3 Years Around North America, Plus a Few More

[Umnak]

Think Tank

The Think Tank borders the north end of the park. A 1.5 mile walk along Quail Wash puts you in what the locals refer to as the Serengeti, we call it the Great Plain. It is a long walk from the road or usual trails. We’ve only seen one other set of hikers in this area over the past 10 years we’ve been renting this place.


The house is completely off grid with a large solar array, including panels that track the sun from morning to evening. It’s small and comfortable.

We’ve seen bobcats and coyotes at the tank in the back garden, this year it was the latter that came for water, and to eyeball the rabbits and quail.


Our hikes this season were almost exclusively in the Quail Wash portion of the park. We followed Big Foot Trail to the base of the canyon that leads to Covington Flats, and then explored the broad canyons that spur off of the Joshua Tree plains, or Serengeti.

The washes that fall over the northeast end of the plain are small oasis with sufficient moisture to allow a dense growth of trees and shrubs. We had snow two nights while we were there, adding to the scant amount of desert precipitation that falls.


We also walked over the mountain pass to Samualson’s Rocks. Samuelson and his wife lived in this part of the park as cow hands in the early 30s. The rocks refer to his chiseled musings about life and death that are still very visible around his old claim.


He had hoped to homestead the area, but as a Swedish citizen was not able to keep the land he had “proved up”. He did have a mining claim which he sold before moving to L.A. where he killed two men at a dance hall. The histories say he had a young and attractive wife. After the murders he fled to the Pacific Northwest where he worked until his death as a result of a logging accident.

We retraced a hike we had done a few years ago up the wash and into Smith’s Water Canyon. There are a large number of cottonwoods up this canyon and, given enough time and rope, a route to Covington Flats.


The Cowboy Hot Tub was fired up a few days in a row. It’s a great way to relax in the evening.

 

[profdlp]

Great post, as always.

 

[Umnak]

Anza Borrego and the Salton Sea

We left Joshua Tree for Borrego Springs and some time with friends who have a house there. For years we have heard the phrase, “Borrego Midnight” referring to the 9:00 pm shut down of pretty much everything and everyone in the little desert town. We’ve used it to advocate for, or defend that hour as bed-time on kayaking or backpacking trips. Over the past few months we’ve sometimes found it a challenge to reach Borrego Midnight before setting up the bed in the van.


Anza Borrego Park is large, the campground is nice, though offering little shelter, and the hiking trails lead out of the parking lot.

We hiked with friends for a few days, first up the Canyon to the Palm Grove then a longer trail which gave us a great view of the desert. Later, Eve and I borrowed some fat tire bikes and did a long loop around the area. It has a different terrain and feel than Joshua Tree, and seems as though it would be a good place to spend more time.


The mountains around the park were not going to get us a good early morning look at the lunar eclipse, so we drove to the east side of the Salton Sea and camped there for the night.

The Salton Sea is a very strange place. It was created by accident in the early 20th C, as a result of an engineering mishap which allowed the Colorado River to pour over a dike and into the area, which is below sea level. It is slowly dying as seemingly are most of communities surrounding its waters.

The morning of the eclipse was clear and we were sipped tea while we watched the moon

 

[profdlp]

Beautiful shots!

I had read something about the Salton Sea business a while back. There are also several short documentaries on the subject on youtube.

 

[Umnak]

Mojave

We left the Salton Sea and headed north east toward the Mojave, stopping at the Amboy Crater along the way. The crater is impressive. It looms large over a scattering of lava left by the eruption, which occurred about 80,000 years ago.

Just beyond the crater is Roy’s Amboy Cafe and Motel. A classic Route 66 compound.


We passed the guy who wants to take his home-made rocket into space, and stopped in the hopes that his scheduled flight would take place. However, that day saw the second failed attempt. Since then he did mange to propel himself across the scrub desert using the steam powered rocket sponsored by the Flat Earth Society.

The Mojave Preserve is complex place with varied plants and terrain. We had come through on our way south last fall and wanted to spend a few more days exploring the region. This time we stayed at the campground near Hole in the Wall. A lot of petroglyphs are in the desert just for looking. We were told to explore around rock outcrops and washes to find them.




There are a lot of good trails leading out of there including the eponymous route that requires the use of two set of steel rings to ascend back out of the canyon.

The walk around Barber Peak provided a variety of landforms and plants. Volcanic tuff peaks out from underneath the newer darker stones like sheets from under a duvet at the trailhead northeast of the campground.


The southwest portion of the walk included a large area of abundant barrel cactus plants.


We also walked a two-track to Gold Valley Mine then over a saddle to a couple of dry wells that appeared on our older topo map. Large rock piles, similar to those in Joshua Tree were in this part of the Preserve.



Selling the Sprinter became a reality at this campground as we decided we really need a truck with 4WD to travel the Mojave Trail. The Sprinter has taken us to many places, but I wouldn’t expect it to make that route.

 

[Ashton]

It is kind of neat to see the sprinter for sale post, then read about what lead to the decision later. Hope you guys keep up the awesome travels, and may be we'll cross paths someday, as the lady and I are nearing our goal!

 

[Umnak]

To the Coast

We left the Mojave for the coast, with a few stops in between. First to the Trail of the Giants in the Sequia National Forest. The trail was shown to be closed on a sign as we drove out of Kernville, CA where we had spent the night in an “RV Resort” along the river. We were one of two rigs in the lot, and at $55 a night it isn’t surprising. The nearby Forest Service campgrounds were closed and we had driven almost 500 miles.

