This morning, as we were finishing breakfast inside the VRRV; Martha spotted the local camp host nosing around just outside the camper: pic by Martha The bear detected movement through the window I think, as I moved to it to grab my camera. The bear then moved smartly away from o … | Continue reading
Martha and I left the overcrowded Metro Denver area at 10AM and by 12:30 PM were setting up camp on the southern end of Rampart Range Road in the Pike National Forest. The day was already hot when we left the neighborhood with an expected high of 98°F (36.6°C). It was much cooler … | Continue reading
Yesterday, I rode Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol to the summit of Berthoud Pass on US Hwy 40 to see what conditions were like there. No snow issues anymore, still some snow as you'll see but not where it impacts vehicles. The day was quite cloudy and it would feel chilly when the … | Continue reading
Sunday, June 9 We got a severe thunderstorm warning and shortly afterwards got hit by heavy rain and marble-sized hail (some almost golf ball-sized)! Buildup from the gutter drain pipe out front During the peak of the hail storm: Thing 2's Toyota Pickup Truck got lots of hail dam … | Continue reading
I finished prepping Umarang the VRRV for storage and drove her to Buckley Space Force Base this morning. I rigged a single solar panel to keep the house battery charged and then rigged a second cable from the house battery to the chassis battery to keep it charged up. There'd bee … | Continue reading
Wednesday, June 5 Lazy day today after a brief recce of the North Sand Hills Recreation Area. The recce reminded me how unsuited it is for my camping requirements. The access road is sandy and the access to campsite locations even sandier. The trails are very sandy and Yagi, my T … | Continue reading
This morning, once things warmed up at bit (56 degrees), I rode my TW200 on CO Hwy 14 about 25 miles to the State Forest State Park's Moose Visitor Center. Buckhorn Sheep came by to visit A view of the campsite from CR 15a State Forest, yep that's the name of the forest, a bit un … | Continue reading
Sunday, June 2 As mentioned in the previous post, I spent the morning working on the configuration of items on the roof of the VRRV. After a quick lunch, I rode out on Yagi, My TW200, and took Manhattan road AKA Larimer County 69 down towards the small settlement of Rustic, CO. I … | Continue reading
It's good that I went camping this week, apparently there was a big hail storm Thursday night in the Metro Denver area. Got an email from the storage yard people where I normally store the RV and there was apparently damage to multiple rigs there! About the Sony telephoto lens th … | Continue reading
Thursday, May 30 Pretty lazy day, spent mostly lounging and reading. Campsite visitor View from a nearby hill Spooky shelter now surrounded by water. This is near the campsite. A view from a different hill, note the overcast skies Found this dead hummingbird while doing a police … | Continue reading
Wednesday, May 29 A very nice and sunny morning leading to an overcast afternoon with gusting winds. Got some major minor tasks done with a bit more riding of Yagi, my TW200 thrown in for good measure. The gate to Deadman Road remains closed though I see work trucks go to and fro … | Continue reading
I left the overcrowded cesspool that is the Denver metro area, and took the long way north towards Fort Collins. The city of Fort Collins has become quite crowded too it seems. Fortunately, I did not have to go deep into it to get onto Colorado Highway 14 and westward towards Red … | Continue reading
We got back home on Wednesday, May 15 after 8 hours on the road. No issues during the drive, just boring and tiring. I like keeping the mileage covered in one day to 300, but alas, we were close and both of us had gethomeitis....so, 478 miles it was. Colorado welcomed us with the … | Continue reading
Monday, May 13 We left the Petrified Forest National Park early yesterday morning, around 7AM, ready to move further east along the I-40 Super Slab. By 1PM we'd arrived in the vicinity of the Cedro Peak Loop Road. We encountered way too rough of terrain conditions trying to get o … | Continue reading
We left the Sedona area this morning and less than three hours later were pulling into the RV parking lot near the south entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park. After setting up the VRRV for an overnight stay, we unhooked the Honda CR-V and left to go into the park so Mar … | Continue reading
I spent the morning riding my TW200, Yagi, through the Broken Arrow Trail that is located within the city limits of Sedona. At the trailhead off of Morgan Road, you can park and hike on the trail or there is an OHV version of the trail as well. It proved slightly technical in spo … | Continue reading
