2016-03-24 to 3/25: Jeep Safari Vendor Show and Hidden Valley Hike

3/24 (Thursday) – 3/25 (Friday) - Jeep Safari Vendor Days has begun.  We came home with 33 t-shirts, 12 ball caps, coffee insulated tumblers, coffee mugs, decks of playing cards, Jeep canteens, Jeep collapsible water bottles, Jeep coasters, belt buckles, flashlights, key chains, winch warning straps, sunscreens, lip balms, lighters, zipper pulls, packages of zip ties, multi-tools, handkerchiefs, carabiners, buffs, sunglasses, can cozies, calendars, pens, tire pressure gauges, insulated red solo cups, lots of RockStars and bottles of water, and food until we are about to burst.  So much for our diets.  We also won a Rampage portable WiFi camera, an Oakley jacket, a Currie hoodie in a few raffles.  However we did not win anything in the main raffle in which they gave away $213k in tires, wheels, lifts, winches, seats, etc.

Here is a picture of all we did get - everyone we know should expect to see these items as Christmas presents.

We also did a very tough hike up the hill behind our RV – Hidden Valley Trail – 840 feet elevation change in a one-mile uphill climb. You wind up on top at a nice mesa with a great view of the mountains.  We had to do something to work off all the calories recently.

And here is a picture from our friends, Anton & Loro, from their trip yesterday on the Top of the World Jeep trail.  Crazy!!

2016-03-23: Moab - Deadmans Point Jeep Trail

3/23 (Wednesday) – Jeep Safari Run to Deadman’s Point.  Long ride out on the mesa (sand and slickrock) to two amazing Green River overlooks.  We had a few ledge climbs but only bottomed out once – luckily we have a skid plate so no damage done. 

This was the easy part - 

One of the overlooks to the Green River -

Our sweet ride - 

Some steep drops - at least this one was fairly smooth - no steps or tire-cutters

At the second overlook - some of this was a little too close to the cliff edge for me

,,, but the view was spectacular.

He just can't resist living life on the edge.

For dinner we attended the Moab 4x4 Outpost Jeep Party and then, back at the RV park, Dana Corp was hosting a BBQ right behind us.  We are happy, full, and also well dressed with all the hats & t-shirt giveaways.  Tomorrow is the big vendor show at the Arena with tons more goodies. 

2016-03-22: Moab - Arches National Park - Landscape Arch

3/22 (Tuesday) – Relatively easy day today.  Drove through Arches National Park to Devils Garden to hike to Landscape Arch (one of my favorites).  The plan was to hike up past Double O Arch and around the back side on Primitive Trail.  The hike used to be much easier 10 years ago when we first did it.  There was a path along the base of the canyon to another arch (Wall Arch) that was much easier. It collapsed back in 2008 making the trail impassable.  Now you have to climb up the side of a fin (slickrock with steep sides). I did this back in 2010 but today a fear of heights, my knee, and strong winds contributed to my unwillingness to try this today.  Still got some nice pics.

Driving through an area called the Courthouse.

Fiery Furnace – slickrock fins

Landscape Arch

The fin that stopped me – this was taken about 3/4 of the way.  I made it to the base of the rock where you see the guy standing and said “No More!”.   Rock climbing with a bad knee - not a good idea. The split on the right was a very deep crevice.

 

2016-03-21: Moab - Needles & Anticline Overlook

3/21 (Monday) – Drove out to Needles & Anticline Overlook south of Moab.  We had always driven down through the canyon but this view was from up on the Mesa.  It gives you a better perspective of where all the trails lead.

First, here are the videos from yesterday (Secret Spire) showing some of the slickrock climbs.

https://youtu.be/PZHMOQLRCrg

https://youtu.be/GZ71RxgCZLM

and now for some of the overlook sights:

The road below is where Vaughan and his friend Brooks will be riding dirt bikes next week - 

Lockhart Basin which runs from Needles to Moab thru Chicken Corners.

This is Chicken Corners trail as it curves around Hurrah Pass.  We did this in the Jeep last year.

We took an old Jeep road (Looking Glass) out of Needles and discovered this new housing development.  Here is our next home - carved into the side of Navajo Sandstone. Awesome!

2016-03-19 thru 3-20: Moab - Tibbits Arch, Dellenbaugh Tunnel, Secret Spire, and Long Canyon

3/19 (Saturday) – Evening – We decided to do a short Jeep run and hike to Jewel Tibbits Arch.  We were the only ones there which is nice but always makes me uneasy.  With the sun setting I always worry about getting out and back in time. You don’t want to be out on the high mesas at night.  You can’t find the land marks to get back.  It also was not ideal for good pictures seeing the sun was behind the arch and throwing a weird glare on my camera lens.

The cliff walk to the arch - this is why you don't want to get caught out here in the dark.

Sorry for the glare - 

Monitor & Merrimac - just before sunset

3/20 (Sunday) – Our trusty Jeep took us to Dellenbaugh Tunnel, Secret Spire, and Long Canyon today.  The first part of the trip was pretty rough – a tough climb up slickrock, lots of big ledges, and lots of deep sand.  Had to air down the tires and crawl through/over some spots.  Eventually we caught up to a line of Jeeps and decided to stay with them.

