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Walmart was noisy until about 10:00 last night. After that, it settled down some, but it was lit up like a football stadium all night. I pulled my curtains, which I hardly ever do. I slept well and was up at about 5:00 a.m. although I can’t tell you if that was Arizona Time or Utah time. I was staying right on the border. I drank my coffee and wanted to get on the road as early as possible. I was hungry and stopped at an adjacent McDonalds. It felt like I was sort of “Treating myself” by not cooking breakfast and having dishes to wash. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I think McDonalds is “Treating myself.” No service in Mickey D’s either. You have to order and pay by kiosk. I can’t believe that an Egg Mc Muffin, a disk of greasy potato product and a small coffee cost me just shy of $10. I ate the egg and muffin, Cosmo ate the meat and I enjoyed the coffee as we drove eastward.
I’m happy to say that I made a better choice of BLM land to stay on. We arrived at Sunset View Campground which is part of Navajo National Monument. There are two campgrounds and I was fairly sure I’d find at least one open spot (it was Friday and often campgrounds get crowded on the weekend.) There were lots of spots and I chose one that was high on the hill. There was a little drop-off and makeshift stairs leading down to our picnic table and grill. Cosmo was so glad to get outside in nature and I was so happy to be off asphalt. I sat in the sun and read and Cosmo laid under the table in the shade.
When I first arrived, I saw a woman in a 1997 Roadtrek Versatile 190—exact same model as mine only a year older. I waved as she was leaving. Cosmo and I went for a hike and on the way back she drove past us and stopped. She asked if I was the one in the old Roadtrek and I said I was. We chatted a little and she asked how long I was staying. I told her a couple days. She said we’d catch up later. As I was sitting at my picnic bench, she came out of her van and invited me over (she was in the adjacent campsite). Cosmo and I went over and we spent the afternoon discussing our vans, nomadic life (she’s been on the road 3 years), homeless-ness, and the wide range of people that encompasses. She was delightful company. Cosmo started to get fussy (he can only visit so long and then he is ready to “go home.” I told her (Donna) that I had ice cream sandwiches (a rare treat for me because my freezer is so tiny. I had to eat most of my frozen food to fit them in) and Clementines (I bought a whole bag on sale and they will be penicillin before I eat them all.) I asked if she wanted some and she indicated she definitely di, so I brought her an ice cream sandwich and a couple Clementines. I suspect I’ll see her again tomorrow.
I was back in my groove. Everyone at this campground waves and says hello. Most have dogs and Cosmo has met some of them, giving me an opportunity to meet their humans. The weather has been cool, in the upper 60’s and the sun felt warm on my skin. I don’t know if Navajo Mountain is still considered the desert; the campground elevation is 7,275 feet—that’s almost the same as Machu Picchu. There are lots of conifers and the air just feels so clean and fragrant. The campground, which is free as part of BLM land, is nicely laid out in a ring and everyone parks on the asphalt arms coming off of the ring, but the sites all have picnic tables and grills that are down the hill from where we parked. The people parked on the inside of the circle, go toward the center, and those of us on the outside of the circle have campsites that head down the mountain. So even though we were parked relatively close together (not nearly as close as at Walmart), we had plenty of space to spread out.
Lessons from the Road: I need to slow down. My only two rules for living on the road were to never drive more than 4 hours and never set deadlines to get somewhere. I have broken both, and each time, I regretted it. My new rule for driving is to never drive more than two hours. I often drive much less from location to location. If I have nowhere to be, what’s the rush. I’ve done pretty well at averaging about an hour and a half drive each day. That doesn’t stress me out AND it allows me to see many more places along the way. I’ve been rushing to meet up with people. I’m not going to do that anymore. I stay one night at a beautiful spot that I could be very happy staying on for a week or two. I rush because I have set an artificial deadline to meet someone else on the road, only to find out they have changed plans. I’ve renewed my vow to take it slowly, and when I find some place that is beautiful, stop and enjoy it.
Weather is a huge factor for traveling this time of year. Maybe it always is, and I’ve just been lucky. I had a route planned for the coming week, found free campsites and BLM land and then, as an afterthought, checked the weather for the nights I was going to be in each place. One of the places was going to be down to 17 degrees. That’s not workable for me in any way. So then it becomes time to re-route. One destination change causes a chain reaction. And if I’m only driving an hour and a half, the weather usually doesn’t change much, except when I’m in the mountains. Then 20 minutes can make a huge difference due to altitude. I’m learning, and getting better at this, but it is a constant factor in planning.