A hiking day today for us. After breakfast, we headed towards Sedona and parked at the Bell Rock Trail parking lot. Note to self: if you wait till after 9AM, the lot is full and its warm by then! Fortunately, we got there by 8AM I believe. It would end up being almost three miles … | Continue reading
Thursday, May 9th After breakfast, we drove to the town of Cottonwood, where they had a Harbor Freight and I bought a second 100 watt solar panel. (more on this later in this post). Afterwards, we drove over to the Tuzigoot National Monument to check things out: View from lowest … | Continue reading
We drove about an hour and a half from near Williams, AZ to dispersed camping in the Coconino National Forest about 15 miles from Sedona, AZ. We had originally explored the area near the junction of I-17 and AZ Hwy 179 but after leaving the URRV at a candidate spot, we found a be … | Continue reading
Mellow day today, windy and sunny. We drove into town and just wandered about the main street area which is part of the famed Route 66 highway. There was a sign claiming: Last town to be bypassed by the construction of I-40. Interesting claim to fame I thought. First, a visit to … | Continue reading
We left BlazeOurWay's Lori and Chris Z's awesome hospitality today. We're starting our eastward portion of this camping trip, and drove just a few hours to dispersed camping south of Williams, AZ. Wouldn't you know it? The site we picked has excellent cellular internet access! So … | Continue reading
I finally broke down, and got the Gen 3 star link internet dish this week. A few notes: I bought mine through the Home Depot in Kingman, Arizona, since I could get the military discount through them. The setup and activation of the unit when sold via third parties is poorly done … | Continue reading
We got to Meadview, AZ, Saturday, April 27 and have been Moochdocking at BlazeOurWay's (Lori and Chris Z.) home. This is their new base of operations after having been living fulltime in their Overlander Rig: Stewie for the last two years or so. Yesterday, Sunday, April 28 Some m … | Continue reading
While Martha went to do some shopping in Henderson, I rode out this morning on Yagi, my TW200 to check out Lava Butte. It lies outside, the borders of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The beginning of the trail, shortly after it becomes a dirt road from the trailhead off o … | Continue reading
A somewhat short driving day today as we drove to be close to the Las Vegas, NV area. Since we gained an hour once we were in Nevada, we were setting up camp by Noon. There's several rigs here but the sites are pretty dispersed so far. Not enough rig to make for crowded condition … | Continue reading
Monday, April 22 We left the Torrey, UT area at 8:32 AM and by 1:00 PM or so we were south of Cedar City, UT setting up camp at a BLM dispersed camping area. Nice spot, and no neighbors which was the best part. Even the wind, which wasn't that strong, was warm under the bright su … | Continue reading
Saturday, April 20 Martha and I drove the Honda CR-V (Wanda) down UT Highway 12, a designated scenic byway, towards the Escalante National Monument. A brief stop at "The Hogback" for the above shot. The rest of the photos for this post are screen captures from the footage shot by … | Continue reading
This morning we drove down to the vicinity of the visitor center for the Capitol Reef NP and checked out the Petroglyph Panel. Our view of nearby Torrey and the rock wall overlooking the town: This is a section of rock wall where petroglyphs are evident. They're pretty cool, thou … | Continue reading
Sunny day with some noticeable but not bad winds. Martha and I drove over to the Capitol Reef NP's Visitor Center located just off the US24 Highway about six miles east of Torrey, UT. After getting her Park Passport book stamp and a map, we drove onto the Scenic Highway deeper in … | Continue reading
Martha and I displaced at 8:30AM from near Westwater, UT and by Noon were near the town of Torrey, UT, on the western side of the Capitol Reef NP along the US 24 corridor. We found a nice spot near the town though a bit windy, conditions were otherwise optimal. Shortly before 3PM … | Continue reading
A good day of car touring with a bit of hiking among large and scenic rock formations! We had an 11AM reservation to enter the Arches National Park and were let in by 11:15, not too bad a wait at the fee gate. The reservation system does seem to cut down on the crowding of the mo … | Continue reading
Sunday, April 14 Martha and I left the overcrowded cesspool that is the I-25 Corridor of the Colorado Front Range at 8:30 AM, heading west on the I-70 super slab. We made good time, had good weather, and though quite slow on the uphill portions of the mountain areas, the VRRV did … | Continue reading
