Category Archives: Boondocking

Say No to Missoula

We got an early start and pulled out of Dick’s RV Park in Great Falls around 9am. Our plan for the day was to head over to the WalMart in Missoula. We could resupply there and spend the night.

We stayed on MT200, which took us west, then southwest to Missoula. We drove through the plains which became rolling hills with spacious cattle ranches. Donna snapped picture after picture, but it’s hard to capture the scenic beauty as you’re rolling along.

Windshield view as we head toward the Helena National Forest

Windshield view as we headed toward the Helena National Forest

The terrain changed when we entered the Helena National Forest. The hills became mountains and the open pasture became Lodgepole pine forest. We crossed the Continental Divide at Rogers Pass. The elevation was 5,610 feet above sea level. From the little town of Vaughn all the way over the pass, we saw very few cars on the road. We would drive for 15 minutes or so without seeing a car before one would pass by. This was an easier route than going down I-15 to Helena, then crossing MacDonald and Mullan Passes on US12.

MT200 followed the Blackfoot River as we descended. We stopped in a town called Lincoln to stretch our legs and grab a snack. Donna bought a huckleberry milkshake and declared it delicious.

From Lincoln, the road continued along the Blackfoot River. We saw bicyclists heading uphill toward Lincoln. It appeared to be some kind of bicycle tour group. We saw a couple of stations with water and whatnot on tables for the riders.

We hit I-90 and Nally (our Rand McNally RVND7720 GPS) directed us to the WalMart on Mullan Road. The store was very busy and the parking lot was nearly full. We had a problem. As we entered the parking lot, Donna saw a sign that read “No Overnight Parking Per City Ordinance.”

I have to vent. WalMart made a corporate decision to encourage business from RVers on the road. Their policy is to allow overnight RV parking in their parking lots. I don’t understand why a city government has to interfere with a marketing decision that doesn’t harm the community. I’m guessing that an RV park owner convinced someone on the city council to create such an ordinance. This is the last time I’ll spend any money in Missoula. End of rant.

This stymied our plans. Donna went into WalMart to stock up on groceries while I looked for an alternative place for the night and bought two six-inch Subway sandwiches for our lunch. It took over an hour for Donna to complete her shopping. We rolled west on I-90 around 2:30pm.

Montana allows overnight parking in rest areas. I thought we could stay at a rest area near St. Regis. We came to a rest area about 30 miles west of Missoula. This rest area had a campground alongside. It was posted “No Overnight Camping” in the parking area and the campground was not for big rigs. We pulled on through and continued west on I-90.

We saw several billboards for a tourist trap called Lincoln’s 50,000 Silver $ Bar and Gift Shop. Donna happened to notice that one of the billboards also stated “Free RV Park.” It sounded interesting. We pulled off I-90 at exit 16 (16 miles east of the Idaho border). When we entered their large, open paved lot, there was a sign for RV parking behind the bar-restaurant.

It looked a little sketchy back there. It was unpaved and wooded. I parked on the pavement by a couple of semi tractor-trailer rigs to scope it out. Donna and I walked past the dirt lot behind the bar-restaurant and saw a small campground.

Free campsites

While we were walking back to the free campsite area, we saw a truck pull a fifth-wheel trailer into the site. The driver obviously had camped here before. He knew exactly where he wanted to park and pulled into a site from a dirt road at the back of the area. We were happy to discover that there were primitive pull-through sites that would easily fit our rig.

Donna picked out a fairly level site and claimed it. I walked back to our rig and drove around the back, following the route the fifth-wheel took and pulled into the site. While I was leveling the coach and putting the slides out, a guy from a site a few hundred feet away came over. He told Donna that some sites have 30-amp electrical service and we were in one of them! A free site with electrical service. This is what you call serendipity.

Free site!

I was glad I had our Progressive Industries Portable Electrical Management System. I hooked up the 30-amp adapter and plugged it in. It cut off the power twice and threw a code for high voltage. I saw 127 volts on the display, but it must have surged even higher to cause the unit to interrupt power. Without the high voltage protection, it could have damaged the microwave oven, the TV or air conditioners. The voltage settled down to 122 volts and was fine for the rest of the stay. We were able to run the air conditioner and watch TV without burning fuel in the generator. Sweet!

The sites are intended for overnight use by customers of the bar-restaurant (which also has a casino – I think every bar in Montana is a casino). We walked to the bar and had a cold one shortly after arriving.

Lincoln’s 50,000 Silver $ Bar originally opened in Alberton, Montana in 1951. Gerry and Marie Lincoln built a bar and named it Cherry Springs after the small creek on their property. At that time, silver dollars were common. In October of 1952, Gerry cut a hole in the bar top, hammered a silver dollar in the hole and inscribed his and Marie’s name below it.

This started something that quickly caught on. By December of 1953, more than 2,000 people had placed a silver dollar in the bar top and had their name inscribed. They changed the name of the bar to Lincoln’s 2,000 Silver $ Bar. The name changed many times as the collection grew. The bar relocated a couple of times over the years as interstate construction began. The present location at exit 16 was built in 1976. It has a gas station, motel, restaurant, gift shop, bar and casino on several acres of land.

Today, the are more than 64,000 silver dollars mounted in the bar – 10,623 of which are real silver dollars. The rest are Eisenhower “sandwich” dollars that have copper cores.

I took a couple of photos, but the lighting was poor and the shots aren’t clear. The entire bar top is filled with silver dollars. The walls are full of boards with silver dollars mounted in them.

Silver dollars mounted on boards

Silver dollars throughout the bar

I don’t need fuel, but I think I’ll top up the tank at their station as a thank you for the free campsite. We’ll continue on to Coeur d’Alene this morning.

Mumbro Park

My last post left off with us arriving at Mumbro Park on Saturday afternoon. We took a tour of the compound. Bob added another bunkhouse since the last time I was here. Presumably, it’s for the grandkids as it had a sign proclaiming it as the Kid’s Cubby.

I was filled with memories of the magical times I’ve had here. We walked around and I told Donna stories. I was so preoccupied, I didn’t take many pictures. We looked for the keys to the cabin, but couldn’t find them. I found the back window unlatched and climbed in. Once inside, I read the cabin instruction manual (for visitors) and realized we didn’t search the right area. After I unlocked the cabin from the inside, Donna found the keys!

Main cabin at Mumbro Park

Once inside, I retrieved the keys for the outbuildings. Shirley asked me to check all of the buildings. We walked over to The Annex, which is the bunkhouse I always slept in during hunting season here.

The Annex

Bob added a wood-burning stove to heat the place. Back in the ’90s, we had to rely on long johns and a good down sleeping bag.

Behind the cabin is a wood-fired sauna. Bob built it the second or third year I came here. I did some of the work helping him frame the door – Bob always had a task for us. I wish I had more pictures of the place. To use the sauna, you build a fire in the special stove. After an hour or so, the sauna is very warm. Lava rock sits on top of the stove. You ladle water on the lava rock and the sauna fills with steam. After a long day hiking in the woods, the sauna is heaven.

While we stood outside the sauna and I described to Donna how it works, we had a visitor. A long-tailed weasel came out from under the sauna. He stood upright on his hind legs and looked at us as if to inquire, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” He scurried over to some building material nearby and ducked into a section of three-inch pipe. The opposite end of the pipe was next to where we stood. He poked his head out of the pipe, confident in his safe position of cover and looked us over again. Then he ran off, under The Annex and down into the aspen patch behind the cabin.

