Urban Road Trip 4/15- 4/21/21

Sorry no photos with this, I have shitty internet coverage at the moment. I'll post photos next time.

When Nancy passed and before I had a sense of how bad the COVID pandemic would be, I had decided that I would make a point of visiting many of my friends whom I really hadn’t seen since Nancy started all her treatments at MDA. So a few weeks ago I made the trip to Henderson to visit Joe and Amaryllis. This week, I headed to the Hill Country area of Texas to visit a number of friends. This trip would be different from my other Enzo excursions, because I was going to be camping in a city. City camping has always been something we did with the Motorhome, staying in City Parks and RV parks.

My first night I drove to Brady, TX and camped in their city park, then headed to Austin to visit my friend Grace. I had planned to spend 3 nights camped at Windy Point Campground, on a first come, first served basis, which I thought was in Bob Wentz County Park, a beautiful little park on Lake Travis. Turns out Bob Wentz Park is day use only and Windy Point is a private little dump of a campground which is next to the county park. The website was a little misleading or maybe I was a little confused. I was able to grab one night at Arkansas Bend County Park on Friday, then grabbed 2 nights at the Leander NM Austin KOA.  OUCH!!!!!!!!

I think the universe was screwing with me on this trip. When traveling in Enzo, I prefer remote spots, state parks, or at least simple RV parks not resort type RV parks. Also funny, is that when Nancy & I would travel in the Moho, KOAs were our last choice, since they tend to be a bit more expensive due to the amenities they offer which we never used. Anyway, the KOA was relatively close to Grace and they had availability. 

Things didn’t work out to attend the #StopAsianHate rally, but I did have dinner with Grace at the Oasis on Lake Travis. The Oasis is quite the place, sort like a castle on the street side. We had drinks and dinner on the outdoor patio overlooking the lake. It was a little chilly with a pretty stiff breeze, but we survived and had a nice time. Thank you Grace.

Monday, I left the Austin area to visit John, Linda, Bud and Karma, in Big Spring, TX, some of my longest known road friends. We all met in 1999 selling Christmas trees in the greater Houston area. Nancy and I did it for 4 years. Selling trees was a pretty good gig at the time and we all kept in touch over the years, crossing paths on the road and then at their homes when they came off the road. It was great seeing them. We had drinks, great conversation, dinner out and as always we enjoyed each other's company. The next morning, John cooked an awesome breakfast and I eventually said goodbye and headed north. There is no such thing as a quick goodbye with longtime road friends.

Lynn & Louise just happened to be visiting family in Georgetown, TX and staying at an RV park that was a client of mine when we worked for TACO. I arrived there noonish and as is so typical with RVing buddies, we stood outside talking about trucks and rigs for a half hour before finally heading inside so I could  say hello to Louise. I had a great time with them and as with John, Linda, Bud & Karma, it had been many years since I had seen them. Finally, around 5pm I needed to say goodbye and make the two hour drive northwest to Brady, TX which would put be a days drive from home or 3 hours from Monahans Sandhill State Park.

This was an Urban road trip to visit friends, and I was undecided whether I would just head home from Brady or make a slight detour to stop and spend a night at Monahans Sandhill State Park, so that I could get a true camping experience. 

You’ll have to wait until my next blog entry to find out where I went. LOL

Tight lines and safe travels

Why I don’t stay in Motels ( March/April 2021 Road trip)

                                           From our campsite at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

                                You won’t see this staying in a motel or Air BnB.

3/25/21 - I had planned to leave the Ranch on 3/24, but a snowstorm was predicted in Northern NM and Northern AZ on 3/24 and 3/26, so I waited until Wednesday, 3/25, then headed out. I cut west from Roswell, past the Very Large Array, through Pie Town, NM and 441 miles later I stopped for the night at a small gift shop at the entrance to The Petrified Forest National Monument. The gift shop had small RV sites with electricity for $15 a night. It was cold, windy and temps were predicted to drop into the low 30s. The wind blew all night and into the next day at around 30 mph. After coffee and a quick breakfast, I drove 20 miles and jumped on I-40 and headed west hoping to get through Flagstaff and the higher elevations of northern AZ before the 3/26 snow storm. I did run into snow, which was falling and blowing, but not sticking to the road. The temperature fluctuated between 33 and 31 degrees, but I finally made it into lower elevation and warmer temperatures, arriving at Joe and Amaryllis’s house in Henderson, NV, late afternoon. 

