Moab on the Rocks! It's Here!

This is it! After months of anticipation the day is finally here for our “Moab on the Rocks” expedition in the slick rock country around Moab. Most of the participants were already here and had spent the last day or two on the trails around Moab. Hopefully they had worked all the kinks out of the equipment and had honed their backcountry skills to the point of making this a “walk in the park” for the bride and I . I was thinking that regardless of how good, how prepared you are there is always something these trails throw at you to make it a memorable experience. I was not to be disappointed.

I was disappointed to find out that our wagon master, Captain America, had not yet reached Moab and would not be with us on this excursion. Unfortunately the business of feeding family interfered with more temporal pleasures and he was not to arrive until Saturday. Could his wagon train succeed without his leadership? This would really put the pressure on the other founders.

Thirteen vehicles and about thirty people total were going to participate on this ride. We decided to do a trail I had never experienced before so I was double pumped. It’s always great to see new stuff.

As we started out it looked like having that many vehicles was really going to be difficult to control and getting everyone through in the allotted time was going to be a challenge. We had the whole gamut of experience levels and it took us about 45 minutes to get the first half mile into the trail. Fortunately after the first two obstacles everyone seemed to hit stride and the “wagon train” gelled.

“Spotman” Dave, who is one of the original founders, was doing a yeoman’s job of his usual duties of spotting for everyone and helping in the wagon master duties. “Spotman” also drives a classic Jeep. No sissy automatic transmission or electronic lockers for him! He does it the old fashioned way!

Things progressed nicely until mid-day when one vehicle had an axle problem. If you have read this blog before you should remember that one of the reasons I “ride” and don’t have my own vehicle is precisely for this reason. I’m not mechanically inclined and if I had any kind of mechanical problem that required anything other than flipping a switch or turning a knob I would be totally up the proverbial creek.

Fortunately the problem was not what the gear heads considered a real bad problem and while the rest of us had lunch they performed enough mechanical magic to get the stricken vehicle back on the trail.

Just incredible, incredible scenery, lots of fun and fellowship. We finished the trail at about 3pm. That evening the bride and I hosted the rest of the circle in a very informal chow down at the trailer. What a day…and best of all there is even more to come tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting.

P.S. Click on any of the photos for a larger view.

24 May - Road Trip Day 3

Today was to be the longest day of the trip outside of that miserable day of Sunday when will have to return to the ho hum life of normal working stiffs. We had about 250 miles to drive and needed to be in Moab in time for a “full circle” dinner at the condo that Too Tall and Guitar had rented for the week.

The day dawned in fine style with the sun rising over Split Mountain across the Green River from our camp site. I arose at about 5:30 am….just because.

A cup of joe, a breakfast burrito and a little oatmeal and I was set for the morning. The bride was up by 6:30 and we were on the road again by 8:30. I’m really starting to wonder about the bride, she is being a trooper on this trip and seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Have I finally broken her bonds to the Ritz Carlton/champagne brunch persona?………….Nah. Just lucky this trip I suspect.

It was a very interesting ride down highway 191 from Vernal to Moab. Vernal is a very interesting town that merits another trip for exploration but this day we didn't have the time. Some rolling country side with green grass and trees everywhere. Some mountains and coal mines and some typical Utah butte and sandstone formations. This is the west! Life is good!

We arrived in Moab at about 4:30 got Bivouac set up and we got cleaned up and proceeded to dinner with the circle. Too Tall and Guitar had rented a very nice condo on a golf course on the south side of Moab. We six had rented a similar condo in years past and always enjoyed the location.

Dinner consisted of tri-tips, spinach casserole and some type of sweet potato casserole that should have been labeled as explosive material for the amount of whiskey “seasoning”. Very good stuff! As usual, great food, great conversation and great friends. A short walk after dinner and we were all ready to call it a day and get ready for Friday’s four wheel trip.

Thanks for visiting.

23 May - Road Trip Day 2

It must be the country air, or the fact that the bride was in bed shortly after it got dark at about 8:30 pm. She was actually up and ready at about 7:30 this morning. I awoke at my usual very early hour and was making coffee by 6. After eating a quick breakfast we were “on the road again”.

Today’s journey took us on some little traveled highways and to add to the mix it’s mid week. There was hardly any traffic at all on the roads. My kind of road trip!

About 60 miles up the road we passed thru Rangley. A true “rural” town. The only sign of homogenized America, aside from the gas stations was a Subway sandwich shop. We stopped for gas there and consulted with the map and literature I had about Pintado Canyon. We decided to try to see 3 marked sites that contained Archaic Indian petroglyphs. While these are marked they are not very well known which is exactly the kind I like to seek out!