Long tailed weasel – Google file photo

Bob has a number of bird houses on the property. There were tree swallows and bluebirds flying in and out of the houses. A few of them seemed curious about our coach and flew up to the window, hovering briefly before turning away.

Coach viewed from the front of the cabin

On Sunday morning, Donna and I hiked up the ridge on the south side of the cabin. It was a steep climb and we felt the 5,900-foot altitude. We followed game trails created by elk and deer criss-crossing the ridge. Eventually we made it to the knob on top and came to a small clearing. We talked quietly while hiking, hoping to spot deer or elk. I told Donna to look for a shape or color that looks out of place, or movement. That’s how you spot game animals in the woods. You’re not likely to find a deer or elk standing in the open. But you might see a part of the animal. When you see something unusual, stop and study it. It might be a leg or a flickering ear or an antler. Then you realize there’s an animal concealed, waiting for you to pass.

As we began to hike back down, Donna spotted something. She found an antler shed by a buck mule deer.

Donna’s mule deer antler find

We continued down the steep ridge. We didn’t see any deer or elk. At one point I thought I heard a cow elk calling, but we weren’t able to locate the animal in the woods.

At the bottom, near a spring, Donna grabbed my arm and stopped me. She said look at that bird. It was a ruffed grouse, right on our path. Donna has a good eye for this stuff.

Ruffed grouse in center of photo, near a spring

The hike up and down the ridge took about two hours. We had lunch back at the coach, then walked down to the pond and fished. The pond is called Maude’s Pond – I don’t remember the story behind the name. The pond is stocked with trout. The last time I fished there, I had to hide behind a tree to bait my hook to keep the fish at bay. We didn’t have that problem this time around. Donna and I were skunked without a bite.

View of Mumbro Park from Maude’s Pond

At first, Donna wanted to keep the antler she found. Later, she decided to add it to the pile of antler finds at the fence corner.

Pile of shed antlers

As incongruent as it may seem, on Sunday afternoon I fired up the generator, dialed in the Dish satellite receiver and watched the Formula One race. As nice as it was to be off the grid, I can still enjoy my race programming!

On Monday morning, before we we left Mumbro Park, Donna saw a yellow-bellied marmot cross by The Annex and climb on the fence post to sun himself. He relaxed there for awhile, totally unaware of us watching him from the coach. Later, Donna walked to the highway (about one and three-quarters of a mile). There’s a narrow gate at the end of the road and a sharp left turn which could be a tricky exit for a 40-foot coach. She came up with a plan for how to get out without any mishaps. It worked out fine and we were soon on our way up US89. I expected an easy drive of 80 miles or so to Great Falls. I knew we had to make a tough climb up King’s Hill, but other than that it should’ve been easy.

After we descended from Kings Hill, the terrain changed. We left the forest behind and were driving through rolling hills. This is cattle ranch country. The wind picked up and became a fierce cross wind. It was a tiring drive.

When we finally made it to the junction of US87, there was a rest area across the two-lane highway. I needed a stop. Directly in front of us, the parking area had a sign that read “exit only.” I thought I had to go right to enter the rest area. I turned right and found out I was wrong. Now we were heading east when we wanted to go west to Great Falls.

Some of the two-lane highways in Montana stretch for many miles between towns or side roads. I wasn’t happy about heading east toward Lewistown, many miles away. After 10 miles, we found a truck repair shop with a large dirt lot. I pulled in and turned around. All the while, I was fighting wind gusts and the added 20 miles was a real downer. But Donna and I agreed that the best thing to do in these situations is to remain calm and patient until the right opportunity to correct things appears.

We made our way west on US87 and Nally (our Rand-McNally GPS) guided us to Dick’s RV Park where we’ll spend the next two weeks.

Dick’s RV park is situated on the west side of Great Falls, next to the Sun River. The Sun River joins the Missouri River less than a mile from here. Outside of the park entrance there’s a paved bike path. The path becomes the River’s Edge bike trail. It follows the Missouri River for 26 miles east through half a dozen parks, ending at the Rainbow Dam.

Yesterday, Donna rode the bike trail. While she was out bicycling, I rode the scooter to town. I made a stop at a grocery store (Albertson’s) and an auto parts store. I needed cleaning supplies as I intend to wash the coach while we’re here.

Clouds formed in the afternoon and we had brief thunder showers. This morning, it’s drizzling rain. The forecast calls for a cloudy day with a high of 65 degrees.

White Sulphur Springs

I haven’t posted since Friday. I think this was my longest lapse. I had good reason – we were off the grid completely for the weekend, no Internet or cellular service. Throw in a couple of travel days and there you are. I’ll have to break the update into a couple of posts or it will be too long.

On Friday, Donna rode her bicycle into Yellowstone National Park. She rode all the way to the Madison campground and back – a round trip of 28 miles. On the way, she had a close encounter with two bison, one on either side of the road. She had to ride between slow moving cars to shield herself. She rode through most of the turn-outs and view points. In one turn-out, she spotted a bear across the river. It was a black bear. Despite the name, black bears come in a variety of colors. They can be blond, cinnamon, chocolate or jet black and every shade in between. This happened to be a sizable cinnamon colored black bear. Donna snapped a photo with her cell phone.

Cinnamon black bear

When Donna returned from her ride, we walked into town. It was lunch time, so we stopped at the Taco Bus. It’s an old Bluebird bus converted to a Mexican diner.

Taco Bus

Inside the Taco Bus

We ordered enchilada verde plates and dined al fresco at a table in the sun, next to the bus.

We wanted to walk through town and wander through some shops, but thunder clouds suddenly appeared. The weather in the mountains can change very quickly. We walked to the grocery store, bought a few goods and quickly returned to our coach. We didn’t want to be caught out in a downpour. I loaded the scooter and Donna’s bicycle in the trailer.

Saturday was a travel day. We did the usual routine and hit the road by 10:30am. We headed north on US191 through the Gallatin Range.

US191 along the Gallatin River. Snow covered peak in the background

US191 along the Gallatin River with snow covered peak in the background

We had two goals for the day. Our first stop was at the WalMart in Bozeman. We stocked up on groceries there. We dry camped at this WalMart last year. I also filled our fuel tank in Bozeman.

From there we drove east on I-90 past Livingston to US89 north. There wasn’t much traffic on US89. We enjoyed the scenery and amused ourselves by counting the antelope and deer we saw along the way. Our next stop was White Sulphur Springs. I told Donna about the motel and spa there. They have hot mineral water pools there. For a fee, you can soak in the mineral water.

I used to come to this area every year in late October and spend 15 to 20 days hunting big game in the Little Belt Mountains. While we were in the area, Jim Birditt and I would make a couple of trips to White Sulphur Springs to do laundry and soak at the spa. In late fall, it can be very cold here. Jimbo and I always soaked in the enclosed pool.

Things have changed. The enclosed pool is the same, but they’ve added another outdoor pool with jets. The water in the pools comes from natural hot springs. The pools are different temperatures, ranging from 96 degrees to 105 degrees on most days. They completely drain the pools every night and allow the springs to refill them.