I spent the weekend at their house and then headed an hour north through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area to Valley of Fire State Park. Turns out that it was spring break for much of Nevada and California. There are two campgrounds, each are first come, first serve and were full. After a couple of passes, I saw a couple packing up a fifth wheel and waited ten minutes for them to leave and grabbed their site. Harvey and June showed up a few hours later and we settled in. Valley of Fire State Park is very small, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in scenic beauty.

                                             First campsite before H2 & June arrive

                                           Does this look like a Poodle?

                                                     Pinnacles loop trail

Tuesday,  we did the Pinnacles loop trail, 4.5 miles which was a short walk from our campsite. The first couple of miles was in a sandy wash, which really wore on the leg muscles, but we didn’t see a single person the entire hike. When we got back to camp June found a awesome campsite just up the hill from where we were camped, the people were leaving the next day, so after speaking with them, she tagged it. The next morning we moved very quickly, once the people left. This would be home for the rest of my stay at Valley of Fire. 

                                                                              Site #20 

The next morning and just about every morning we had big horn sheep either in camp, or in the open desert patch across from our site.

                                                              Big horn next door, site 19

Wednesday, we took advantage of having two vehicles. We took Harvey’s van to the White Domes loop parking area and drove my truck to the Prospect Trailhead, then hiked the 4.6 mile Prospect Trail through some fantastic canyons until we eventually met the White Domes Loop Trail. Again, we hadn’t seen anyone on the Prospect Trail, but that changed immediately at the junction of the White Domes Trail. There were lots of people, a steady stream of humanity, it was a bit anticlimactic, but we did get to hike through a very narrow slot canyon.

Thursday, we headed up the Natural Arches Trail, which was very, very soft sand. We didn’t made it to the end and this trail has been added to my short list of hikes never to repeat.

                                                    Natural Arches Trail

Friday, we did two small hikes, Mouse’s Tank Trail, which had lots and lots of petroglyphs, then the Rainbow Vista Trail, which had great views and huge expanses of colorful slabs and great views. By noon the hot sun, high temperature and soft sand had taken its toll and we headed for the showers, then camp.

Saturday morning Harvey and June headed north to go home to Buena Vista, Colorado, and I decided just to take a chill day, hang out in the shade and relax. The temperature was predicted to be in the low 90s and full sun.

Easter Sunday, I headed back to Joe & Amaryllis’s house for Easter Brunch. Monday morning Joe & I headed up to the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, home to Mt Charleston. There is a significant gain in elevation so temperatures were a bit cooler and there was significant snow in places. We grabbed a campsite and then hiked a short 2.8 mile trail to Mary Jane Falls, which would have been more appropriately named Mary Jane drip, but it was a beautiful day. It got pretty cold at night, just below freezing, Joe slept in his tent, while I had Enzo.

                                                     Mary Jane Falls

Tuesday, we did the Bristlecone Loop Trail, 6.8 miles with some incredible views and deep snow on the north facing slope. We were fortunate that someone had already broken trail and post holed through the deep sections. We finished the hike, grabbed a couple of great sandwiches in Vegas and then headed back to Joe’s.

                                                                  Bristle Cone Loop Trail

I was struck by the fact that, one hour north of Vegas I was hiking in desert sand in blazing heat and one hour west of Vegas, I was hiking through 2 feet of snow and it was the end of winter.

Wednesday, April 7th, I headed out early and made it to the free campground at El Morro National Monument. Nancy & I have spent a lot of time here, because it was close to one of our AGS work assignments in Grants, NM. It was also the very first place we camped in Elmo and how it got its name. ELMO is the abbreviation for El Morro. 

                                                            El Morro Campsite

Thursday, I walked to the visitor center and did the hike to the Pueblo ruins and Inscription Rock.

                                                Stairs to Atsinna Ruins

                                                      The Atsinna Ruins

                                                      View from the top 

It was a great road trip. In addition to seeing friends, I fulfilled Nancy’s wish to give her art supplies to Amaryllis, I got to explore two new places, did some great hikes, spread some of Nancy’s ashes in a place that meant a lot to her and thanks to Joe………. I learned that when the truck’s low fuel light activates, I still have four gallons of fuel remaining.

Tight lines and safe travels.