The slickrock climb in a stock Jeep can be nerve racking. Vaughan got out and walked it first to determine the best path. I'll post a youtube video of this climb once we get decent internet connection.

Dellenbaugh Tunnel - 

The Tombstone - 

Secret Spire - 

View from Long Canyon Trail -

 

The drive out of the canyon - 

This is where we are headed - see the road at the bottom?

Made it - Colorado River.

2016-03-17 thru 03-19 – Moriarty, NM to Cortez, CO to Moab, UT

3/17 (Thursday) – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  NOT!   Our bad luck continues.  We noticed oil now coming from our right rear hub seal.  Had to stop in Moriarty, NM (50 miles from Albuquerque).  Then we noticed a screw stuck in one of the tires.  Seriously?  The universe must be against us taking this trip.  Thanks Freightliner for not checking the other 3 seals while we were there.  We decided to do all 3 remaining seals but the mechanic was only able to do 2 before quitting tome. The other had to wait ‘til morning.  Nice people in New Mexico – they allowed us to stay on their lot overnight - locked inside their fence. They did give us a key so we could run out for dinner. 

3/18 (Friday) – The mechanic showed up promptly at 8AM and started on our final seal.  By 11AM we were on our way – 3 new seals, 1 tire plugged, and our wallet much lighter.  We ended up in Cortez, CO for the night.  We actually made it 300 miles without a major issue.  There was an “Organic” shop directly across the street from the RV park that sells “recreational marijuana” – after the week we’ve had, I was tempted. As our luck has been running, they were closed.

3/19 (Saturday) – Last night in Cortez got down to 20 degrees.  I am no longer used to the cold and the bones were crying as we hooked up the Jeep.  Made it to Moab, UT around 10:45.  It’s much warmer here seeing the elevation is 2000 ft less.  We are now set up for 2 weeks here – Jeep Safari Week and then off-road motorcycling. 

Here is the view through the RV window heading into Moab.  These are the LaSal Mountains.

Church Rock with the LaSals behind.

Wilson's Arch.

2016-03-14 thru 03-16 - The Trip West and Palo Duro State Park (Amarillo, TX)

The RV life is sometimes quite challenging.  During the week before we left we gave the RV a bath (no small task). We greased the jacks, added water to the batteries, checked the tire pressure, blah, blah, blah, …  We noticed the insulation over the motor had started to fall down (unlucky). We managed to get some in on time and get it up (lucky).  Then that we saw some oil leaking out behind the driver side front wheel (unlucky).  The Freightliner Service Center was an hour away and took us in the next day (lucky). The wheel seal had gone bad and $500 later a new one was installed.  While there we had the change the oil, filters, etc. (another $500).  Then we turned on the refrigerator (off for the winter) and it was actually hot not cold (unlucky).  There was no time to get a new one, so we bought a small apartment/dorm size and got it up and running (lucky).

3/14 (Monday) - We finally left on our trip west.  While driving thru Mississippi we noticed the engine started to overheat.  We pulled over to find our fan belt had blown apart (unlucky).  We had an extra on board (lucky) but it had to go around numerous pullys and we had no clue how it went on (unlucky).  We found someone 8 miles away who was willing to come to us (lucky).  They (2 mechanics) didn’t know how it went on either (unlucky).  Vaughan and the 2 mechanics with the internet finally figured out how to get the new one on (lucky) and we were on our way.   

By 5:30 we were past Memphis and looking for a place to stop and sleep.  Most areas in Arkansas were flooded and all truck stops, Walmarts, & rest areas were full (unlucky).  I finally found a nearby RV park who said they could take a big rig (lucky). They forgot to tell us that it was underwater (unlucky).  At 8:30 we were finally able to get to a Walmart that had room (lucky), however, it was right along the interstate and the road noise kept us up all night (unlucky).

3/15 (Tuesday) – On the road at 6AM and got almost to Oklahoma City when a car in front of us threw up a rock and chipped our window right at eye level on the driver side (unlucky).  I quickly made reservations in Amarillo TX for an RV park (lucky) and called Safelite Autoglass.  However, they couldn’t get to us until 6 days later (unlucky).  I promised them our first child (they didn’t know that we have no children) and they rearranged their schedule to fit us in (lucky).  The window was repaired just in time for us to go to a wonderful dinner and the Big Texan restaurant – one of our favorites.

3/16 (Wednesday) – It should have been a day of rest after all we had been through but we decided to go to Palo Duro State Park south of Amarillo for a little hike (6 miles round trip).  It was worth it. There was a climb up to the base of the twin peaks called The Lighthouse that was pretty rough but I made it.  I stayed at the base and took pictures of Vaughan climbing the last section – my fear of heights would not allow me to go to the top.  He took pictures at the top and then of me sliding back down the scramble. I should not have lost that 25 pounds before our trip – those rocks were hard!

Here are a few sights along the way.

The lighthouse from a distance.

The climb up - the easy part.

Here is the final climb to the base of the lighthouse.  I stayed down here.

Below is a picture from the top - taken by Vaughan.

Can you spot Vaughan "waving his arms in the air like he just don't care".

Now the "slide" down - lots of loose sand and gravel - sorry, no pictures of me on my butt.

Tomorrow we start out again and head towards Moab. No telling how far we'll get.