Board indicates temperatures of the pools

Donna enjoying the jets in the 102-degree pool

Murals on the walls of the pool area

Before we left West Yellowstone, I was able to reach a dear old friend on the phone. When I used to hunt big game in Montana, we stayed in a cabin north of White Sulphur Springs. Bob and Shirley McBride own about 160 acres of land within the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It’s not uncommon for land to be privately held within public land areas. This is known as checkerboarding. In some areas, every other section is privately held (a section is nominally a square mile or 640 acres). Most of the private sections were originally railroad grants to develop the west.

Bob McBride is a Montana native – I think he grew up near Big Sky. He has an engineering degree and was commissioned in the Navy as a Seabee officer. I don’t think there’s anything that Bob can’t fix or build. When he bought the land, there was an old cabin on it. It wasn’t much of a cabin really – just walls without a roof. There was no floor and the interior was full of cow manure. Over time, Bob rebuilt the cabin, then started adding buildings. He built a log barn. He built a bunkhouse called The Annex. The Annex is where Jimbo and I slept on our hunting trips. He built a wood-fired sauna.

Bob always had a task for us when we came out there. He was always building or working on something.

When I talked to Shirley, she said we were welcome to come out to the cabin. No one was there and she didn’t expect anyone to come while we camped there.

We drove north from White Sulphur Springs about 15 miles. I haven’t been in this area since the 1990s. A few things have changed, but it’s not too different from what I remembered. I found the dirt road that leads to their land. I pulled off in a turn-out on the opposite side of the road. I wanted to walk in first and make sure I could get our rig through the gate. The road is tight and as you enter from the highway, it immediately turns 90 degrees to the left, followed by a 90-degree right turn through a gate.

I decided to go for it. But, I had a problem. I couldn’t turn around from the turnout we were in. The two-lane highway was too narrow and didn’t have a shoulder. I had no choice but to drive north in search of a suitable turnaround. I wasn’t feeling too good about it. I couldn’t remember much development until the town of Neihart, 21 miles away.

Eight miles later, I saw a motel on the left with a parking area the encircled the building. We were able to turn around and head back to the cabin. With some careful maneuvering, we entered through the gate. The first thing we saw was an antelope walking in front of us. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an antelope here, only deer and elk.

The road to the cabin

The two-track dirt road meanders through a couple stands of pine trees. We barely fit through a few spots. A mile in, we came to the gate marking the entrance to Bob’s property.

Gate at east end of Mumbro Park

The compound with the cabin is called Mumbro Park. I don’t remember the story behind the name. We passed through a few gates on the way in. I told Donna the rule – if it’s open when you come through, leave it open. If it’s closed, close it behind you.

The cabin sits nearly two miles in from the highway. It’s totally remote. No cell service, no Internet connectivity, no electricity. The kitchen in the cabin has a spring-fed sink with good water. Other than that, there’s no plumbing. Everything is heated with wood-burning stoves and there’s a big old wood-burning oven and stove top.

I turned around in front of the barn and parked in a fairly level spot.

Parked in front of the barn

We couldn’t hear anything but the sounds of nature. There were tree swallows and blue birds flying around us. The view out our windshield was amazing. I took Donna on a tour of the place. That will be in my next post.

Windshield view

The Road to West Yellowstone

We’re at the Buffalo Crossing RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. Here’s how we got here.

We pulled out of the Salt Lake City KOA on Tuesday. I stopped at the Pilot/Flying J Travel Center and topped off our tank with 52 gallons of diesel fuel. From there, we hit I-215 and merged onto I-15 which took us past the Great Salt Lake all the way to Idaho Falls, Idaho. We took a break at the welcome center after we entered Idaho. We picked up a free Idaho road map there. I like our GPS, but I still like to have paper maps as well. We had crosswind from the west most of the day on the 215-mile drive.

Northern Utah was wide open and the traffic was light. The speed limit in rural northern Utah was 80 miles per hour! Donna didn’t see the first speed limit sign and didn’t believe it when I told her it was 80 mph. A little while later, she saw a sign and snapped a photo.

Speed limit on I-15 in northern Utah

We weren’t traveling anywhere near 80 mph. I stayed in the right lane with the cruise control set to 62 mph. I posted about tire pressure and tire failures before. Another cause of tire failure is excess speed.

Most trailers, including cargo trailers, travel trailers and fifth wheel trailers, are equipped with tires designated as “ST” type tires (Special Trailer). ST tires have higher load ratings than passenger car (P type) or light truck (LT type) tires. However, ST tires are rated at a maximum speed of 65 mph. Many people do not realize this and tow at speeds that exceed the tire’s rating. This can cause the tire to overheat. Over time, an overheated tire will fail. It may take hundreds of miles, but it will fail. Most people will blame the tire for the failure because they don’t understand the design limitation.

Our cargo trailer is equipped with load range C, ST type tires. I may exceed 65 mph momentarily to complete an overtaking maneuver on the highway, but I don’t drive at sustained speeds over 65 mph. The tires on our coach have a H load rating and a maximum speed rating of 75 mph.

We often see vehicles pulling trailers blow past us at speeds in excess of 70 mph. We also see boat, cargo, and RV trailers on the side of the highway with tires blown out. Tire Rack® has an excellent article about trailer tire load and speed ratings here.

On Tuesday afternoon, we pulled in to the WalMart parking lot in Idaho Falls. Donna phoned ahead and secured permission for overnight parking. We found a level spot on the southwest side of the lot. Donna shopped for groceries. I bought some real beer, not the 3.2 stuff they have in Utah. While Donna was shopping, I returned to the coach. The wind was blowing at 25 – 30 mph from the west. The coach became engulfed in a dust storm. Dust came in an open window and every crack or crevice it could find. I moved the coach to another spot, out of the direct path of dust blowing from a field.

Yesterday, while Donna slept in, I had breakfast at the Subway shop in WalMart. Donna was still recovering from her trip to Phoenix and needed a few hours of extra sleep. We pulled out of WalMart a little past 10am. We merged onto US20 and drove through farm land.

North of Ashton, Idaho, we quickly gained 1,000 feet of elevation and entered the Caribou – Targhee National Forest. Road construction slowed us down through a couple of sections in the national forest. We could see the Teton Mountains to the east, in Wyoming, at times. It was beautiful country. The leaves on the aspen trees were a pretty shade of green against the darker evergreen trees.

We pulled into West Yellowstone just past noon yesterday. For a town with 1,300 residents, it’s a hopping place. Tourism fuels the economy. There are hotels, restaurants, two grocery stores and bars. Of course it also has the obligatory tourist traps with collectibles and T-shirts. The Chamber of Commerce has a large parking lot with bus and RV parking. Tour buses stop there throughout the day.

When we drove up to the chamber parking lot, we were confused by the Buffalo Crossing RV Park sign in front and the RV parking. We pulled in and parked. We didn’t see an office for the RV park. We saw the RV park with RVs in it to the south, but we couldn’t access the park from the lot we were in.

We pulled back out on the road and drove past the IMAX cinema and found the RV park entrance. There wasn’t any signage. All afternoon, after we set up, we saw other RVs make the same mistake as us. They need to put up a sign at the actual entrance.

