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Utah Desert 2020
  • Wandering Again
June 2020

Utah Desert 2020

A 16-day adventure by Wandering Again Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 6, 2020
    Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    Nancy working on her latest book
    Lots of Covid humor1Hans baking molasses sourdough bread againMore Covid humor1Enough with the Zoom meetingsStill getting our daily exerciseOur goal for this trip

    Springtime During a Pandemic

    June 6, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Nancy and I have weathered this Covid induced quarantine quite well. We spent the first month unraveling our planned trip for April and May to visit friends and cycle in the Netherlands and Flanders. We were refunded for all save an overnight in Paris at a swank hotel just up the street from one of the finest patisseries in Paris. C'est la vie! If anyone needs a voucher for a night's stay in Paris sometime in the next 6 months please let us know.

    Nancy spent her days finishing the third book of her mystery series. It is due to be published in October. She also managed to volunteer for a new effort to combat climate change through targeted bio engineering. Hans successfully completed his recovery from knee surgery last autumn and baked sourdough loaves every few days. Augie was furloughed and spent his time shopping for us and rescuing his friend Klugerman in Colorado from an aborted trip East. Nancy and I also served our Friend's meeting as Zoom facilitators and Nominating committee members.

    By the middle of May we did start to go a little stir crazy. We knew it was time to hit the road and do some social (and Zoom meeting) separation in Southern Utah. We made plans to rendezvous with friends Don and Mary in Kanab, the center of red rock universe, and head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    1

    Mojave to Kanab

    June 9, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We packed up the rig and headed out into the Central Valley of California. It was smooth sailing to our first night near the summit and Sherman Pass. The pass is little traveled and had never been traveled by either of us. It is the highest navigable pass over the Sierra at 9,500 feet. The road was two or single lane all of the way.

    Next morning we descended to a T intersection at highway 395. 395 snakes up the beautiful and stark eastern side of the range. At this point we took a few minutes to decide our route, left turn to Death Valley or right turn to the Granite Mountains in the Mojave Desert. We turned right and were fortunate to find our favorite primitive campsite unoccupied. We spent two nights there. Took a few long hikes and witnessed two lovely sunsets.

    We then drove on through Las Vegas twice due to a 40 mile turn around to retrieve an errant gas cap. Starbucks was involved and Nancy bought me a frozen coffee drink to make up for all the backtracking.

    As we approached Kanab we saw smoke rising from the distant Kaibab Plateau. A forest fire was just starting. Unfortunately it was right in the notch that we needed to drive for our approach to our planned camping site on the North Rim.

    Bummer. We instead headed toward the Paria River and camped on its banks in a remote site. The area had been an old settlement but now was just an old ghost town. Most of the ruins had been washed away in some flash flooding in the late 80s. A movie set where they filmed quite a few westerns was washed away as well. The Sinatra Brat Pack and Clint Eastwood were the biggest names to have filmed there.    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    North to the Escalante wilderness.
    On the Burr TrailRestColumbineLuna takes a ride.Don at the waterfall

    Changing Plans With Don, Mary, and Luna

    June 12, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We met up with our friends in Kanab on the morning of the 12th. Our plans to visit the North Rim were looking less and less feasible due to the growing forest fire on the Kaibab Plateau. We decided to attempt to skirt the fire to the east and perhaps salvage a visit to the Grand Canyon after all.

    Our route took us on another 40 mile deeply rutted dirt road between routes 89 and 89a. We made it just past the trail head to Buckskin Gulch and The famous Wave when the rig got a flat tire. Lots of fiddling and a bit of frustration followed. Turns out the spare tire is accessed with the use of a special key to prevent theft. Fortunately Don's rig uses the same spare so we were able to get moving all the way to the Big O Tire company in Page Arizona. They sold us a Ling Long brand tire to replace the damaged Michelin and explained the special key to us. Soon we were on our way. We passed over the Glen Canyon dam and picnicked at the shore of Reservoir Powell. The Chinese brand tire runs as smooth as the French brand tire. For someone who could smell the tire factories in Akron each morning that's saying something.

    The evening found us back in Cottonwood Canyon on a pleasant hike to some great geological features. Once again the bugs were ferocious. Three of us ended up with rings of bug bites around our socklines.

    By late afternoon we'd gassed up in Escalante and headed to higher altitudes up toward Hell's Backbone. We camped at the State run Blue Spruce campground. Six sites along a lovely creek.

