Singletree Campground

I'm not really sure why it's called Singletree Campground because of course being a forest there are a lot more than one.  It was a neat little place though and nice and cool being almost 9000'.  No need for air conditioning here, in fact I had to turn on the heater in the morning.

My first day was pretty typical, after parking the big beast and unhooking the Jeep I explored.  It's kind of hard to see much driving the RV because it's hard enough just to keep in it's lane.  I just kind of got my bearings, made some calls while in the nearby town that actually has coverage unlike camp.

The second day I went on a loooong drive.  I headed back the way I came to the town of Boulder. Starting at Boulder is the Burr Trail which is a very scenic backroad with plenty of views like this.

I took this road pretty much to Lake Powell and saw lots of cool stuff on the way.

On the way back I went a different route up North through Capitol Reef park which has some nice views also.

Right off the highway was a short hike to the Hickman Natural Bridge.

After that there was this little historic town call Fruita which surprisingly had a lot of fruit trees.  You could even pick your own if you wanted, I didn't.  I did however buy a mini peach pie at the little store for dessert.

On the way back was a quick hike out to Sunset Point with a ton of photographers getting the late day light. It was still 30 minutes before sunset and I was tired and hungry so rather than wait for sunset I went back to camp to enjoy dinner and my peach pie.  

Escalante Petrified Forest

Escalante Petrified Forest Campground is a very pretty little place with a nice little lake with honking geese and a well marked nature hike trail.  

The trail had a pamphlet that you could take with you and it explained various markers placed throughout the trail.  The first was the balancing rock.

And since it was called the Petrified Forest Campground of course there was some petrified wood.

After that nice early morning stroll I hopped in the Jeep to do some exploring and found some nice slot canyons.

The only problem with those was the 30 miles of washboard dirt road to get there.  Oh well it was still pretty cool, literally, the mud and shade of the canyons made it nice and pleasant in them.

More Bryce, mtn biking and hiking

Got up early and did a 15 mile mtn bike ride on one of the most beautiful trails I've ever ridden.

These are only a few of many pictures I just had to stop and take.  To say that this place was truly amazing is an understatement.  And this isn't even Bryce Canyon proper yet!

Now here is Bryce Canyon proper!  I had to only pick out a few pictures there are just so many incredible views of this place.

It gets very pretty down under the rim.

The visitor center person said the easy hike was a short 1.5 mile walk along the rim.  That sounded good after the other day where I pushed it a little too much.  As it turned out I walked the whole ampitheater rim and a small loop down under the rim.  After the ride in the morning I was beat!

Good thing I've got more cold homebrew and iced mugs back at the RV!

Bryce Canyon

The intended destination for the day was St. George, UT for some of the local mtn biking which is supposed to be amazing.

Well my wimpy(with regards to heat) self couldn't stand the heat when I stopped at Cracker Barrel for some catfish and fried okra(yum) so I kept driving.  The lady at the visitor center said Bryce Canyon was nice and cool so reset my target there.

It was a long drive on some narrow farm roads but finally pulled in just after dusk.  I was so tired I just made a quick meal and sat down to read.  It was a little too dark to explore much anyway.

Just missed the arch, you can see part of it in the upper right.

This is actually a picture from the next day when I was out for a mtn bike ride but it's the same road I drove up.  I just can't take a picture while driving the big beast.  

Vegas baby!

No pics again!  I'm not very good at this.  I'll make up for it in a few days, trust me.

I'm in Vegas during what I consider still the unreasonably hot time of the year.  I mean I see people driving around with their windows open and it's like 100!

My digs for the weekend are a cheap RV park on Boulder Highway.  It's not the greatest but it has electricity!  I couldn't survive here without it.

I went over to my dad's and hung out for a while and got some laundry done.  He also let me keep my dirtbike in his garage because I was afraid it might ride off by itself at my fancy accomodations.

Later I went over to my Mom and Bob's for dinner and some froyo.

Saturday I had lunch with some old friends Matt & Aimee. My persuasive ways had them trying Thai(my favorite) for the first time.

My grandmother turned 90 and we had a big family get together for her party.  It was great getting to see everyone again.

My old mtn biking buddy Lou and I went for a nice ride Sunday.  We made it nice and early so I wouldn't die.  

