Day 7 – Long Canyon Road – Overlook

Woke up this morning super refreshed. Both Anna and I had the best rest so far. Anna got up early to go watch the sunrise and ended up going for a walk. I laid in bed for another 20 minutes or so before finally popping my head out of the door. I know I keep saying how amazing and beautiful the vistas and views are, but it’s so true. This place is really something special!

Mama got started making chili. I helped a little. About halfway through the cooking process, a little chipmunk made its appearance. Cute little fellow that kept coming closer and closer. Anna threw the little guy a piece of corn and apparently he is very fond of corn. A few more showed their faces before Papa couldn’t stand it any longer and scoped his way into the chili! As always – Anna rocked on the chili!! Yum, Yum!

We got into this beautiful area yesterday, but with a few people leaving early this morning, we decided to see what new better site might be had. There was another sprinter van, an ST Overland Stealth in a perfect spot the night earlier that had now left and we nab the spot. We had everything packed up pretty good already so the siteswap only took a few minutes.

After setting up at our new campsite, I ended up going out for an hour bike ride and when I returned, Anna was thrilled to have a little chipmunk lick the back of her foot. She had rubbed some lotion on her feet and legs and nodded off in the recliner. She was so happy!!!

We went for about a 35-45 minute walk around the canyon walls and then got back to the car and took an outside shower. Very refreshing and surreal in a place like this. Clean and smelling good, we did nothing for the remainder of the afternoon but sit on our ass, drink beer, and take little adventures walks from time to time.

Day 6 - Navajo Rocks

Woke up in our little round-about campsite this morning and made Mama and me some coffee. Sleep has been well needed after the long drive and I think it finally has caught up to the both of us. All the excitement of getting here and not wanting to miss a view keeps those eyelids longer than needed. Anna slept in a bit while I cleaned up and gathered our things together.

My plan was to ride Navajo Rocks today – the first bike ride of this journey. We got up to Navajo Rock, which is on the way to Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park, around 11am. Mama dropped me off and headed into town to do some laundry, while I road, but not before taking some departure shots. Navajo Rocks was broken up into about 7 trails that are reachable in a figure eight type pattern, with a few spin-offs. I was giddy with excitement to get on the trail. Super flowy, technical and the views were very distracting. About 6 or 7 miles in I wrecked which broke the back brake. Then wrecked again about 2 miles later because all I had was the front brake. I slid right down a big rock into some bushes. Slow rolled the remainder of the ride back. This was such a cool trail.

Anna got me picked up and we were off to Dead Horse State Park. Dead Horse is a state park and is located not but a few miles from Canyonlands. We rolled around the park for a bit and then ventured out to see if we could find Long Canyon Road. It was supposed to have an amazing campsite literally on the edge of a canyon. After some driving and backtracking, we found the spot. How amazing! I pitched up a tent to claim the spot and we headed into town to get some provisions.

We had stopped at the grocery store, City Market, while I dropped my bike off at Moab Cyclery to see if they could fix my brake without me leaving the bike. To my surprise, the guys grabbed the bike and went to work. He had the brake fixed and back in full order in less than 15 minutes. Put the bike on the rack and went into City Market to find Anna. Checked out and headed for some grub.

We had dinner at a sushi restaurant in downtown Moab. The sushi was amazing. Now, granted, we were starving. I don’t even think there was any sauce or crumbs left when we were down. Finished, we were off to our site. We were both ready to simply get there and relax. Fire built, souls refreshed, and after a few beers Papa went to bed.

Day 5 - Schaffer Trail

Had a really good night’s rest. I think we both did. After a little coffee and some stretching, Mama ended up making some eggs and bacon which we picked up from Whole Foods several days back. The bacon was amazing. I only picked up a ½ pound, when I should have gotten 2 pounds. After breakfast, we packed everything back up, strapped it all down, and headed back out on the sandy path.