View from the driver’s side of our coach as we set up

It was raining off and on as we were getting settled in. The temperature was in the 40s. Later, around 5pm the sun came out as the skies cleared. It warmed up to the 60s as predicted. This morning we have blue skies and abundant sunshine. Donna and I are going into Yellowstone National Park on the scooter and plan to do some hiking there.

Fairground to Fairground

Yesterday was a moving day. We took our time and had a leisurely morning. Since we were dry camped, I didn’t have to prepare much for travel.

We knew there was a fish fry scheduled at a grassy park in the fairgrounds where we stayed overnight. At 11am, we walked over there to see what it was all about. It turned out to be a private affair for employees of Conoco-Phillips. The guys preparing the fish gave us a sample of catfish, deep-fried with a corn meal coating. It was delicious.

We pulled out of the fairgrounds around 11:30am. Our first stop was only 10 miles up US6 at Helper, Utah. Helper is a small, authentic old west town, about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Helper is located at the mouth of Price Canyon, alongside the Price River. This is the east side of the Wasatch Plateau. Back in the day, trains traveling westward toward Salt Lake City had to climb the grade up the plateau. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) stationed “helper” engines at the train terminal here to help the trains climb the grade. That’s how the town got its name.

On April 21, 1897, Butch Cassidy robbed the Pleasant Valley Coal Company in nearby Castle Gate. It’s said that Butch spent time in Helper before and after his famous string of robberies. Today, Amtrak provides service to the train depot in Helper. The California Zephyr stops here daily, in both directions between Chicago, Illinois and Emeryville, California.

We walked through the three or four blocks of downtown and stopped at the Rock Eatery for lunch. If you ever get to Helper, you must try the rock chips. They are thinly sliced, fresh potato chips with an amazing seasoned salt. Light, crispy and delightful. Nothing in a bag comes close.

Rock Eatery in the two-story building

We left Helper around 12:45 and drove a few miles up US6. At the junction of US6 and US191, we entered Indian Canyon on US191. This route is off the beaten path, but we wanted to check out a few things along the way. I was sure it would be a scenic drive. The highway climbs up the steep canyon with grades up to 8%. At times we were in third gear, cruising up the grade under 40 mph, holding easily at 1900 rpm. I didn’t push the engine too hard, so the coolant temperature never reached 200 degrees on the guage.

US191

We topped out at the Indian Canyon summit at 9,114 feet above sea level. Helper was well below us at 5,800 feet. Donna shot a few photos of the windshield view. There were several tractor/trailer rigs pulling double tanker trailers. This steep, twisty grade had to be a handful with that load. As we climbed, we soon found out why the trucks were here. Oil is being pumped out of the ground in the area. They don’t have any pipelines – the crude oil is pumped into storage tanks, then transferred to tanker trucks for transport to refineries.

Crude oil pump and storage tank alongside US191

We saw a couple of ranches at the head of the canyon. I imagine it’s a tough way to raise cattle with the high elevation and steep canyon walls.

Cattle ranch at Indian Canyon

We passed through the Ashley National Forest and descended toward Duchesne. There was a long 8% downgrade. I had the Jake brake on stage 2 (high) and still had to use the brake pedal for a couple of curves. This is the longest downhill run of that steepness that I’ve ever driven.

Duchesne is situated at an elevation of 5,500 feet above sea level. We turned west on US40 there and proceeded to climb and descend a series of ridges that took us back up around 7,500 feet above sea level and back down to 5,500 feet.

We pulled off at a scenic overlook on the north side of the highway, about four miles west of Duchesne at Starvation Reservoir. The parking lot is a large loop, ideal for big rigs. We stretched our legs and looked around. I took a photo of a placard detailing some of the history of the area. It’s hard to imagine exploration of this rugged land at the time of the American Revolution in the east.

History from 1776 – click to enlarge

Starvation Reservoir view

US40 continued to climb and fall, finally topping out at 8,020 feet above sea level at Daniels Canyon. Along the way we passed Strawberry Reservoir and saw a few areas that looked promising for an overnight dry camp. That was one of the reasons for taking this route – to scope out spots for overnight stops in the future.

Here are some shots Donna took through the windshield.

Dropping down to Strawberry Reservoir – Snow on the peaks ahead

US40 at Strawberry Reservoir

We made our way to Heber City and found the Wasatch County Fairgrounds RV lot. There was a moment of confusion though. The lot has 150 full hook-up sites in what is basically a dirt parking lot surrounded by a chain link fence. I couldn’t see where to enter the lot and the road we were told to take was an obvious dead end.

I held station at the intersection, trying to figure out the best way in. Donna got on her cell phone and called the caretaker of the lot. He told us to proceed down the dead end road and we would see the entrance. I pulled forward across the intersection and saw an open gate immediately on my right. No way could I make that turn into the park. I continued down the road thinking I was really in a bad spot with no way to turn around. At the far end of the fence, we found another open gate. I backed up about 50 feet, swung wide to the left and made the turn into the gate. Whew! Disaster avoided.

We’re currently hooked up with 30 amp service, water and sewer. Like I said, it’s basically a dirt parking lot with hook-ups near an industrial park surrounded by housing. The longer range view of the mountains in the Uinta National Forest is spectacular though. Donna is looking forward to biking in the area and will head out this morning.

I plan to walk to the shopping center in town, about a mile from here. I’ll take care of some banking and pick up a few items we need. The weather guessers are calling for thunder showers this afternoon.

Here are a few photos of an old train displayed across the street from our site.

Unexpected Finds

Donna and I rode the scooter to the City Market in Fruita on Monday. She stocked up on groceries – mostly produce. We had a full load of goods when we rode home. Afterwards, I rode to the Liquor Barn and replenished my beer and vodka supply. I don’t want to deal with it while we’re traveling through Utah. The alcoholic beverage laws in Utah are so restrictive, and it’s expensive there. I spent most of the afternoon getting the trailer squared away and loading everything in it.

I was up early Tuesday morning. Donna had set an alarm for 7am. However, someone in the RV park fired up his Harley (equipped with straight pipes) and let it run for five minutes at 6:15am. Really considerate. I got up at 6:30am. I’d already dumped and flushed the holding tanks the night before. We had everything buttoned up and fired up the engine a little before 8am.

We made a five-mile loop through the area before pulling into Diesel Services, Inc (DSI) – right across the street from the RV park. I did this to get the transmission temperature up before they drained the fluid. Hot automatic transmission fluid (ATF) drains faster and more completely than cold fluid.

I dropped our trailer in their lot and then went inside. The service manager, David, had me back our coach in front of one of the service bays. The shop was full of commercial equipment being worked on. So Andrew, the mechanic assigned to the job, had to work on our coach on the ground in front of the service bay.

Old ATF filters removed from transmission

Andrew rolled under the coach on a creeper and recorded the serial number of the transmission. He did this to ensure that the right filters would be installed. DSI gets the filters from an Allison wholesale distributor nearby. He drained the fluid and removed the old filters. Andrew didn’t mind me watching him work and we talked as he went about his business. He told me the old fluid looked and felt like the TranSynd® synthetic fluid. The old filters looked good – there was no visible sign of debris. In the future, I’ll have fluid analysis performed to ensure that the fluid is good and no contaminates are present. Certain contaminates can indicate failure of various components.