Driving down Hwy 39 we missed the first two because they weren’t marked very well and decided to go to the furthest down the highway, see those and work our way back. The 3rd was actually the best one with several sites connected by a marked trail. The day was gorgeous. Clear, 60 degree, slight breeze, Colorado gorgeous. The site had a great little parking lot that made it easy to pull into with Bivouac. Some pictures here will tell the story better than words can.



After about an hour of exploration we made lunch in the trailer and headed for Dinosaur, Colorado. Dinosaur, Colorado. What can I say. I’m thinking it’s The Little Town That Couldn’t. I’m thinking some speculators and real estate types tried to build the place up in the 60’s when Dinosaur National Monument was formed. There were lot’s of,,,well,,,lots. I mean lots as in a square of land. These lots looked like they were set up as mobile home lots or camping grounds. Concrete pads, electric hookup boxes, all overgrown and in a state of decay. Now there wasn’t just one of these. I counted four quickly and we didn’t look all that hard. Much to my happy surprise the town was also filled with old trailers. Old trailers as in “canned hams” that are the prize for those who seek old trailers. I am one of “those”. Here’s some pics.

From Dinosaur it was a short drive to the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument where we intended to camp for the night. We were planning on really roughing it here because they had no electric or water hookups at this campground. I was going to have to play pioneer camper and break out the generator so we could use the microwave! The campground was very nice in spite of the fact that we didn’t get electricity or water.

We spent the last part of the afternoon on a self guided tour of the area which included more Indian rock art and seeing deer, wild turkey, birds, lizards and knock-out scenery. Barbeque ribs, potatoes, peas and pearl onions for dinner and I am going to be G O N E as in destroyed, wiped out, fast asleep until the golden hours of tomorrow morning when we head for Moab. Tomorrow is the longest day of driving with 230 miles to go so come back and see how we did.























Thanks for visiting.

Road Trip - May 22

The magical day finally arrived. Travel day! Since the bride and I planned an early departure (In the bride’s logic this means before 10 am, VERY early is before 9 am, God-Awful early is before 8 am and we don‘t even talk about time before 8 am.) I told The Emmer I would drive her to work at 6 am.

This morning when we got to the car, The Emmer said the weather report was calling for snow in the mountains! Snow today and tomorrow and then it will turn hot. Great, I get to pull Bivouac through the snow and when I get there I’ll get roasted! I’ll take the roasted part, just don’t want to pull Bivouac thru snow if I don’t have to.

It seemed like the key was to make it through Vail Pass on I-70 as quick as we could, before the roads had a chance to get bad. As it turned out is wasn’t too bad. We actually left by about 8:30 am and didn’t hit snow until Eisenhower Tunnel. From there to just past Vail it snowed off and on but the temperature stayed right around freezing so the residual warmth of the ground kept the roads from freezing.

Once we were beyond the danger area we stopped in the Target store in Glenwood Springs to get all the things we remembered we left at home and to get a Starbucks. Yes sir. We believe in primitive camping and getting back to nature on these trips! We also gassed up there…ouch. This is beginning to hurt. $67 for a tank of gas….as in ONE tank…as in $3.56/gallon….as in cry when you remember pooling pennies with the guys to buy gas at $0.25 a gallon…as in 25 cents.














Glenwood Springs was in the midst of a huge forest fire two years ago. You can see on the hillsides around the town just how close the fire got. The stark contrast of the burned trees, the red rock and the new green spring growth is pretty dramatic. In this other picture you can see the snow line from today’s weather that was at about 10,000 feet.

We arrived at Day One destination, Rifle Falls State Park, by about 1 pm. The reason I chose this spot for the first night is that I had never been here before and it is consistently listed as one of the most scenic spots in Colorado. It is a beautiful spot and being a Tuesday the park was not over-run with campers. Here are some pictures of the falls.












Dinner this night consisted of home made spinach manicotti. As I said, we prefer roughing it. No frozen manicotti for us… We also enjoyed watching the hummingbirds at the feeder right outside of the window. We saw two different species. The Broad Tailed Hummingbird and the Black Chinned Hummingbird both semi-coexisting at the same feeder.

Tomorrow we plan to go north and west through Rangley, Colorado and stop at Dinosaur National Park, on the Utah side. For those who have been reading this blog for a while…the trailer jack works just fine. It went up at the appropriate time.

Thanks for visiting.

