Utah's Mighty 5 next spring (from FL)

[routlaw]

On 8/4/2024 at 6:41 AM, Dennis and Melissa said:

P.S. We are hoping to make it to Montana in the fall of 25.  I'll create another thread for that and you can tell me everything I don't know 😛

Be careful in how you plan for fall in Montana. Understand seasons in this neck of the woods can come and go in nearly a split second, and what most people think of the autumn months can be the dead of winter compared to their normal view of this season. Lived here for nearly half a century and have seen temps plunge to sub zeros mid September when the day before it was in the 70-80's or more. Colors start turning much sooner than other states too, usually by mid September and all but shot by the 3rd week of October if not sooner normally. Elevation plays a key role in this. The Flathead Valley area as well as Glacier will usually have color lasting a bit longer due to the lower elevations at base but again there is no guarantees other than to expect rapidly changing weather patterns. Yellowstone elevations are much higher as well and thus tend to end sooner.

Hope this helps.

Edited August 7, 2024 by routlaw

[ScubaRx]

Personally, I would swap from the South Rim of the GC to the North Rim. There is a world of difference.

[newbies living the dream]

On 8/4/2024 at 6:41 AM, Dennis and Melissa said:

Thanks for the tip.  I hope you love your Ollie as  much as we do.
And my wife LOVES her massages. 😀

P.S. We are hoping to make it to Montana in the fall of 25.  I'll create another thread for that and you can tell me everything I don't know 😛

I'd be happy to share some MT intel 🙂

[Boudicca908]

I have several recommendations, having spent weeks in that region this year:

North Rim of GCNP is very nice, less congested, less commercial and there are plenty of NF boondocking sites that are within reach. From the Kaibab NF near the North Rim, you can also take day trips to places like Vermillion Cliffs, White Pocket (if you have OHV or hire a guide with capability), "The Wave" (be aware that tickets are required in advance -- for many of these highly desirable locations) and other places. 

Kanab UT is a great central location for camping before heading to Zion, as there are many things to see and do in that area: Pipe Spring NM, Dinosaur Tracks, Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP (where you could camp if you want hookups), as well as day trips from Kanab to Zion, Bryce, Red Cliffs and other sites. St George is much larger, and in my opinion it isn't as walkable as a city, whereas Kanab is entirely walkable. If you stay in Kanab, they have farmers markets two days a week, a great library, some interesting museums, good groceries, free fresh water and a very friendly Post Office where you can receive mail General Delivery (not all USPS will do that). 

I concur with others on trekking poles; take at least one with you. 

Learn and understand about driving in sand. Understand how the weather impacts the "dirt" (sand) roads. Plan your timing accordingly. As Spring marches on, and the dry weather extends into early summer, the sand becomes more treacherous. One Park Ranger warned me about trying to drive through the western section of GCNP (the section that is southwest of Pipe Spring NM) because "it's so dry that it's easy to get stuck and it can cost you $3,000 to get towed out".  Don't pull over on the side of the road unless it's paved or you know that it's going to support your vehicle. I saw many 4WD vehicles mired in the sand, in late May and the first week of June. One area where I walked, the sand would rise up over the tops of my shoes with each footstep. It was like quicksand, but thankfully not quicksand. Once the monsoons hit, I was told, some areas of sand turn into mud that can be equally treacherous. This condition depends on the area, of course. You might call USFS offices in the region and ask -- I found them very helpful on information. You might switch around the order of your itinerary, to plan the sandy places earlier in your trip. 

That's my two cents. Have fun!

 

[Boudicca908]

19 hours ago, Boudicca908 said:

it can cost you $3,000 to get towed out

I should mention one more thing. There is a scam artist that spoofs local towing companies. A friend was the victim of this when I was there. I recommend that you look up and save the correct phone number/s for local towing companies before venturing out, in case you need them. My friend paid $600 in advance over phone and then the company never showed up; it was a reputable company -- but he had 'looked up the number on google' and it was a spoofed phone number. 