The new filter kit included the filters, cover gaskets and new O-rings. Andrew did a thorough job of removing the old gaskets and cleaning the sealing surface. Once the new filters were installed and drain plug replaced, he began pumping TranSynd® ATF into the transmission. This led to a moment of confusion. The filter kit indicated that 16 quarts (four gallons) were required to refill the transmission. The Allison wholesale distributor said to put 17 quarts in. Overfilling the transmission would not be good. If it’s overfilled, the ATF gets aerated and foams, reducing its ability to lubricate and cool the transmission. Once overfilled, the drain plug would have to be removed and replaced before too much expensive ATF is drained out.

Andrew cleans the filter covers and preps for installation

Andrew pumped four gallons of fluid into the transmission. We waited a few minutes for it to reach the sump, then I started the engine. At high idle, I put the transmission into gear and cycled it between drive, neutral and reverse to pump fluid throughout the transmission. Checking the ATF level can be a bit tricky. The dipstick is marked for checking cold and has another mark for checking when hot (the fluid expands with heat). The dipstick showed the fluid level to be inbetween the two marks. This seemed about right to me. Andrew and David agreed. The transmission was neither cold nor completely up to operating temperature. I paid the bill, including $42 for an extra gallon of TranSynd® ATF to take with me.

We stopped at the visitor center in Fruita, parked the coach and walked to El Tapatio for lunch. Then we drove west on I-70 into Utah. We stopped at the visitor center in Utah near Thompson Springs about an hour later. This is a nice stop. The center has attendants who can answer questions and they gave us a Utah road map. There are hiking trails leading off into the hills behind the center.

While we were stopped, I checked the ATF level, now that it was fully up to temperature. The level was low. I added about a quart of TranSynd® and we got back on the road. Our next stop was at Green River. Our plan was to check out a boondocking spot there, just outside of town. It sounded good – within walking distance to restaurants and a brewery.

When we pulled into the parking area, which looked to be an old, out-of-business gas station, the lot was fairly level. However, it was right next to the highway and railroad tracks. It was also totally exposed and the wind was blowing hard. To cap it off, there was a construction crew across the street with heavy dirt-moving equipment. It smelled like they uncovered a tar pit. We decided to move on northbound on US6. Before we moved, I checked the ATF again. Still low. I added another quart, bringing the total volume to 18 quarts. The transmission level is now at the full mark. I confirmed the ATF level by checking it electronically. The Allison shifter is electronic and it can check the fluid level through sensors. Apparently, we had a very good drain of the ATF. It’s always hard to tell how much fluid is still in the transmission before refilling.

The driving was tiring. We battled gusty wind all day. The wind was coming from the west, shifting to the south at times. On I-70, it was mostly headwind. On US6, it was a cross wind, occasionally shifting to a tailwind. I was tired by the time we reached Price.

We were planning to go to the only RV park we could find in Price, but then we saw a sign for fairgrounds which we decided to follow. We stopped at the RV dump station next to a ball field. Donna called the fairground office and obtained permission to camp overnight. The woman told her that from where we were, we just needed to continue on down the road to the fairgrounds. We drove out of the dump station, east on Fairground Road. We soon found ourselves back in town. Apparently, we were supposed to go the other way on Fairground Road. I turned around in a large parking lot and drove back the way we came. When we got to the fairgrounds, Donna phoned again to clarify where it would be permissible to park. The woman in the office was very nice. She gave us directions and told us we would be fine for one night – no charge. She gave Donna her cell phone number and told her to call if we encountered any problems.

We found a level spot in front of the grandstands. Ours is the only vehicle parked in this area. The restrooms are open. They have running water and are clean. There’s even free public wifi! Off to the west of us, there’s a motocross track. A couple of guys were riding on the track when we arrived, but they left a little while later.

After we set up, we took a stroll. We found another motorhome back in a dirt lot, hidden by a large metal barn. We didn’t see anyone around though. This morning, I saw it pull out.

Today, we’ll move to Heber City. There’s another county fairgrounds in Heber City that has full hook-ups for $15/night. Nice! Our plan is to stay there for five nights before heading to Salt Lake City where we have reservations at a KOA campground.

The Long and Winding Road

I stayed up late Monday night watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We had the heat pumps running, but I thought it would get too cold overnight for them to be effective. Before I went to bed, I set the mode on the climate control to furnace. This changes the heating mechanism from the air conditioning/heat pumps to the propane furnace.

What I neglected to do was adjust the thermostat. The heat pumps run warm air through the air conditioning ducts in the ceiling. Due to the placement of the thermistors (sensors for the thermostat), the thermostat reads a temperature higher than the intended setting. This is because the ceiling ducts blow right at the sensors. This causes the heat pumps to shut off before we reach a comfortable setting in the coach. So when we have the heat pumps on, I set the thermostat higher than the intended comfort level. For example, if I want the coach to be at an average temperature of 68 degrees, I set the heat pump at 73 degrees.

Conversely, our propane furnace blows heated air through ducts near the floor. As the warm air rises, it cools. By the time it reaches the sensors at the ceiling, the temperature is below the intended setting. So the thermostat commands the furnace to to keep running and the average coach temperature is higher than intended.

I went to bed with the climate control set to furnace, but the temperature setting was at the setting for the heat pump. A few hours later, I woke to the sound of the furnace blasting and me lying in bed, warm with no covers. It was 75 degrees in the coach! I got up and reset the thermostat and couldn’t help but wonder how much propane I’d burned.

In the morning Donna cooked up a full breakfast of eggs, pancakes and bacon. We showered and set a target of a 10:30am departure. We had things squared away and the Cummins ISL diesel warming up at 10:35am.

We drove north through Moab and turned east at Highway 128. This road meanders through steep, narrow, rocky canyons along the Colorado River. From Moab, it angles northeast and terminates at I-70. We wanted to check out some of the boondocking sites along this way that we’d heard about. The roadway is narrow with a rock wall off to the right and no shoulder. I was cognizant of how far my right rear view mirror extended. I didn’t want to repeat yesterday’s episode of rubbing the housing.

Donna enjoyed the view and snapped several windshield photos along the way. I enjoyed bits and pieces, but this is a road that demands attention – regardless of of the vehicle you’re driving. I would estimate our average speed allowed us to cover the 40 miles or so in about an hour. The speed limit varies – it’s only 35mph in some tight stretches with poor road visibility and up to 55mph in flat, open areas. Here are some windshield views Donna snapped. The black angular line in the photos is the windshield wiper arm.

Rock wall at the edge of the right side of the road

An open stretch of road with a large mesa ahead

Blind crest with multi-colored rock walls

Road narrows

Another open section with incredible rock formations

We only found one area that could accommodate a rig our size. It’s called Goose Island Campground and it’s on BLM land just a few miles from Moab and also Arches National Park. It’s right on the river with a one-way loop that would make it easy to enter and exit.

We hit I-70 east and made our way into Colorado. Once again, I’m so impressed and grateful to have a Cummins ISL with a two-stage (Jacobs) brake. We had no issues at all with the sudden inclines and downgrades. I didn’t need to touch my brake pedal on highway 128 or I-70.

We found the Colorado Welcome Center at exit 19 and pulled off. The roundabout at the top of the off-ramp was poorly marked, but we made our way without incident. The welcome center has large RV lanes and a free dump station with fresh water! Nice!

