On The Road w/ KC ~ August 6 - ?

[articulate]

The shower rocked! Great pressure and smart set up. There is only one thing that could make it better......


You reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy need one of these -

:xxrotflma

Nahhh...those suck. Or blow. it's just a $200 wind rocket. Note to others: If you're thinking of getting - or have - a paha que shower tent, you are hereby advised not to set it up next to a cliff in high winds. May as well shower under a hang glider.

Hey Mark,

What's with the new license plate :ylsmoke:

That went right by me!

 

[Scott Brady]

:xxrotflma

Nahhh...those suck. Or blow. it's just a $200 wind rocket. Note to others: If you're thinking of getting - or have - a paha que shower tent, you are hereby advised not to set it up next to a cliff in high winds.

Yes, they do require using all of the ground stakes and guide lines. I found that out the hard way too eepwall:

 

[articulate]

Yes, they do require using all of the ground stakes and guide lines. I found that out the hard way too eepwall:

Uh....it WAS staked, with four rocks inside as well. Now it's a kite. Or a Navajo sweatlodge. Or just swimming in the San Juan.

It's also one of the funniest things to happen in camp this year. We came back to camp to see that the tent left us for something better, the stakes still in the ground, and the floor with the rocks in place as well. Not so hilarious at first, but I giggled about it the whole way home. I could take an ad out on craiglist: "Paha Que parts available for cheap."

 

[Scott Brady]

OH NO, now I understand

:xxrotflma

 

[bh4rnnr]

Greetings from beautiful downtown Silverton, Colorado!

The last few days have been some of the best of the trip. As Perry mentioned, we bumped into each other near here last Friday. Cool guy (best 'do on ExPo for sure!) and a sick little outfit! Wish I had a rig to keep up with him on some of the harder trails around here. Cinnamon Pass with the Condo is about as much as I need.

Later that same day I was able to weasel in on a camping trip that durango_60 had planned with his family and friends. Thanks so much for letting me in on a great hidden campsite in La Plata Canyon. I really enjoyed meeting Jonathan in Leadville in June, he's a great guy with a wonderful family. Cool wife, adorable baby girl and the coolest little boy, Simon, this side of my own wee man. J, please tell Simon I'm looking forward to camping with him again. I know you're proud of him and you should be.

Following a night camping in Durango, I made my way 3 hours west, to hook up with articulate and his wife for a 3 day-er in the Monument Valley area. In addition to MV, we hit Natural Bridges National Monument for some light hikes and later drove the awe inspiring Valley of the Gods. I have been looking forward to meeting MarkF'nStephens for quite awhile now as I'm a huge fan of his writing and photography.

I'll save most of my thoughts, comments and funny stories from that trip for his MV thread, but it was a great trip he put together. His wife is indeed the Super Cool Chick and they were great and easy going to hang out with. He's also put together a great truck for exploring and I really enjoyed his shower for washing away too many days of trail funk. I'm happy to say he's as good a guy as he is a writer and photographer. Inconcievable!

Although I was hoping to travel further into AZ, my candy ass can't take the heat and so I've retreated into Colorado, where I'll be camping near Eureka (between Silverton and Animas Forks) for a few days. I would love to take up those offers to visit our members in AZ & CA, but gas prices, heat and needing to be within a one day drive of home will keep me in the Rockies for now. The trip will be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks as sadly, all good things must come to an end.


"I love to hike with the class of people who come to see the Bridges,
since they all seem to have a little pioneer blood in their veins."
- Zeke Johnson, first Natural Bridges NM superintendent
Journal entry, July 1937


Trip stats -

• Total days on the road - 31
• Total nights camped - 29
• Total miles traveled - 4,551
• Total states visited - 6 (WY, MT, ID, CO, AZ, UT)
• Total hot hitchhikers seen - 2
• Total corndogs digested - pales in comparison to the # of Diet Cokes consumed

More pics of things I've seen -

KC, thanks for the kind words. Sounds like the trip is going well. Love the shot of the dust storm. Keep the updates going!

Mark, looks like the rig is progressing . Wish I had a rooftop tent.......

 

[kcowyo]

My intent to spend a couple of days camped in Eureka, CO have been thwarted by an invasion of locals.

This morning at 6AM several hundred head of sheep were being unloaded to graze in the area. I woke up seeing all of the sheep and thought I'd woken up in the 80 series section of Mud (Please don't flood my PM's. I love 80's but when I heard an 80 owner and member of this and that forum referring to themselves as sheep, I thought it too funny not to repeat).

After downing several excellent coffees at the Mobius Cafe & Bike Shop in Silverton this morning, I'm going to head for the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. I'll be in touch soon - :beer:

 

[Pskhaat]

You won't be dissapointed with the Dunes...but you've probably already been there? Do leave your truck though for a night and hike into the Dunes and camp under the stars weather permitting, it's a great place.