[Ralph Mawyer]

One day from San Antonio to Sedona? 😉

Might put this in your toolkit.   Wanderinglabs.com

I used it a lot when my plans changed coming back from Yellowstone via Utah to San Antonio.

[Dennis and Melissa]

10 minutes ago, Ralph Mawyer said:

One day from San Antonio to Sedona? 😉

Might put this in your toolkit.   Wanderinglabs.com

I used it a lot when my plans changed coming back from Yellowstone via Utah to San Antonio.

My current itinerary has a question mark on that day.  😀

We will probably just drive till we are tired, then find a place to boondock.

[Ralph Mawyer]

Texas is not a boondocking state, unless you like Walmart.

My preference out of SA going west is Balmoreah State Park past Ft. Stockton, then one of the Arizona state parks the next night. 

I've done a straight run to Arizona State Park for night one, but you have to enjoy 12 hour driving days.

El Paso is 500 miles, slightly uphill and usually into the wind. Watch your gas levels.  Even on I-10 it can be lonely out there..

13 minutes ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

My current itinerary has a question mark on that day.  😀

We will probably just drive till we are tired, then find a place to boondock.

 

[jd1923]

17 hours ago, Ralph Mawyer said:

Texas is not a boondocking state, unless you like Walmart...

I've done a straight run to Arizona State Park for night one, but you have to enjoy 12 hour driving days...

That's for sure! We lived in Georgetown and Lakeway, TX over a 9-year period when we still owned our AZ home, going back and forth 2-3 times a year. I drove it straight through once, pulling a cargo trailer, Prescott to Lakeway, 5AM to near 2AM. In our 20 roundtrips, AZ to central TX, we rarely drove the exact same route twice.

I can't stand driving I-10 unless it's January and snowing up north. Sometimes we would leave a Friday afternoon after work and drive I-10, stay at a lovely (just kidding) 3-star hotel in Van Horn, TX (pretty area NW of the Davis Mountains). Make it the next day, home in Prescott. We will camp at the Davis Mountains SP this year returning from the Texas Rally.

Most of the time we would head out of Austin area NW on state highways. Driving through Llano, Mason, Brady, San Angelo, Big Spring and often an overnight in Roswell NM. The next day we would head west through Lincoln County NM to Socorro and then take US Hwy 60 into Arizona. This route is an hour or two longer, but NO interstates.

This is basically the route we will drive the opposite direction heading to the Texas Rally this October, 3 nights camping on the Mongollon Rim (Rim Rd east of Payson, AZ) and Greer AZ, one night somewhere in-between, then 3 nights in Ruidoso, NM. All that will be boondocking, but we will need a campsite or RV park somewhere around Big Spring TX as a layover to Inks Lake.

Living an hour from Sedona, there are so many stops I mentioned here that we much prefer. Now that I am semi-retired, having periods 2-3 times a year with 3-4 weeks off, I like to plan easy trips where we drive only 2 to 4 hours max per day. 

[Boudicca908]

On 8/11/2024 at 6:25 PM, Dennis and Melissa said:

My current itinerary has a question mark on that day.  😀

 

May I suggest Fort Davis --- where you can see the historic Fort Davis, go to the McDonald Observatory (make reservations ahead of time!) and visit the Chihuanhuan Desert Nature Center? 

https://www.nps.gov/foda/index.htm

http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/

http://www.cdri.org/

 

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Boudicca908 said:

May I suggest Fort Davis --- where you can see the historic Fort Davis, go to the McDonald Observatory (make reservations ahead of time!) and visit the Chihuanhuan Desert Nature Center?

Thank you for these links. We will visit here on our return from the Texas Rally this October! Davis Mountains State Park — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, Boudicca908 said:

May I suggest Fort Davis --- where you can see the historic Fort Davis, go to the McDonald Observatory (make reservations ahead of time!) and visit the Chihuanhuan Desert Nature Center? 