We both needed comfort breaks and went inside. The facilities are very clean. The information center has all of the brochures you could ever ask for and more. We picked out a few with information about local cycling routes and then Donna inquired about lunch nearby. We were told we could leave our coach in the lot and walk to restaurants in the area. We went to a Mexican restaurant called El Tapatio.

As we were walking to the restaurant, I had to tell Donna about a guy I used to work for, Joe Sheridan. Joe was the manager of our group back in the mid-80s. Joe spent his entire life on the Atlantic Coast before moving to Michigan in the ’80s. Mexican names and food were a mystery to him.

We were setting up a national service meeting for Audi dealers and selected The Point at Tapatio in Phoenix as the site. Joe said to me, “What is it, Ta PAT-ee-oh… Ta Pay-show… how do you say this?” Growing up in southern California, it was easy for me to see it’s Ta-pa-TEE-oh. I went on to tell Donna that Joe was a great guy and one of the best bosses I’ve ever had.

The lunch was superb. Donna had the enchiladas suizas, a traditional Mexico City dish and I had chile verde enchiladas. I would give this meal a strong 4.5 on a scale of 5. They also had an extensive selection of top shelf tequilas. We didn’t sample, as we needed to get back on the road.

About six miles east on I-70, we exited and found the West Junction RV Park. I had booked online the night before. The online reservation system queried our vehicle type, length, whether we had a trailer and how long the trailer was. Once I completed the information, it told me that a suitable site was available and showed the rate. I booked and my credit card was billed.

When we pulled in, the check-in was seamless. They had all of my information on their computer. The gal at the desk called one of the camp hosts to escort us to our site and he led the way to our site. That’s when things began to unravel.

I had a map of the campground and saw where site 48 was located. As I followed the cart, I became concerned. The site had a very tight entry and exiting was iffy, if at all possible with a coach of our size towing a trailer. The guide seemed to have his doubts as well. He stopped and we talked. He said we could approach from a different direction if I followed him.

We rolled along through the RV park and made a turn around back near the office. This was a simple U-turn for the guide in a golf cart, but was impossible for my 278-inch wheelbase. I inched back and forth to get the trailer into a position to complete the turn. He finally came over and said, “Maybe I should see if we have another site.”

He came back a few minutes later and said he had another site. He told me to follow him out of the park to the street, so we could re-enter the park from the north. Again he whipped the golf cart into the park and made a 180-degree turn that was impossible for me to complete. I had to jockey back and forth carefully. I was concerned about jack-knifing the trailer. Once I completed the 180-degree turn, getting into the new site was easy and we didn’t have to drop the trailer. You would think that the person working at the RV park, assigned to escort you to your site, would have some notion of what it takes to turn a 40-foot motorhome and trailer.

We were told there would be an additional charge for the new site, because it had a cable TV hook-up. Donna went to office and talked to the owner. The owner wouldn’t budge. She insisted that we had to pay whether we used cable TV or not. As I was setting up, the owner came out. She apparently had a change of heart and said they wouldn’t add the additional charge. I thanked her and went about my business.

Once we were set up, Donna and I took the scooter out to reconnoiter the area. Donna is looking for routes to ride her bicycle. We rode west into the town of Fruita. We found some decent roads. Only a few have bike lanes, but the traffic here is very light.

Donna is planning to go out for a ride today. I’ll explore the area and see what it’s like to the east. Our location is roughly centered between Fruita to the west and Grand Junction to the east.

Rough Road Ahead

I think we woke up a little groggy yesterday. We only had two margaritas each the night before, celebrating our 8th anniversary, but mixed drinks, especially tequila, don’t sit well with me.

We went about our usual chores to break camp, but we had a twist. Donna had to return the rental car and I would follow to meet her at the Hertz agency. We were pressing a bit since we needed to have the car back before 10am or face additional charges. Donna rolled out at 9:30am and I followed shortly after.

The first SNAFU came when the Hertz agency couldn’t generate an invoice. They had a computer glitch of some sort. I was double parked in the road with my four-way flashers on, waiting for Donna to come out. There wasn’t much traffic, so it wasn’t a big deal. We finally got out of there with the agent promising to e-mail the invoice.

From there, we rolled up US89 to the Conoco station I’d checked out before. It had easy access and trucker lanes with long pull-throughs. As we pulled in, Donna noticed that the trucker lanes were priced higher than the regular car lanes. This is due to the difference in highway taxes for trucks versus passenger cars.

The gas station had a lot of real estate, so I could turn around and line up at a passenger car lane that had diesel fuel. I was feeling pretty good about this as I extended the generator slide on the front cap to allow access to our fuel fillers.

I stepped out and ran my credit card through the reader and began to pump fuel. I looked up and felt a shock I can’t describe. I saw our living room slide cocked away from the body of our coach. The top of the slide out was four or five inches away from the wall it should be seated against while the bottom of the slide looked to be seated against the side of the coach.

Oh no! How could this be?

I went back into the coach and told Donna we had a problem. I apparently missed a big issue on my walk-around before leaving the park. I didn’t look up. I had been driving down the road with the living room slide unsecured.

After pumping $256 worth of diesel fuel into our tank, I pulled away from the pump and circled the station. Luckily, this station has a lot of pavement to accommodate big trucks. We pulled off to the side. I opened the trailer and retrieved our ladders.

After examining the outside of the slide and using our short ladder to look inside the coach, I found that the slide seal had rolled and was jamming the slide. I pulled, poked and prodded for the next 30 minutes. When I thought I had the seal in a position that would allow the slide to move in, I shot it with 3M dry silicon spray to ease its movement. This sounds simple, but the entire operation entailed an hour of effort.

I held my breath and pushed the slide retract button. It came in and seated. Whew! We have a problem to solve though. This isn’t a good thing and it won’t just heal itself.

From there, we rolled up US89. The road climbed past Sunset Crater, then we descended most of the way to Cameron and onwards north. Just past Cameron, there was a sign that said “Rough Road Next 24 Miles.” It didn’t seem too bad at first. The speed limit was 65 mph, I had the cruise control set at 62 mph, which seemed comfortable. There were passing lanes every few miles, socars that wanted to cruise faster could overtake me. Suddenly, without warning, the road became a series of whoop-de-doos, something made for a motorcycle supercross track. We were literally launched into the air, I felt the front suspension top out twice before I could slow down and regain control. It was ridiculous. What was the Arizona Department of Transportation thinking? They had a rough road sign 10 miles before this section and no warning when the going really got rough.

We were both thinking of a lunch and potty break as we approached Gap, AZ. US89 suffered a landslide on February 20, 2013 and the road is still closed 26 miles north of Gap. If you want to go to Page, you need to make a right turn at Gap onto BIA 20. This is poorly marked, but lucky for us, Donna caught the sign. But, we were unable to find a suitable stopping point at Gap. It’s just a cross roads with a gas station and trading post.

BIA 20 is a Navajo Nation roadway that takes you 40+ miles through Lechee to Page. The road has no shoulder or turn outs, it’s just a slog all the way to Page. When we finally found Page we stopped at WalMart. Donna was famished and my bladder was at its limit.

We walked a quarter of a mile down the highway in search of food. Donna had noticed a pizzeria sign on our way in. When we got there, it was either closed or out of business. But we saw another restaurant offering a Mandarin buffet. This could work. Both of us were hungry. We walked across the lot and were surprised to see the place busy at 2pm.