I'm Not Makin' This Stuff Up

Are you concerned about the social life of your pooch? Naw, I don't mean just meetin' and greetin' fellow canines on the walk. I mean long term. Who is he/she going to plan the future with?...grow old with?...

If you're an owner of an even number (as in two, four, etc) of canines, are you going to let them live in sin for the rest of their lives or are you going to do the socially responsible thing and see to it that they have a "sanctioned" relationship?

Has Colorado finally out-weirded California?

You be the judge... Bow Wow Vows

Interesting to note that only spayed/neutered and leashed participants are allowed!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Mother's Day

I am who I am only because of the mothers in my life.................



Thank you ladies.

It's A Plan - The Trip To Moab

Short and sweet, here's the plan starting on Tuesday, week, for the trip to Moab.

Day #1

Leave as early as I can get The Bride up, dressed, coiffed, makeup-ed and otherwise travel ready.

Leave Denver metro area with "Bivouac" in tow and drive to Rifle, CO.

Turn north to Rifle Falls State Park and pitch camp.

CHILL OUT!













Day #2


Awake to the sounds of birds chirping and the gurgling of a mountain stream.

Eat a leisurely breakfast, commune with nature, listen to the James Taylor song "Secret O Life" ("The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time").

Hook up "Bivouac", proceed north through Rangely and view Indian petroglyphs in Pintado Canyon.

Continue north and west through Dinosaur, CO to campground on west side of Dinosaur National Monument.

CHILL OUT!















Day #3



Wake to the sounds of birds chirping and the gentle wind blowing through the Cottonwood trees.

Eat a leisurely breakfast, take deep breaths of country air, sing out loud the James Taylor song "Secret O Life".

Listen but don't hear cars, kids screaming, planes and other city sounds.

Tell myself, I'm a luck guy.


Hook up "Bivouac" and proceed to Vernal, Utah stopping to see "Big John" the Muffler Man and "Dinah" the pink dinosaur of Roadside America fame.

Continue south through Duchsene and Green River to campground in Moab!

Partake of fellowship with other Moab on the Rocks participants and....

CHILL OUT!

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned..... This is just the plan to get there. Much more to be done there!

Call Me Joe Btfsplk!

I know I'm going to have to 'splain this to those of you that weren't reading comic strips before 1977. In 1977, Al Capp retired one of the most beloved comic strips of all times, Li'l Abner. He began the strip in 1934 and over the years millions upon millions of people enjoyed his "hillbilly humor". It is amazing how much Li'l Abner has seeped into our everyday culture. There's Fearless Fosdick the detective, Daisy Mae, Sadie Hawkins Day Dances, Kickapoo Joy Juice and a host of other things. We all laughed at the antics of the characters.

One character that we laughed at and simultaneously felt sorry for was Joe Btfsplk. Joe was the nicest guy and would do anything for anybody....but for one little flaw, he would be the world's ideal friend. The one flaw was that he was the world's biggest jinx. Whatever could go wrong did go wrong for Joe. He was so unlucky that a black cloud always followed him around and rained on his head.

I am related to Joe. I know I am. Nothing I do is ever easy. Nothing ever works for me the way it does for "normal" folks. Everything I own is one of a kind. No stock part fits anything I own. I don't care if it's a toaster, a lawnmower, a computer, an electric razor, a piece of furniture, or a travel trailer. I can't just go to a store and buy something to add, fix or replace any item I own.

That's not correct, I can go to a store and buy something to add, fix or replace something on an item I own.....I do it ALL the time. It just doesn't fit or work if I buy it at the store like everyone else in the civilized world. The piece, part, thing I need is ALWAYS a special order, made only by Tibetan monks on a special religious holiday that occurs once every 5.362 years.....if the moon happens to be in the correct phase on that day!

It can't be that bad you say? Well, Joe Btfsplk to you too.....

After doing all the posts about my upcoming Moab trip I realized that I have some maintenance work to do on my travel trailer, just to be on the safe side.This will be the first time I've taken the trailer to Moab. Believe me, having mechanical, or for that matter any kind of trouble in eastern Utah is NOT what you want to have. On the way to Moab, The Bride and I are going to spend two nights in a pretty remote place so things need to work right.

So the plan is to bring the trailer from the storage lot to the house on Saturday. I can putter around inside it on Sunday and on Monday morning take it to have the brakes checked and the bearings repacked. Saturday afternoon I'm pumped! I get to play with the trailer....ah, Moab is going to be so great! I'm thinking all these great thoughts as I hook the trailer up. The trailer is riding behind the vehicle great...I'm one contented manly man.