Not but a few minutes and a few curves later and Big Daddy got himself stuck on what could be seen in the wet season as a washout or creek crossing. The tail end just grabbed hold and the step extension, which was the main culprit, bit into the dirt. It was all sand and tires were now turning. No problem, I told Mama. Went into the van and grabbed the MaxTracks. Slid one under each wheel and two attempts later and we were up and over the hill.

Mama was a bit nervous still and was super excited we made it out of our first Revel situation. We drove in quite a distance the night prior to get to our camping spot, so it took a bit to get out of the dispersed camping area. Hit the gas station real quick for our routine clean, empty, and lightening tasks – oh and yes maybe a coffee or drink as well.

Off to Canyonlands. The road in was a bit backed up, so we had to wait about 20 minutes or so. We didn’t mind as the views were amazing, plus we ended up speaking with a gentleman, Mike, from Illinois who was visiting with his family. Once in, we went to the visitor center to pick up some goodies and actually learned that the antelope we saw for the last few days are actually Pronghorns. From the visitor center, the view into the canyon was breathtaking. It was located opposite the center and it seems you could see forever.

Back in the car and off on our ride on the Schaffer Trail. The Schaffer Trail was a trail carved out of the side of the canyon in order to bring the cattle down. The trail is four miles long and once at the bottom ties right into the White Rim Trail. We headed down this two-way trail and for the most part, it was not too bad, except for about 3 shady hairpin turns where the van slid a bit. Not a bad thing if you are on level ground, but we had about a 1000 foot drop not but a foot or two away. The trail/road got you into turns where the views were just stunning. The grandeur of it all here is simply breathtaking.

We made it to the bottom and pulled off to enjoy the moment and soak in the scenery. After about 20 minutes, we headed back up the Schaffer trail and continued our drive around Canyonlands non-4x4 parts. The Grand View was the most captivating sight. You saw a good part of the White Rim trail down below and for 100’s of miles out. We left the park around 4:30pm and headed into Moab. We both decided on a little restaurant called, Sunset Grill. The food was amazing! Service was not. Definitely would give it a second try though.

Bellies full and we headed back out to Willows Spring to grab a spot for the night. A bit bumpy getting to the end site, but made it safe and sound. Built a fire and sat around it for about 30 minutes before finally heading in and going to bed.

Day 4 - Arches National Park & Klondike Bluff Trail

Woke up and just enjoyed the early morning. Mama made some coffee and we both ventured out a bit to realize again how amazing our spot was that we found. We hung out at the site for about two hours before eventually heading back out to the main road and going to Arches National Park. Since we went to bed so dang early, we also woke up pretty early. We entered Arches a little after 9am and stopped in at the visitor center, only to buy a bunch of knick-knacks.

Back in our Revel Heaven and we were off to see the Arches. The neat thing about the park is that most of the Arches are visible from the vehicle. Most of the hikes or Arches are only a mile or less from the parking areas. Although there are several that have a several-mile hike, I think we managed to see quite a few. We took a hike to see two arches and found a nice nestled like enclave up in the rocks and drank a beer in celebration. We stayed in the Park until a little after 3pm and then headed to our new campsite, somewhere on Klondike Bluff Trail. All I can say is we landed in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful spot and limitless scenery.

Got in and drank some beers and tied one on. Didn’t make it too long this evening. Still can’t believe I’m here!

Day 3 - On to Moab & Willows Pass

Not sure I would call the sleep the most restful, but we were both pretty happy to get some shut-eye. We woke up to some pretty cold temps, but as the sun came up it warmed up quickly. Moab was still five and a half hours away, so we didn’t want to diddle around too much. We cleaned up a bit and both managed to take a nice hot shower before leaving. Figured we get a nice hot one while we could.

So we headed down the mountain, fueled the Revel, and grabbed some coffee and snacks at the gas station before we hit the interstate. I-70 through the Rocky Mountains is truly a wonderful ride. It takes past all the ski resorts, like Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, along with a few others. The terrain and views are just beautiful.