Be prepared, we hit snow 5 miles north of there about a week ago

 

[jeffryscott]

Damn dude! This stuff came out better then I thought: dust storm in MV

...but on to saying something worth reading, folks, the front of his truck - after those 4,551 miles - was cleaner than the kcowyo himself. That ain't sayin' much. He has a solid (no, literally solid) collection of bugs, insects, road weeds, and cattle flesh plastered on the front bumper and the camper. Absolutely disgusting. And just the kind of guy you'd want to camp with for a few days.

did super cool chick throw a beer bottle at KCs truck trying to shoo those bugs away?:xxrotflma

 

[articulate]

did super cool chick throw a beer bottle at KCs truck trying to shoo those bugs away?:xxrotflma

Well, the bugs were dead, smashed and well-embedded. A little beer wouldn't do a thing.

:Wow1:

 

[datrupr]

I think I might be the only one lucky enough to have Super Cool Chick throw beer at their camping gear.:victory:

 

[kcowyo]

“Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.”
- Og Mandino

Greetings from soggy Alamosa, Colorado!

Well after 30-some days on the road, the rain has finally caught up with me. I am just a few miles from the Great Sand Dunes NP (which I haven't seen yet) and will likely see them in the rain and overcast skies today. The rain started in Silverton, followed me back over Cinnamon Pass into Lake City and down the Silver Thread, Hwy 149. I stopped yesterday to travel back into the Rio Grande Resevoir and the Wheeler Geological Area, both of which are several miles, off road between Lake City and Creede. Archery season has started here so the hills are alive with safety orange, the sound of generators and the scent of store-bought doe urine. Ah, Fall in the San Juans......

It is with more regret than anticipation that I left the San Juans. It would be far too easy to spend time where I'm comfortable with old friends and familiar restaurants. That would be a vacation and I am not exactly on "vacation." In the words of a great American thinker, traveller, football star, war hero and shrimpin' boat captain -

"My Momma always said you got to put the past behind you before you can move on. I think that's what my run was all about."

And so it goes. Many people might go endure tough changes in their life and turn to the bottle, or worse, for their escape. That's not my style. In the most redundant sentence you will read in this thread, travelling has always been my escape. Least Heat Moon said a man who can't make things go right, can at least go.

Waxing a little philosophical, I think that's exactly right. It just seemed unproductive to try to do the growing that I need to do at this point in my life from my cubicle, complete with a 3 hole punch. Hopefully, I return a little wiser and a little more at peace with situations I can't change. If not, I suppose there's always the bottle....

Actually, this amazing woman I met in Polebridge, who was on her own soul searching quest, actually said it best when she offered, "We usually already know the answers that we're seeking. It's putting them into practice that's difficult." That little nugget of enlightenment probably came too early in the trip, because while I understood what she was saying, I still felt compelled to move down the road; looking, searching and accepting.

For those that check this website for trail info, GPS coordinates, the latest in suspension mods and exotic trip reports, I apologize that this thread offers little of that. It is with great appreciation that ExpeditionsWest has allowed me to use this space as I have. I am also grateful to the many members here who have commented and complimented this thread as well as those who have invited me to their homes and offered to share their time with me. This thread was started for selfish reasons but I am amazed at the response it has received. If it inspires just one person to make their own situation better, than it's been worth barring my own dramas on the world wide web.

More pics of things I've seen -

 

[datrupr]

KC, great post and more great pics. I love the shot of the 110, but they are such eye candy around here that I am sure everyone is loving it. And, I do have to say, that this thread has inspired me to take my life in a new direction, for the better I am thinking. I just wish I had the means to soul search the way you are. Now, it has not been over 100 in a few days down here in Phoenix, so get your ******** down here and lets hit the trails for a weekend.

 

[chet]

I for one do not mind your ramblings one bit! I say thanks for sharing them. I fully support your philosophy. I went through the soul searching and finding myself thing around 5 years ago. I decided that the bottle was not the way and built me a kick ******** 4x4 that kept me busy and sane. Once my life settled I sold it and moved on. :iagree:

you pictures are truely stunning.

 

[articulate]

KC -
I was driving to get some lunch today thinking about that road through MV where you mentioned that it was straight out of ol' Forest Gump.

...and I couldn't help but notice the fine symbolism. That's the very point where Gump stops, turns to the lemmings, and one dude says, "Wait. I think he's going to say something."

"I'm kinda tired. I think I'm gonna go home now."

Well, frankly, that seems to me that was the same place you did the same thing. In different words, but you turned around and began your trek home. So, the question begs to be asked: What do your feet and pounding heart say now? Perhaps not much more than what Gump says?

:friday:

 

[kcowyo]

So, the question begs to be asked: What do your feet and pounding heart say now?

Some dude -"Wow! You just ran through a big pile of dog ********!"

Forrest Gump - "It happens."

SD - "What, ********?"

FG - "Sometimes."


:violent-smiley-031: