The Past Week

After a quick overnight with a great visit as mentioned in the last post we continued north with a brief stop and look in Taos then on to our overnight at the Cimaron SP, not too far from Taos. One consequence of beginning the trip this early is that many state parks and NFS campgrounds aren't officially open but you can still stay. This means that there are no services available such as electric, water or restrooms but since we are self contained this does not pose a problem. Leaving early the next morning, we drove the first half of the day thru (sometimes heavy) rain. After crossing into CO we eventually picked Hwy 50 toward Montrose. On the route you must cross Monarch Pass and the Continental Divide at about 11,300 ft. As you can see there is plenty of snow still hanging around.

We made it easily to Montrose where we "city-docked", i.e. we parked on the street in front of my SIL's house for the next four nights. Montrose is located on the western plains of the state but surrounded by several mountain ranges including the San Juan's to the south. If you head that direction you will go through Ridgeway, Ouray then over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton and then Durango. Telluride is also quite close so we made a day trip to have a visit. Good pizza at Brown Dog Pizza! 

We finally made our way on Thursday to Fruita, CO for the 19th annual Fruita Fat Tire Festival. Fruita is located "next door" to Grand Junction and is a small farming community with a mountain biking problem! Many years ago trails were developed in the surrounding BLM lands and the community discovered tha MTN bikers have money and are willing to spend it! 

Yesterday I was able to ride for a few hours on the "18 Road" trails, a section of BLM land that is multi-use-specific trails for horses, bikes, hiking and off road vehicles. The trails are REALLY nice, terrain wise somewhat like the trails in the hill county but off course with very different scenery! The few different trails I rode we mostly to my ability but yeah, I did walk some parts.

Tomorrow we will end our stay in Fruita but with a watchful eye on the weather (snow predicted tonight in the upper elevations, so not sure if that will affect us) and begin our drive across Utah and Nevada with a stop next weekend in the Lake Tahoe area. 

More to come....

First Day Out

Thursday, April17th, First Day Out

Well we finally got it all together and we were able to get on the road by 1. Mostly easy driving today with a nice overcast sky and great tailwind. Due to the late start we did not get as far as we were hoping to but we had a great surprise at our first stop. We pulled into the Monahans Sandhill State about 7, set up the trailer and started looking around.

This state park is located between Odessa and Monahans, literally just off I20. But once you drive into the park you go a mile or so back and there is absolutely no highway noise, just the wind blowing through the dunes. The dunes surrounding the camping area are maybe 20 - 30 feet tall, getting larger as you move back away from the road. Like most desert environments the dunes are constantly moving thus covering the roads, RV hookups, picnic tables-well actually anything that is out here. It must be an incredible job just to keep the facilities open enough for use. I am hoping that the early morning light will be good and that the wind will be low-need to get the camera out.

Getting stuck out here is quite easy, don't do this!!!

Tomorrow we will finish the day in Santa Fe with a short visit with Devon, Tim and Ana. Then it is on to Montrose, CO for another short visit with Susan, Cynthia's sister. Next weekend we will be in Fruita, CO for the Fruita Fat Tire Festival. Fruita is quickly becoming another "mecca" for mountain biking so we will check that out. Looking for a good time there.

More posts to come.....

Getting Close....

April is now upon us and although we have been slowly getting prepared for our trip it is now time to move forward quickly. Yesterday I began to get the trailer ready with a good wash and wax. Despite resting under it's carport here at the house, several trips to the Big Bend country of west TX gave it a good coat of dirt.

Before...

All nice and shiny-ready for the road!!!!

I have been putting this off for quite some time not wanting to do the cleaning twice before we leave. A trip to Camping World today for some final items needed for the trailer and a final check of all the systems will get us under way.

We have also ordered a cargo basket for the truck that we will be able to make into a camera platform. We should receive this next week and then with a few modifications it will be ready. Photos to come.

That's it for now-more to come....