Well that's all the heat I can take, heading towards higher elevations!

Most overrated desert ever, Death Valley!

Sorry, no pics today.  I was just driving through Death Valley to get closer to Vegas for my Grandmother's birthday and I only made it to Pahrump.

On the way up a very steep grade I had to turn the dash air conditioning off so I didn't overheat the engine.  Well I had to then turn on the roof a/c so the inside of the motorhome (which is very high quality plastic) wouldn't melt!  Normally this involves the complicated process of pushing a button but since I have some electrical issues.....

I got to have a lot of fun standing in the hot sun and manually switching some wiring around so the AC electrical panel can be powered from the generator.  Fun fun!  After leaving the worst of the low elevation areas I could get by with just the dash air so I turned off the generator and the roof air.

Once I got the air conditioning running and back on the road I realized Death Valley is not worth the trouble.  I ride motorcycles in deserts all the time that look just like that and you don't even have to pay to go camp and ride around let along just to drive through.

I arrived in Pahrump and got a spot at the nice little RV park at the winery in town.  Guess what? You got it, I have to change the wiring around again to be able to run the air conditioners off of the hook-up's at the RV park.  Gee I'm really loving this motorhome already!

At least the fridge is keeping my homebrew nice and cold without any fuss because I really need one tonight!

Ahh, the joys and jeers of a motorhome.

After I left the sequoias I was roughly heading for Las Vegas for my grandmother's 90th Birthday party.  I stopped at Lone Pine, CA for gas, groceries and an RV spot for the night.  I got parked and hooked up the electricity so I could get the air conditioning going since it was kind of warm.  

Well with my newfound respect for hikers I thought I'd go check out one of the most popular hikes around, Mt. Whitney.  I didn't hike it but even just being up at the Portal is very cool.  Gorgeous views, neat waterfall, easy drive, lots of folks getting ready to ascend.  

Well on the way back to the RV I got some groceries and upon arriving back home I discovered the inside of the motorhome had to be 90 degrees F!  What the F?

Some critical electrical component had failed and I had no AC electricity at all.  Luckily the fridge runs on propane with a small DC load for the control circuitry so my froyo wouldn't melt!

I opened the windows and turned on a fan to help circulate the warm air and waited until it cooled off to investigate since the sun was shining on the side I needed to work on.

Well after the sun went down I was able to bypass two components which I'm not sure which of failed so I have power again.  Ahh, blessed air conditioning!  At least I won't be sleeping in a puddle of sweat tonight.

Enough riding, time for a walk!

I've had a lot of fun riding the last few days but my body is getting sore in certain places and it's time to share the pain.  Feet it's your turn.

Not usually a fan of this sign but what the heck.

I don't normally hike and when I do it's carrying my paraglider up the mountain to launch.  Let's just say distance is not usually something I am trying to maximize.  

Well silly me thinks how hard can it be?  I'm not carrying 45lbs of equipment, I can go a long way!

Found an old cabin along the path.

I was aiming for something like a 14 mile round trip.  I guess you could say I'm an underachiever.  I got 6 miles in and felt like I barely made it back to the Jeep.  

I have a newfound respect for hikers.  I only had on a camelback with the basics.  I can't imagine taking off for multiple days with tent,bag,food,clothes,gear.  Usually when I carry any weight on my back it's only less than a mile to go flying and the adrenaline of anticipated flight is helping me go.

First Trip!

Finally got the motorhome ready enough for a test trip.  I'm setting out for the Sequoias for some motorcycling, mtn. biking and hiking.

My First Campsite, Troy Meadows Campground

I managed to get everything hooked up, towing my Jeep with Bike on the back and windsurfer on the roof.  I made it up the 9 mile grade, slowly.  I got to the campground and unhooked/unloaded my stuff and got down to the serious business of relaxing.  I actually was getting used to the elevation, not being lazy.  

I met some people from the San Diego Dual-Sport Meetup group for a few days of riding in the trees. It was challenging riding but very neat to be riding in such a different environment than our normal desert riding.  After they left I did one more motorcycle ride and then a mtn bike ride until my butt was so sore from too much time in the saddle.  

I think I'll try hiking tomorrow to rest up.