The food was decent, I’d give it a 3.5 on a scale of 5. We went for seconds. Our hunger satisfied, we walked back to our coach.

It was a short drive through Page to the Glen Canyon Bridge. We crossed the bridge and looked for the visitor center. We found the Carl Hayden Visitor Center. You must stop here if you are in the area. The parking lot can accommodate a big rig. The views are great and the center is nothing short of a museum.

Glen Canyon Bridge

Looking across the Glen Canyon Dam

Top of the Glen Canyon Dam

I couldn’t capture the scope of the entire dam, but this gives some sense of depth.

Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States (only Lake Mead is larger). It generates power for the grid encompassing Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

Donna next to a turbine that’s one-fifth scale of the actual turbines in the dam

Wahweap marina in the background, prickly pear flowering in the foreground

Wahweap Marina in the background with flowering prickly pear cactus in the foreground

We drove up the highway and pulled off at the Lone Rock Road. This is an entrance to the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. Our National Parks pass got us in without paying the $15 per vehicle entrance fee. We paid $20 for an overnight camping pass for two nights ($10 per night).

The road is paved for a couple of miles in and there are two paved parking areas. One is in view from the entrance, the other is just before the pavement ends. The last parking area has a wide turnaround.

We stopped at the last paved parking area to walk and look the area over. A guy who obviously knew the area directed us to the best dirt road in. We trusted his advice and could see rigs in the area he directed us toward.

Here’s our latest spot on the planet.

This is why it’s called Lone Rock.

The beach at Lone Rock

Our latest hideaway

We’re currently set up with only the bedrooms slides out. The living room slide started to bind again and it needs attention. I don’t want to break anything, or have the slide stuck in an open position. Fortunately, our floorplan is livable even with the slide in. We have a little less space and Donna can’t access her spice cabinet, but other than that, it’s fine.

We strolled down along the beach. The sand is very fine, like powdered sugar. When we returned, we set our camp chairs in the shade of the coach and enjoyed the view with tortilla chips and homemade guacamole. Donna made unstuffed cabbage rolls for dinner on the induction cooktop.

We have a weak Verizon signal – most of time it’s only 1X. The Jetpack picks up 3G at times, allowing us to access the Internet.

No big plans for today. Tomorrow we’ll head back down to Page, then cross the Navajo reservation and follow US191 to Bluff, Utah.

Ditched Our Plan

Yesterday, Donna and I left our dry camping area around 11:30am to hike and check out camping areas. We wanted to stay in the area until Thursday, then move up to Flagstaff for a week. Donna needs to fly to New York for a media tour on Monday morning and return on Tuesday night. She’ll fly out of Flagstaff.

We walked down to the site we saw the night before. An ATV tour guide company unloaded four ATVs at the site. We walked on down the road. A half mile in, we found a spur road on the left and walked down it. There was a great looking site a few hundred yards down the road, but someone was already there. We continued on and found a few more open spots, but they weren’t very level or weren’t large enough for our rig.

We finally found a site that was fairly level and large. It was near a radio-controlled (RC) airplane field. A guy driving a pickup truck told us there would be a large RC meet at the field that weekend. We wouldn’t stay that long, but there would probably be activity at the field leading up to the big meet.

We walked back up the road. We had walked downhill to the site and when we climbed back up the hill, we could see what looked like a site off to our left that we could access from the main road. We decided to cross a field and go directly to the site, rather than walk all the way back to the main road.

As we got closer, we saw that it wasn’t a site at all, it was just a wide junction of another spur road off the main road. We walked down to the spur road and continued our search. We found an ideal site. It was a flat, round clearing with a tree in the center. It was large enough for us to pull into and circle around the tree to set up. We thought we were set.

We walked back up to the main road. That’s where our plan was dashed. There was a sign there that said the area was closed. No camping, no motorized vehicles. Something to do with watershed reclamation.

We walked a little further down the main road. We came to a point where the road dropped into a gulch. We couldn’t see any likely areas down there, so we turned back. We stopped and looked at the first site with the ATVs again. Donna decided to take my cell phone and hike back to the RC field and see how the Verizon coverage was. We didn’t think to do this the first time we were there. I went back to our coach with her phone.

When she came back, she said she wanted to cross highway 89A and look at a place where we saw other rigs camped. When she came back she said it was a large, flat graveled area with toilets at a trailhead. There were five rigs there including two with horse trailers. She said there was room for one more rig.

We packed up and pulled the slides in, still undecided about which site to move to. We thought we could cross the highway and pull into the site and see if we liked the set-up. If not, we could return to the site with the ATVs.

Right about then, a Dodge Ram pickup pulled into our site. It was Mark and Emily Fagan (roadslesstraveled.us). We stepped outside and greeted them. They were in the area riding their mountain bikes and knew where we were camped. We stood outside and chatted. It’s always great to run into friends on the road.

Mark told me about a couple of other boondocking sites in the area. One was about half a mile away. Then he told me about Beaverhead Flats Road. If we boondocked there, we would be close to the town of Oak Creek. We could also go to Sedona from there. Our current location has us isolated. Highway 89A into Sedona would be a seven-mile run up a steep grade with a 65mph speed limit. I thought that we would be pushing the scooter too hard to ride two up under those conditions.

I told Donna I thought we should go to Beaverhead Flats Road. I wanted to be able to go into town and not be so isolated. Later, Donna told me she felt a little uneasy about ditching our plan and taking off into the unknown again. But, she didn’t say anything at the time. By the time we got rolling, it was after 3pm.

We drove back down 89A about five miles to the Cornville exit. We followed the Cornville road for several miles before we found Beaverhead Flats Road. Beaverhead Flats Road took us toward AZ179. Mark mentioned a pullout at a scenic overlook. We thought we could stop there and have a look around. When we reached the overlook, about six miles up the road, I didn’t pull in.

I pulled over onto a wide shoulder area. I didn’t pull into the scenic overlook because the entrance was a narrow road that disappeared around a hill. Without knowing the layout, I could end up in a parking lot too small for me to turn around in. We had another issue to contend with as well.

I haven’t driven this coach enough to know how accurate the fuel gauge is. Our gauge was showing less than half a tank of fuel. This is plenty of fuel to drive for two hundred miles or more, but the generator will not run once the tank is about a quarter full. This is a safety feature to keep from running out of fuel while dry camped in a remote area. The last quarter tank is for the engine only. All motorhomes running generators off the main gasoline or diesel fuel tank are set up this way, at least as far as I know.

The Beaverhead Flats Road ended one mile further on at a stop sign at the junction with AZ179. We turned left and drove toward Oak Creek. I wanted fuel before we dry camped anywhere. We saw a ranger station and wanted to stop for more information on the area. Once again, we were thwarted by a small parking area.

We hit a roundabout at the edge of town and turned back. We didn’t know what to do next. It seems that we’re not very good at picking out boondocking spots on the fly. It’s difficult if you don’t know the area and don’t know what you may be driving into. On Beaverhead Flats Road and on AZ179 there aren’t many places where a big rig can pull over and have a look around.