When we hit the border of Utah, we had to stop and take a picture. Proof we were really here! A surge of energy pierced through my body and a deep breath was exhaled. Finally, after all that travel, we made it. Just a little further down the interstate and we turned onto Hwy 191 into Moab. We were still about 35 minutes out from Moab, so took the time to scout out campsites along the way. Our destination was Kings Bottom Campgrounds, a 12 site dispersed camping area right on the Colorado River, 3 miles out of town. We thought the sites would all be filled up but wanted to give it a try. As we rolled in, we noticed the place was pretty packed, except for one spot. We were elated but soon realized the spot was tagged and reserved.

Off to the Willows, a dispersed camping site outside of Moab which backed up to Arches National Park. You gotta love 4x4, as we headed to the back of the area and found what we thought was a gorgeous spot. I told Anna that it looked like we were in a place of three planets. In each direction you looked, the terrain was different. We pitched camp and settled in for the night. The wind was blowing and it was getting sand everywhere. We opted to cook inside and made sure the doors were closed. Neither of us managed to stay up past dark before laying down and going to sleep.

Day 1-2 - Whole Enchilada and then a Whole lot of driving

So much excitement when I woke up this morning but needed to complete one task first – The Whole Enchilada. Okay, actually only the Half Enchilada. It is a ride done annually at the White Water Center and I signed up for it earlier in the year and was bound and determined to beat my time from the previous one. I rode the race with Don. He, unfortunately, was doing the Whole – Poor Bastard!!

I met Adam and Dave prior to their start and wished them well. Saw Todd Mallet at the start as well and we chatted a bit until Don finally arrived. With water bottles filled, we were off. Wrecked once pretty hard, ran my hand into a tree, and nearly wrecked a dozen or so more times, but no major injury. Got to the split point and wished Don well. I felt bad, knowing how much time he still had left on the saddle until the finish. Oh well – better him than me!!

Got home, showered, threw the last bit of stuff in the van, and said our farewells to Olivia and little Willow. On the way out, we stopped by Sean’s to wish Mom and Dad a safe trip. With all the goodbyes behind us, we got on I-485 and started on our maiden voyage!

We got on the road right at 2:30pm and made a pretty good time. While heading up to Asheville on NC74, I decided we would have lunch at the Purple Onion in Saluda, right off of I-26. Had an amazing meal. I was so hungry after the ride and didn’t want to eat fast food, so I waited. Let me just say it was worth it.

Back on the road and Anna took over. For some reason, it seemed to take forever to get to Nashville. It was only six hours out from Charlotte, but I guess leaving late in the day and knowing the number of hours we had left just to get to Denver, it all seemed to be passing soooo slowwwww! Anna drove until around 9:30pm and then I took over. Managed to get to Sesser, Illinois at around 1:30am and pulled into a rest stop. Crawled in bed with Anna and tossed and turned for the next two plus hours.

Got up around 4:10am and started the old girl and headed further down I-57. Anna rolled out of bed and joined me in the front of the Revel around 8:30am and we rode for about another hour or so and I handed the reigns over to Mama. Stopped a little passed Topeka around 11:30am at JC’s BBQ & Grill and had a fantastic lunch. Boxed the remaining to have as a snack a little later in the day.

Off again and headed to Denver. The goal is to go to Feral, a camping outlet store in Denver. Hoping to grab some cooking items and some cleaning supplies. I dropped the ball on ordering some items before we left. There wasn’t enough time to get some of the items in from Amazon and a few of the items didn’t make it in time and got delayed somehow. Then off of our campsite for the night. We hope to find a spot.

We did make it to Feral and got more than we probably needed. However, we did get the pot I was looking for along with some bowls and plates we were in need of. Feral was located on a really cool little old town street and there was plenty of places to eat. Instead, we headed out and drove to the Denver West KOA. It was going to be dark soon and we were all ready to finally settle down.

Central City was where the campground was located near at an elevation of 8964 feet. We were going to be in for a cold night. After looking at the temps, the weather stated we would have high winds throughout the night with gusts up to 75mph. On boy!!