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.

Autumn In Havasu (12-19-21)

 I think, actually, that when using the word autumn in relation to Havasu, it really needs quotes-“Autumn” in Havasu is more like summer in the rest of the country.

Once we were settled in to the house, we spent our time in our usual manner- partying, and projects.

Soon after we arrived home we were joined by our friends Liz and Randy. Every warm and calm day we had was spent on the boat.  Although the water was starting to cool off, it was still warm enough to laze around in the lake.

Other warm days were spent in the pool.

One of the things we like about Havasu is that there is always something going on- our outings included:

Live music at the local bars---(our favorite bar is too crowded, so we avoid that one)

… car races at the local track…

And, of course, no autumn would be complete ( for me) without football.

My cousin Linda decided that since she is working remotely, it was worth the trip from Phoenix to Havasu to spend a week enjoying the weather and company.

At the end of October, Paul and I made the trek to Fresno for the wedding reception for the son of one of his fraternity brothers.  In typical Covid fashion, the actual wedding took place the year before. It was a great weekend with our California friends.

Thanksgiving this year was quieter than usual, but Jess came, and its never totally quiet when she is here!

She expressed interest in shooting when an outing was suggested, so we all went to the outdoor shooting range, where she first got a gun safety lesson before being handed the first gun.

She did pretty darn good for a novice…

By the end, she had shot 6 different guns.

On the project side of things, there wasn’t anything major being done- except Randy re-caulking his rig. Luckily the weather was warm enough that he could use the “dunk in the pool/work, dunk in the pool/work” method.

Paul and I have been working on going through all of our old family papers and photos.  A major chore, and it is one of those things that won’t get done in one sitting.  I found a picture of my grandfather that I had never seen before. He died long before I was born.

We have been in buying mode lately and one of our purchases classified as a project as well.

We drove to Fresno to pick up a new saw Paul bought.  He has many many tools and saws already, but this one is particularly nice and as a perk, he got to sell some of his other tools.  The project part was getting it off the trailer and into the garage. It weighs well over 500 lbs.  He used the winch on the Teryx to coax it off the trailer.

Our two other major purchases were “mine”.  I finally decided what I want for  new furniture for the back patio, and bought it.  I love my new space, and weather permitting, that’s where you will find me. It makes a very comfortable space for coffee or happy hour.

With Covid going nowhere anytime soon, I decided that I am not going back to a gym anytime soon. I already bought an elliptical, but I wanted something for upper body. After a ton of research, we drove up to Vegas to pick up a used functional gym.

Great Basin National Park (10-10-21)

 Where was I?  Where did I leave off?  What did we do?? Those are questions that I ask myself when I wait too long to write a blog post (like now.). I will start a little backwards- we are home, and have been in Havasu for a little over a month. More on that later (probably much later).

So. Number 46, for us.  Great Basin is the 46th national park that Paul and I have visited. Every time we wanted to come, it was the wrong time of year- Wheeler Peak sits at 13,000 feet, and usually sees snow by October. 

We spent a week in Baker NV, exploring this area.  Since most people will never get to Great Basin, allow me to be your tour guide.

Great Basin was designated a national park in 1986. It gets its name because it is located ……in the Great Basin. 

This basin is the largest endoreic watershed area in North America- that’s a fancy way of saying  that all the precipitation that gets here, stays here. There is no path to the ocean.  It all either evaporates, falls into a lake, or sinks into the ground.  As you can see, this basin is enormous, and this national park preserves a small portion of it. 

It also preserves Lehman Cave, and is a designated Dark Sky community.

With the weather forecast being perfect for hiking, we made our way up the scenic drive to the Alpines Lake trail.  

Along the way, it became obvious that winter is on its way.

The Alpine Lakes trail is only about 3 miles long, but it starts at about 10,000 ft and I wasn’t sure how my lungs would handle it.  Neither of us had any issues, and we enjoyed the lakes that were along our path.

One of the other things this park is known for is the Bristlecone Pine. 

These are the worlds longest living tree and they can live for almost 5000 years.  This tree is 3300 years old.

These trees thrive in extremely harsh conditions, and because of that, grow very slowly. Because of the slow growth, the wood is very dense, and resistant to decay and erosion.

An interpretive trail tells their stories. This particular tree was “born” in 100 BC and “died” in 1400 AD.

We were happy to hear that there would be a star party during our stay in Baker.  We arrived at the visitor center in plenty of time, and were treated to a short, informative talk by an astrophysicist while we waited for dark.

  Unfortunately, there was a bright “flashlight” in the sky, called the moon, and it was hard to see much of anything. Add to that, there were only two telescopes, and about 80 people, so it wasn’t worth staying.

That’s ok though, we have been to some pretty good star parties in the past.

Apparently I was a little late doing my research for this park, and almost didn’t realize in time that the tour of Lehman Cave required reservations, which were limited by Covid protocols.  By checking the web regularly, I was able to snag two spots, when someone canceled.

The cave was discovered in the late 1880s, and by 1922, it was a national monument. Unfortunately a lot of damage was done during that time period, but there are still some really cool formations.

These are called shields, and there are about 500 of them in the cave.  It’s not really clear how they were formed, although there are several theories.

Our final hike in the park was a 5 mile hike with 937 ft of gain, to the only glacier in Nevada. The trail was pretty rocky (maybe that’s why they call it Rock Glacier). 

Actually, a rock glacier is just a glacier that is covered with debris and rock. The trail ended at about 11,000 feet and although tiring, was well worth it.

We didn’t want to leave the area without exploring a little outside the park, so we took a day to head up to Ely, NV, home to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.

Over 100 years old, this is still a working rail yard, and as such, very dirty and noisy.  In fact, it’s home to a cat named Dirt.

With all the tools and machinery, Paul had a great time exploring and checking things out.

Since September was starting to wane, we figured it was time to head home.  Baker NV is less than 500 miles from our house, just a bit too long to make in one day.  Besides, there was somewhere we wanted to stop along the way- Cathedral Gorge State Park.

This park has incredible rock formations- like nothing we have ever seen before.  

It reminded me of a Disneyworld playground. 

The formations are made of silt, clay, and volcanic ash.  They are solid and fun to climb, although you do have to watch your step- there are also lots of holes to fall into. 

And finally, we went home.