I second the recommendations for both Davis Mountains SP and the McDonald Observatory.  A few nights each week the Observatory has a Star Party evening with lots of telescopes set up and guides to show where certain stars and constellations are in the sky.  On a cloudless night it’s pretty fascinating.  The 1800’s Army Post of Fort Davis is a National Parks site and is also worth a visit.  Mike

[Dennis and Melissa]

7 hours ago, Boudicca908 said:

May I suggest Fort Davis

 

That looks wonderful  TYVM!

[Dennis and Melissa]

Has anyone ever driven on the "million dollar highway"?

[topgun2]

3 hours ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

Has anyone ever driven on the "million dollar highway"?

Assume that you mean - with the Oliver in tow?

There are a number of posts from a number of owners right here on the Forum about this very subject.  And, the answer is "yes".

Have fun but be safe.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

Has anyone ever driven on the "million dollar highway"?

Yes, many times, with and without our Oliver.  We often camp at Ridgway State Park just north of Ouray.  Our son and family live in Durango which is south of Ouray on highway 550 (million dollar highway).  The stretch between Ouray and Silverton is what scares a lot of folks but if driven with care it can be a very scenic drive.  Mike

[Dennis and Melissa]

We won the ticket lottery for THE WAVE!
So now I need suggestions for where to camp near Kanab in mid April (that's where we will be meeting the guide company we hired).
Anybody care to share?

[Dennis and Melissa]

At last, all of our campground reservations are made!  If you know any of these destinations well, I'd very much appreciate ideas for day hikes or other nearby activities/scenic wonders. 😁

3/22 Leave FL for annual Ollie service in Hohenwald - 4 nights

3/26 Mt Magazine SP - 3 nights

3/29 Quartz Mountain SP - 2 nights

3/31 Palo Duro Canyon SP - 4 nights

4/4 wing it

4/5 Dead Horse Ranch SP (Sedona...) - 9 nights

4/14 Grand Canyon South Rim - 4 nights

4/18 Dark Sky RV Camp (Konob, THE WAVE...) - 2 nights

4/20 Zion NP (Springdale)- 8 nights

4/27 Kodachrome SP (Bryce Canyon...) - 7 nights

5/5 Escalante Petrified Forest SP - 7 nights

5/12 Torrey Wonderland RV (Capitol Reef NP...) - 4 nights

5/16 Dead Horse Point SP (Arches NP, Canyonland NP...) - 7 nights

5/23 Gouldings RV (Monument Valley...) - 3 nights

 5/26 Mesa Verde NP - 3 nights

5/29 Brantley Lake SP (Carlsbad Caverns NP...) - 4 nights

6/2 long "sprint" home

 

Edited January 27 by Dennis and Melissa
spellink

[Dennis and Melissa]

Plans changed a bit, but…

We finally made it to Dead Horse Ranch SP in Sedona!

Here are some interesting tidbits from the last two weeks of traveling:

1) Ollie’s first annual service at the mothership was great (but not cheap🤪)

2) Merriweather B&B was great as always (and actually cheap with the 10% Oliver discount 😀)

3) Mt Magazine SP is wonderful and the lodge is stunning 

4) Quartz Mtn SP is great (especially hiking around Mt Baldy)

5) Palo Duro SP is a wonder.  We will be back.  Maybe for a full week next time.

6) Petrified Forest NP is a wonder.  Even if you somehow removed all the petrified wood, it would still be one of the best NPs I’ve seen.  One day was not enough.

7) Question: on cold, windy, rainy nights, with the heater running, how do you let fresh air in?  Everything we tried seemed to get something wet that shouldn’t be.

8 )  THE STREET SIDE JACK STOPPED WORKING WHEN WE ARRIVED IN SEDONA!  Thanks to the wonderful Oliver documentation I was able to fix it. Just a loose connection.  But working in that space (especially trying to check the inline fuses, the likes of which I had never seen before) was a job for a circus contortionist 🤪

 

[Mike and Carol]

14 minutes ago, Dennis and Melissa said:

7) Question: on cold, windy, rainy nights, with the heater running, how do you let fresh air in?  Everything we tried seemed to get something wet that shouldn’t be.