Recent work on Thing Two's pickup truck led me to wonder if the idle was set too high on the engine. The truck didn't come with a tachometer however. My mind then thought to get a tachometer that wasn't tied to a specific vehicle so I can use it to determine RPMs on any gasoline/ … | Continue reading
One of the reasons, heck, the main reason I came home earlier than planned was to bring the Honda CR-V home so that Thing Two had transportation. Thing Two had been driving home work in the 1990 Toyota Pickup, lost traction on snow and hit a tree. The good news was that Thing Two … | Continue reading
Long day on the road, Google maps said 8 hours from my campsite near Elephant Butte, NM but it's closer to eleven+ hours the way I drive. I drive at 55-58 mph max speed you see, trying to not go below 7 MPG. On a good day, it's 8+, and that's whether towing the Honda CR-V or Trai … | Continue reading
I have started heading back to Colorado and home since yesterday. Tuesday, March 26 I left the BLM areas south of Ajo, AZ and spent the morning driving east, retracing my way back towards Tucson and eventually the Indian Bread Recreation Area BLM camp ground. It was a mostly over … | Continue reading
I spent part of the morning in Ajo, AZ doing laundry and getting some groceries and supplies. When I returned and after the lunch hour, I rode to nearby Locomotive Rock to explore it further. I would end up walking to as close to the top as one can get without climbing gear and r … | Continue reading
Friday, March 22 I didn't do much of anything, just relaxing again, rediscovering radio stations over the Internet for musical intervals. I did trim off the end of the rubber tube (which had split) that connects the crankcase to the airbox on Yagi, my TW200. I'm hoping that's whe … | Continue reading
I'd spent the last couple of days mostly relaxing in the gazebo tent, listening to audio books and doing minor chores. Wednesday's sunset was pretty good: Thursday, I did ride out for about an hour or so on Yagi, my TW200, to get some closer views of the peak which dominates this … | Continue reading
I left the vicinity of the Dragoon Mountains/Cochise Stronghold yesterday and by Noon I was finishing setting up at a campsite in the Buenos Aires NWR: National Wildlife Refuge. Saw this at Arivaca Junction as I got off the I-19 Interstate onto Arivaca Road: Much bigger than the … | Continue reading
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Here's last night's sunset: I went out after breakfast, once temperatures climbed towards the 50s, and rode Yagi, my TW200 to Forest Road (FR) 345 and from it to FR 697. This road, was apparently cut to provide access to mines up in the mountains, by Ch … | Continue reading
I am presently camping on the west side of the Dragoon mountains. This mountain range is also known as the Cochise Stronghold. It served as a stronghold for the Apache Indians as a waged war with the United States Army back in the days of Western expansion. As you can see in the … | Continue reading
Yesterday, March 13, I left the Indian Bread BLM Rec Area and headed to Willcox, AZ to dump tanks and take on water and propane. The KOA there, which I've used before, has gotten more expensive. $15 to dump and $15 for water! I then fueled up at the Love's and got propane there. … | Continue reading
Yesterday, March 12, I drove the CR-V to visit the nearby town of Willcox, AZ and the Chiricahua Regional Museum. Pretty well curated museum, with some interesting new info for me. On a previous camping trip, I'd checked out the Chiricahua National Monument: LINK. As usual, here' … | Continue reading
Yesterday, March 11, I rode Yagi, my Yamaha TW200 over to nearby Apache Pass. The pass is one of the main routes through the Dos Cabezas (Two Heads) mountain range/wilderness. The pass is also closely connected to nearby Fort Bowie National Historic Site. I'd visited the fort bef … | Continue reading
There was a gathering of dirt bikes and OHVs starting Friday night, their noise and crappy behavior bothered me. Behavior such as riding fast and noisy between established campsites. 10 MPH speed limit on the main access road? Forget about it! Ah, such is the environment where sa … | Continue reading
At Martha's reminder, I realized that I was still traveling/camping in the mode we'd adopted while trying to get visits in while in Texas. Staying just two days then moving on, something I dubbed the Texas Two Step. Now I'm slowing things down, spending more time camping at each … | Continue reading
Left the Las Cruces, NM area this morning and by the afternoon I was pulling into the BLM managed Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area. I like this area a lot, it's got dunes, trails and two "hot tubs" filled with hot springs water for soaking one's troubles away. I found more campers … | Continue reading