We pulled over just before AZ179 met I-17 to discuss our next move. We looked at our RV park guide and used the Points of Interest (POI) feature on the GPS. We threw out our dry camp plan and drove to the Distant Drums RV park near Camp Verde. Donna has work to do and we needed to settle in somewhere for a few days. It was after 5pm by the time we were parked in our site. Thursday we’ll head up to Flagstaff.

We grilled bacon wrapped petite filets with corn on the cob and grilled tomato for dinner.

Bacon wrapped petite filet

Today, I’ll make reservations for us at a campground in Flagstaff.

Getting Turned Around

Yesterday was a travel day, so I got to work in the morning and didn’t post. I had the scooter loaded Saturday evening, but didn’t get much else done due to the cold, windy weather. When I say cold, I mean in the 60s but with a stiff wind.

I started by pulling the wheel covers, then checking and adjusting tire pressures. Donna went out for a walk while I was doing this. When she returned, I cleaned the windshield and rear view mirrors. I waited until she showered to dump the holding tanks. I was in for a surprise.

I had dumped the tanks on the previous Wednesday. I was off my usual weekly schedule, due to us changing our plan and extending our stay. No problems at all on Wednesday. Sunday morning, when I pulled the handle on the blade valve for the black tank, there was an odor. Then there were two two small streams of black water spouting from the top of the sewer hose. Yuck! Something had punctured the top of our sewer hose. It only lasted a few seconds since the tank wasn’t very full and the pressure quickly subsided.

As I flushed out the black tank, I used the outdoor shower wand to spray off the area around the punctured hose. The two holes were spaced a few inches apart. The were about 1/16″ in diameter. I don’t know what caused this in the top of the hose. The hose was fine four days earlier.

While the tank was rinsing, I saw our new neighbor with the Alpine Coach that pulled in a couple of days ago. I walked over and introduced myself. His name is Ron. He’s owned his 1999 Alpine Coach since he bought it new in 1998. He and his wife have traveled to 49 states (including Alaska), all of the Canadian provinces, all of the states in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. They’ve been on the road full time since they bought the coach.

Like most Alpine Coach owners, he’s very enthusiastic about the brand. He was one of the original six founding members of the Alpine Coach Association. He and his wife worked as travel guides for RV tour groups. That’s one of the reasons they’ve been to so many places. He currently has about 189,000 miles on his coach and it’s still going strong.

Once I finished with holding tanks and cleaned everything, I threw our sewer hose into the dumpster. We hit the road around 11:30am.

Our route took us back through Wickenburg to the Carefree Highway. I’ve noticed that some people can’t stand driving behind a motorhome, no matter how fast the coach is going. On one stretch of the Carefree Highway, I was driving along at 58 – 60 mph where the speed limit was 55 mph. A guy in a pickup truck pulling a boat made a risky pass. He passed us over a double yellow line where side roads join the highway. Once he was in front of us, he gained about a hundred yards on us before he pulled off at the Lake Pleasant turn off.

We turned north on I-17 and drove up to the Verde Valley. This route climbs into high desert with a series of uphill and downhill sections. I was really pleased with the way our coach handled the grades. On the steepest climbs of six or seven percent, we easily maintained 50 to 55 mph. On the downgrades, I used the engine compression (Jake) brake to keep our speed in check. On steep descents, the low setting on the Jake allowed the speed to slowly creep up. When I switched it to the high setting, it reduced our speed. I played the switch back and forth between low and high to adjust our speed. I never touched the brake pedal. I remembered Ron telling me that at 189,000 miles, he still had the original brake pads.

We turned west on AZ 260 and drove to the WalMart on the outskirts of Cottonwood. We stopped there at about 2 PM. I bought a new Camco Rhinoflex sewer hose and few other RV supplies there.

Donna and I were hungry. We made a rare visit to a fast food place. We ate at Carl’s Jr., Donna had a turkey burger and I ate the western bacon cheese burger. We talked about staying overnight at the WalMart or moving on to boondock on public land. We decided that Donna would shop for groceries while I went online to look for free camping opportunities.

Highway 89A from Cottonwood to Sedona runs through the Coconino National Forest. I saw a few places that looked promising, but it’s hard to tell just by looking at a map or Google Earth how good the roads are. We turned off the highway at Spring Creek Ranch Road. This didn’t work out as we hit a dead end at a gate. Luckily, there was a wide turn around area. We’re always concerned about getting into something we couldn’t get out of.

We continued north and saw a few campers on a small hillside. We pulled into the turning lane and came to a stop before entering. There were two motorcyclists on Honda Goldwings, pulling small pop-up camper trailers exiting the dirt road. Donna jumped out and met them at the stop sign. She asked them whether we could maneuver our rig in there. They advised against it, saying it was very rough. That was why they turned around and were leaving.

We continued north, past the Red Rocks State Park Lower Loop. At the upper loop turn off, I turned in towards the park. I thought it was called a loop for reason. I figured if it’s a loop, we can drive through and take a look. We continued down a narrow, winding road. The scenery was spectacular with views of the famed red rocks. But the only turnouts were small and uneven. We dropped down into a narrow valley and came to a Y intersection. The road on the left led to a recreation area, but there was a “No Outlet” sign and another sign said it was closed at the river crossing. This didn’t sound good. We stayed on the loop to the right.

On the GPS map, it looked like the road would lead us back to the lower loop road and back to the highway. We came upon a rural residential area as the road became narrower. I saw a guy walking on the side of the road and I stopped. I opened my window and asked him if the road looped back to highway 89A. He said it did, but the pavement ends and it climbs through tight switchbacks. I asked him if he thought we could do it in our rig. He was skeptical.

Now our mission was to find a way to get turned around. We weren’t having much luck. Every side road was a short, narrow spur. When we reached the end of the pavement, the road curved sharply to the right. There was another road angling off to the left at the curve. I pulled into the road on the left. Then I backed the trailer into the curve on the dirt road. It was a tight, tricky maneuver, but I had us turned around and heading out of there.

By now it was after 5pm. I was anxious to get off the road. We turned back south on 89A. If we went any further north, we would be in the town of Sedona, where we not be able to park. We pulled off at an RV park on the side of the highway. It was a membership park, so we continued on. We saw an RV off to west in the national forest. We pulled off at forest service road 525. Right away we saw a large turnout. I passed it by and continued down the road. The pavement ended.

There was another smaller turnout ahead. I pulled into it. We debated whether we should continue down the road or turn back and pull into the large turnout we saw. We decided to turn around while we had the chance and park in the large turnout. We could explore later on foot. I couldn’t turn around in the smaller turnout, I had to jockey back and forth, taking care not to hit anything with the trailer before we were out of there.

We found a fairly level area in the large turnout and called it a day. It was beer-thirty for me. With a beer in hand, we took a walk down the road. We found a perfect spot about a quarter of mile from where we turned around. We thought about moving, but it was almost sunset by then. We decided to stay put and explore more of the area in the morning.

Here are a couple of views from the area where we dry camped.

Red and white cliffs in the distance

Another view

We started watching a new (to us) series recorded on the hard drive. Last night we watched two episodes of The Americans before we turned in.

Our site at sunset

Today, we’ll hike around the area and decide on our next move.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Boondocking

Say No to Missoula

Mumbro Park

White Sulphur Springs

The Road to West Yellowstone

Fairground to Fairground

Unexpected Finds

The Long and Winding Road

Rough Road Ahead

Ditched Our Plan

Getting Turned Around

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