On cold, rainy nights we keep the windows closed.  For ventilation I open the maxxfan and the bath vent.  With the maxxfan on a low setting pulling air out there is fresh air coming in through the bath vent.  You might get a damp bathroom floor if it rains hard or is real windy, but it wipes up easily.

Agree with your parks assessment.  Palo Duro is one of our favorites.  Be sure to drive up to Jerome while you’re at Dead Horse Ranch, and Sedona of course.  You will really be blown away with the southern Utah parks!  Mike

[tallmandan]

@Dennis and Melissa Just a thought --- you have 7 nights planned at Dead Horse SP to visit Canyonlands and Arches.  Both are amazing and Dead Horse is the best reserve campground for visiting Canyonlands and not too far from Arches.  It's a good plan but one suggestion I might make is to use the app Campflare and see if a cancelation might pop up for Devil's Garden Campground inside Arches NP.  Devil's Garden may be the most difficult to get campground in all of the national parks.  It books up within seconds of the 6 month booking window.  It does not have hookups, however.  I put a notification request in Campflare last fall and scored a cancelation with a few weeks notice -- they do happen.

If you were to score a site at Devil's Garden, it puts you deep inside the park in one of the most spectacular areas of scenery with a couple of the best hikes starting right from the campground.  You wake up with an unbelievable sunrise right there.  The photos attached are of the campground.  The arch photo at sunrise is 100 yards from the campground (you can see RVs in the distance on left side of the photo).  Dead Horse SP is very nice and centrally located but the campground is kinda out in the middle of sagebrush and you have to drive to get to hikes and views.  Already being inside the park camping at Devils Garden means your're already there -- avoiding the lines at park entry and you are already there for the most awesome time in the park which is sunset/early mornings and late evening/sunset.

Regardless, my biggest suggestion would be to plan on being in both parks early and late.  The light is amazing and makes for unforgettable experiences.

If you stay the whole time at Dead Horse SP, you will still have an amazing time! 

[Dennis and Melissa]

Dead Horse Ranch SP has been very nice. Great access to all sorts of hikes .  Quiet, family friendly and clean.

In addition, quite a few fiberglass trailers in the park. Including our first meeting with another Ollie in the wild. Shout out to Mark, Lorraine and River!  Well met and happy trails. 
 

Special mention to Red Rock SP. Small, quiet but oh so wonderful.

Next stop Grand Canyon!

[Dennis and Melissa]

Our second Ollie sighting!

Shout out to Catherine and Chad. 
Happy to share time at Grand Canyon Trailer Village

It isn’t particularly beautiful but it is very near a cool hole in the ground. 😉

[Dennis and Melissa]

 

Woke up to several inches of snow on our last morning in GC.

Then I learned that it is unwise to use my bare hands to wrestle the Anderson chains when they have been buried in snow. 🤣

Later, we spotted our third Ollie on this trip.  Whoever was headed south on 89 near Camden, Howdie!

 

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[Dennis and Melissa]

Yesterday we camped at Dark Sky outside of Kanab. Quite the upscale treat. For example the showers are full master baths with outdoor AND indoor showers, and heated tiled floors 😆

We also hiked The Wave with a guide from Dreamland Adventures. Overwhelmingly beautiful in every possible way. 
 

Then we went out for dinner to celebrate.  And my wife noticed that the bolt that holds the Anderson chains to the hitch was missing 😳. Apparently the idiot who uncoupled the trailer (me) left it on the bumper. After an hour of panic, our guide from the hike gave us a replacement. How lucky are we?

And finally, as we drove away from the campground this morning, we found the bolt on the street about a mile away 🤯

PS We saw our FOURTH Ollie in the wild today driving East between Zion and Kanab 

PPS Happy Easter to all 🐇