    Next day we hiked about three miles down the creek into a box canyon. Lots of bouldering and ten to twelve creek crossings. Luna was a trooper. Not what you'd call a water dog though, as she was carried across the creek each time.    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    Willis Creek
    Views foreverBryce HeadKodachrome Basin1Bugs...In case you might be wonderingWillis CreekA cold shower at the end of a hot hike1

    Cottonwood Canyon and Willis Creek Slot

    June 15, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We next headed to the Cottonwood Canyon road. A 40 mile dirt trail between highway 89 in the south and Kodachrome Basin in the north. Nancy and I once rode this rough, dusty trail on motorcycles. We'd always wanted to return to camp and explore. We found it to be less than compelling for overnighting. We did get in a nice loop hike up a narrow wash before heading up to a ridge overlooking Bryce Canyon Head to the west and Kodachrome Basin to the east.

    We spent a couple of nights camping at this beautiful albeit buggy site. I've included a video. We also were able to take the 8 mile down and back Willis Creek slot canyon hike. The canyon goes through five distinct slots widening to areas of sunshine and tall cliffs in between.    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    Burr Trail
    North Muley 4wd WashOur forested campsite on Boulder mountainDeer LakeHenry Mountains in the distanceCathedral ValleyTemples of the sun and moon

    Boulder Mountain

    June 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Next day we headed north to revisit the Burr trail and possibly scope out on the western edge of Capitol Reef. Unfortunately the smoke from the fires had blown north in that direction. We did get in a short hike up the north Muley 4 wheel drive road. Lovely wash.

    With temperatures in the high 80s, smoke, wind, and blowing sand against us we decided to head back up to altitude. We found a nice site near the Deer Lake trailhead. Next morning we made the six mile round trip hike up to the lake. We were rewarded on our descent with endless views of Redrock stretching to the distant Henry mountains.

    That afternoon we lit out for Cathedral Valley. Earlier in the trip we ran across a dentist and 4wd enthusiast who told us that the route through Cathedral was not to be missed. 'Rates a 10 out of 10 for beauty in (I didn't quite catch the name of the offroad journal he referred to).

    On our way off of Boulder mountain we passed lots of dirt roads heading to some seemingly amazing campsites. Next time.

    Cathedral Valley road runs north/south along the Capitol Reef north of Rt. 22. It tucks in and out of the national monument. Mary informed us that anywhere outside of the park boundary was fair game for camping. Along the way we passed some remarkable features.

    We camped for the night next to a 100 foot red rock striated wall. As it was a new moon Nancy and I woke in the middle of the night to see the stars. We lay in our reclining camp chairs and just took it all in.    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020
    Don screwing around againFloating through the Nevada high desertBolinas Seashore looking toward Pt. ReyesSophie awaiting our arrivalThe gate to Commonweal GardenSophie's birthday visitorSophie and Jacob looking at her birthday videoOn the way home

    Cathedral Valley, Bolinas, and Home

    June 20, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We woke in Cathedral Valley on a timeline for the first time in awhile. Sophie's 30th birthday was only two days away and we had some 1400 kilometers to cover. First we had to make it though some pretty deep sandy roads to get back on pavement. (Way to go Don). We floated through one long desolate valley after another on our way west. We went to the drive thru at the McDonald's in Ely Nevada for dinner. We camped somewhere off of highway 50 (the loneliest road in America). We crossed the Sierra Nevada around midday. By late afternoon we made it to Bolinas.

    Sophie lives with her partner Jacob at the Commonweal Conference grounds gardens. It is located within the south boundary of Point Reyes National Seashore. Since Covid started access to the Seashore and the garden is through a locked gate. We felt pretty special camping on a lower meadow in such a place.

    We spent Sophie's 30th birthday in a clearing at the gardens with a few of her friends and colleagues. It was special. We all wished Augie could have been with us, but he was at his work in South Lake Tahoe. Next morning we had coffee for Father's Day and headed home to Santa Cruz.

    I made a video composed of images from Sophie's birthdays over the years.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/ixTnLqBi6uB7KK918    Read more

  • Wandering AgainWandering AgainUtah Desert 2020

    Home

    June 23, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Well, we've been home for a few days and have settled back into some sort of routine during these strange times. We're back doing Quaker Zoom facilitating and futzing around the house. We washed the vehicles today and took the camper off of the truck as the Tundra needs servicing.

    Our truck camper is made by a company called Fourwheel Campers in Woodland, California. It was just a 14 minute detour on our way to Bolinas to drop in for a visit. We dropped in. We were able to get a first hand view of how our camper was made. Our version is now about ten years old. They've made a few improvements over the years. One was to improve the latch that holds the door open in a fixed position. We bought the replacement part and I installed it yesterday. Much better. Keeps the door from swinging around in high winds.

    Tomorrow Nancy is off to visit with her soon to be 99 year old mom through a plate glass window.

    I plan to futz around...    Read more

    Trip end
    June 21, 2020
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