Day 9 – Mesa Verde

Brushing the sand out of our eye sockets at Echo Basin RV Resort, we were happy to wake here on Easter Sunday. Anna made sausage, eggs, and coffee while I started to clean and pack stuff up. While she was cooking we also made sure to give calls to the family and wish everyone a wonderful Easter! The breakfast Mama made was delicious! It always tastes better when made outside.

After some final clean up and we were off on the road to Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde was about a 1.5-hour drive. We got to the park entrance around 10:30am. We stopped in the visitor center for just a bit and then headed into the park. Once we got through the entrance, the Indian dwellings were 21 miles into the park. It was about a 45-minute drive to get to the main museum and main area. There were three main trails and two were closed, due to repairs and it not being in season. Mama and I headed on the open one – Petroglyph Trail – a 2.4-mile walk. It was a wonderful, yet strenuous trail, for most people. The walk took close to two hours.

Got back to the car and hit a few more spots in the park where we could get a little more up close to some of the Indian dwellings. After getting our fill of Indian life, we made our way out of the park. One the way out, we spotted two wild mustangs. We were both so giddy with excitement to see wild horses. Where else would you ever see that?

Anna and I discussed going to Durango, since it was so close, but decided to just go ahead and make our way to Bryce Canyon. Heading back, we went back through Moab, so we stopped in at the Moab Brewery. The food was awesome! I had a Moab Burger which was absolutely huge! I had to cut it in order to fit in my mouth. Anna got grilled Artichoke and some Mexican street corn. We both had a few of the local brews. Chatted with a cute couple visiting from Rhode Island. Finally, around 8:30pm we headed out the door and made our way to Lazy Lizard Hostel for a shower. A $4 shower!

Back in the van and Mama laid down while I drove. The drive from Moab was still a 5-hour drive to Bryce Canyon. It was quite dark out, especially where there is close to no civilization near us. I drove a piece of I-70 where there were no gas stations or any other amenities for 104 miles. Drove until about 1:30am and then pulled off on a cattle road to camp for the night.

Day 8 – Bye-Bye Canyon

Woke up to another amazing view again this morning. The campsite on Long Canyon road is definitely one for the record books. Anna and I slept in pretty well this morning. Not sure if the time change or just the fresh air is causing us to sleep in, but I’m going to blame the time change. We took our time in the morning and made some coffee and then slowly started to pack up. Anna had our little buddy come to visit her again this morning and was close enough to grab him – that’s if she was quick enough.

The goal for the day today was to head out and check out the Needles and then head towards Mesa Verde. Van packed and down the road we went. Headed out of the Canyonlands and turned south on Utah 191. About 20 miles south of Moab we hung a right and drove out to the Needles Overlook. The overlook was 24 miles from the main road. No problem – the view was worth every moment. It’s crazy to think that weather and nature have carved this architecture into the landscape.

We headed out of the Needles around 2pm and forged onto Mesa Verde. It was a pretty drive with the scenery constantly changing. At one point, Anna passed a farm field and then screamed – Prairie Dog! Oh, there’s another, and another, another one, oh shit – They are everywhere! Apparently, the farmer left a field open for the prairie dogs so they wouldn’t damage his producing farmland. We crossed back into Colorado and eventually made it to Manco, where we noticed a small brewery – Manco Brewing. Now, you know we had to stop and taste the goods. Went in and just had a beer, grabbed some to go, and continued on to try and locate a place to park.

We looked up a few places and managed to get over to one, but the places were either gated closed or were not available due to the season. Dispersed camping can make you drive a few extra miles, but that is all part of the journey. We headed down a road to find a place called Echo Basin, which we ended deciding to stay at. This was not dispersed camping, but every now and then the old RV has to get in with the rest of the herd in a coral. The Echo Basin Resort had all the normal amenities but just was fully open yet due to the time of year.

Parked, set up camp, sat around the fire, and eventually headed to bed!

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.