About two blocks from home as I'm driving through the neighborhood, I hit a dip in the road and feel/hear a hard "scrape". As I try to figure out what that was, I hit another dip and feel/hear an even louder "scrape". What the heck???.....................

Daydreaming about Moab interfered with my mental check list when hooking up and of all things, I forgot to raise the tongue jack all the way up. The scrape was the jack leg hitting the ground....and bending out of shape.

It doesn't take a lot of bend to put you in a world of hurt. If the jack won't go up or down you can't get the trailer off of the tow vehicle! Twenty minutes of panic subsided into a semblance of reason. Not a big deal says I. Hand operated jacks like this are only about $35. It's only 3 pm. I'll rush over to Camping World and buy a new one and replace the whole kit & caboodle. There are only 3 bolts to take off and replace.

I execute this part of the plan flawlessly. I even get a heavier duty jack than I need because it's the smallest they have. No worry, it's an "upgrade". It's a 60 mile round trip but my trailer is worth it....besides unless I want to leave the trailer on the vehicle permanently, I don't have a choice.

I get back home at about 5 pm and am thinking how great it is that I'm going to upgrade to a bigger jack. Boy this is one easy fix!

The trailer frame has two holes the jack goes through and the 3 bolts I mentioned. That's it, simple. The jack slides through the first hole and then.......bump....didn't get it quite straight. Do it again....bump...won't go through the second hole? It's just me, I'm not sliding it in right......................Nope, the second hole in smaller than the first. Just about 1/4" too small! My horse for a 1/4"!!!

Sunday is devoted to internet searching on jack post diameters. I'm a special guy! I'm a special guy with a special jack! Monday is devoted to checking the possibilities of someone welding a new plate with larger hole on the trailer frame and checking every RV dealer in town to see if someone outside of Tibet has the right jack.

Joe Btfsplk, how are we related? Your father's, mother's, cousin's, grandson is my...something or other. I knew it! I knew it!

Even bad luck guys catch a break every now and again. One dealer about 50 miles from here has the right jack! That's a100 mile round trip for that and another 60 mile round trip to take the "upgrade" back.

I'm glad I'm just a "distant" relative of Joe's.

Thanks for visiting.

Wagon Master!

The 1950 film Wagon Master, starring Ward Bond, is a classic western movie. Following up on the success of this movie, television created the series "Wagon Train" which also starred Ward Bond from 1957 until his death in 1960.

Ah, what great stuff. Good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. No convoluted plot that required a demented Phd. to explain. Ward had to take care of the greenhorns! The wagon train faced all kinds of danger but Ward as Major Seth Adams was the "old hand". He was there to make sure they made it. On his trusty steed, he was seemingly everywhere at once....at the head of the column making sure they were on the right trail. At the back of the train, helping the unfortunate ones keep up. I can remember watching this series (before the family had a color TV) as a youngster. I can remember the excitement of the show and the satisfied feeling at the end when good triumphed over evil.

I thought about this the other day while doing a little planning for our Moab trip and realized that the wagons in Wagon Train were the four wheel drive vehicles of the day. And just like Wagon Train, the modern Moab on the Rocks train had it's wagon master as well. After all, a lot of us were/are greenhorns. We needed someone to look after us too. Someone to make sure we reached the end of the trail without mishap. For several years on this trip our wagon master has been......

Captain America!!!!

Captain America is one of the original founders of Moab on the Rocks. This year will be his tenth year of participating in the trip. At the beginning Captain America was a greenhorn too. He drove a jeep like everyone else. Somewhere along the way, Captain America lost his engine and two of his wheels and ended up on a mountain bike. Somewhere along the way he became the wagon master.

Being wagon master for Moab on the Rocks is no easy task! First of all the "wagon train" is out on the trail ALL day. That can be as much as 8-10 hours. We probably drive 20 or more miles in a typical day. We are mostly greenhorns. Tenderfeet, that without the guidance of the wagon master would probably end up in New York or Chicago before we realized we were lost. The bad guys, the unscrupulous garage guys, would probably ambush us and have us do a bunch of unnecessary repairs if we didn't have the wagon master.

Captain America was up to the task though! He was everywhere. He was out front scouting and showing us tenderfeet the way. He was smack in the middle of the train making sure we kept moving in an orderly fashion. He was there making sure we made it through the treacherous quicksands.

Ward Bond and Captain America were kindred souls.

Rumor has it that Captain America has given up his trusty steed?

Rumor has it that this year Captain America will once again ride a Jeep?

How can he watch over his greenhorns in a Jeep? Can you picture Ward Bond doing everything he did...in a covered wagon?

Captain America.....Say it ain't so!