Our Camping Trip (12-15-21)

 I know most people equate RVing with camping, but when you live in an RV, its not really camping per se, more like having a house on wheels.  The camping trip we took was a tent camping trip.  We have two tent camping expeditions planned for 2022 and we wanted to do a test run to make sure we have everything we need.  One of those trips is a two day trip with our Jeep (in Moab) and the other is to Havasupai Falls (if it opens back up). The Havasupai Falls trip is different because we can’t bring the Jeep. We will send our tent etc down into a canyon on a mule.  Then we will hike the 12 miles down, and camp in the tent for 3 nights.  Why would we want to do that?  To see this:

and this:

and this:

Of course, those photos have been enhanced, but the color of the water is apparently that beautiful. In order to see these waterfalls you have to have reservations (they are on an Indian reservation). To get the reservation, you need to be up at the crack of dawn on February 1, and be one of the lucky ones that manages to secure a reservation before the entire year is sold out…in 10 minutes.  

We were lucky enough to win, way back in February of 2020.  We all know what happened next. Covid. The Supai tribe closed the area completely and rescheduled anyone who had tickets.  We have been rescheduled 3 times, and its still not looking good. We now have reservations for October of 2022. I doubt it will happen but we will see. For me to hike that far, at this point, I would really have to train for it- its 2400 feet of gain/loss and 12 miles each way.

Anyway, back to reality. We are also interested in taking the boat to one of the many “boat in” campsites on the lake and spending a night or two. 

There is a hike about 45 minutes from our house that we have wanted to hike for years, but we have never gotten around to it.  We are reminded every time we drive by the area, because the trail includes  a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the highway.

Buckskin Mountain Trail, as its called, starts in the nearby state park, so we booked a tent site there for two nights.

After packing the Jeep , we took the short trip down the highway, and started unpacking again. The weather forecast wasn’t great- it wasn’t going to be warm, and there was actually an 80% chance of rain. Usually that just means it will be cloudy, but naturally, this time it actually did mean rain. It never did downpour but it spit out rain several times.

We have lots of new equipment we are trying out, including our kickass cooler, tent, jet boil, coffee pot etc.  After the main tent was up, we set up the tent for the porta-potty.  Yep, we are that spoiled.

 

Once we were all set up, we got to enjoy the view from our site.

Dinner our first night was a fancy affair of ham and stir-fry veggies.

For breakfasts we used our new coffee pot to make the coffee, and on one morning we cooked one of the dehydrated breakfasts on the Jet Boil, to try them out.  It was ok, but we were happy to have real bacon and eggs the second morning.

Our one full day there turned out great for hiking and we enjoyed walking about 2 miles into the desert hills before turning around.

There are some old mining ruins around, which always makes Paul happy, and the views of the river on the way back were pretty nice too.

Back at camp we used our new solar light to play Rummikub. There isn’t much room in the tent, so we lit the propane firepit and played outside until it got so cold we had to go in.  Our biggest take away from the trip is that if we want to tent camp more often, we’ll need a bigger tent.  One that you can stand up in.

The day we headed home we decided to take the long way around the lake.  We have heard its possible to do but we have never attempted it, so off we went.

This side of the lake has very little in terms of population and amenities.  Not even much wildlife.  We saw one lonely burro. 

 

The scenery was pretty great, and at times, the view of Lake Havasu and the city were pretty cool.

We knew the road would be unpaved, and it turned out to be a great road for the Jeep- narrow for a dually.

A couple of hours later we were home, after a very fun two days.  I actually really enjoyed the tent “glamping" and would do it again.