The closed sign was wrong and the Sequias are giants. Eve looks like a doll against one of the trees with an opening.

We spent a couple of nights on the west side of the Sierras in Corps of Engineers campgrounds. The campground at Eastman Lake was worth the drive. Again, very few people and lots of hiking trails.

Then we went to the coast after a night in Sacramento visiting a friend. A stop along the Trinity River gave us a short drive to the beach at Gold Bluffs. We saw an eagle carrying a skunk as we left that morning and decided it was a good omen. That’s the nice thing about auguries, unless there is a Druid around, one can decide what they mean on your own.

Gold Bluffs in January is wonderful. We had a great campsite on the beach and across from the wifi tower at the bathrooms. The beach walking is easy, and the trails in the forest are plentiful.

We hiked 7 miles each day along the well used and solidly built trails through the Redwoods.




Roosevelt Elk were everywhere, even at the bathhouse.

Heading north into Oregon brought colder temperatures and rain. Four nights at two coast campgrounds — Humbug Mt and Cape Lookout — slowed us down enough to realize we would be arriving in Port Townsend ahead of schedule.

After a night in Astoria, where 3 years before we had stayed on our way from Austin with the van, we moved into Washington State and Cape Disappointment. Washington State will be our home for the foreseeable future, and this was a good way to move into the state. Our first day was warm and sunny, on the second it snowed.

We arrived at our house in Port Townsend late February and stayed there through mid April. 

The Cabin on the Road was passed on to new owners, who had flown in from Georgia for the sale. It has been a great three years with the van and we look forward to what comes next.

But first, we wanted to get to know Vancouver Island, and so made arrangement for a 6 week stay mid island in the small community of Bowser.

 

[Umnak]

Vancouver Island

Our last few months of the three year road trip were spent in the small coastal community of Bowser, British Columbia. My father was born in Nova Scotia, Eve’s great-grandfather was a Mountie and her grandfather born in Saskatchewan. We would like to move to Canada but since we don’t have someone chasing us across the border, or any desire to start a business in the country, we have little chance of passing through the emigration hoops.

We rented a house close to the Salish Sea thinking that a long stay would help us acclimate to the Northwest while her parents pack up for their move out of our house and into one of their own.

Bowser is north of Nanaimo and south of Courtney. The trees were bare when we arrived and the fiddle heads hadn’t begun to unfurl. The snow was low on the mountains. We used the heat a lot the first couple of weeks. That all changed in late April with the coming of a hard and fast spring. Maple leaves seemed to grow in front of our eyes. The ground softened on the trails and Trillium flowers appeared along the forest paths.


Late rising black bears slogged slowly along the Big Qualacum River turning over rocks and logs looking for food. We chased a couple of the away on a few hikes. And the birds began to sing.

We were fortunate to find extensive and varied hiking trails nearby in the Nile Creek and Big Qualacum River drainage systems.


The owners of the house lived on the beach below us. They cleared some space for our kayaks and we launched from there to explore Denman and Hornby Islands. The Chrome Island Lighthouse has keepers living on the site. We also paddled north into Mud Bay. Seas were generally calm and currents not too bad. The tides took some getting used to and, given the rocky beach where we launched, often made the decision between hiking and kayaking an easy one.




Our days were easy. A long breakfast then either a 5-7 mile hike or a 3-5 hour paddling trip followed by a hot shower and some good coffee on the deck. We tried a couple of the local restaurants and found one were the drive. Most of the time I cooked and was happy to have fresh vegetable and excellent meat and seafood available from the local store.


We arrived back in Port Townsend the first week of June. Eve’s parents had bought a house near by and we were ready to help them move out of our house and into theirs.

It has been a remarkable trip, and one we couldn’t have done without Eve’s parents help by house sitting for us these past few years.

Now that we are settled, we have bought a truck. It’s a 2013 GMC Sierra with off road package and extra payload. And soon it will carry the new Cabin on the Road, which will be a Capri Retreat Camper.

 

[Umnak]

A few pictures of our new Cabin on the Road. We're heading to Montana soon to have in installed. I enjoyed working with Capri Campers during the build. Communication was easy and thorough. I received photographs each day of the build, culminating with the ones shown here. The Retreat is their 6.5' model with their heater, sink and 10 gallon tank. We kept accessories to a minimun, so it weighs just around 1300 lbs dry.









They had no problem finding a place to install the 50qt. ARB fridge, even suggesting a hinged countertop to make access easier. While we could have put the Fridge under a bench with a folding top, that would have meant finding a new home for the porta-poti, which was a must for Eve. I wouldn't be surprised to see Capri shuffle their interior options to better accommodate an ARB in the near future.

 

[Umnak]

Truck Camper


We drove 750 miles to Bozeman, MT in order to pick up our new Truck Camper. The installation was fairly simple, though the odd angle of the GMC Sierra’s bed toward the tailgate required the installer to place some blocks on the bottom of the camper in order so to raise it above the offending bump. That means we have a place for our tarp poles under the camper.



Our first night with the new Cabin on the Road was spent at a BLM campground near Norris, MT on the Madison River. It’s a nice campground, and was less than half occupied the week before Labor Day.


The camper is very comfortable. The space seems larger than the dimensions would have you believe. Not having a table has opened up the sitting area and galley. The always made bed, out of the way over the cab, expands the visual space, even if it is a bit of a tight squeeze when the forward sleeper needs to get out of bed to pee in the middle of the night, which she does a couple of times each camp. The cabinet space is more than adequate. The ARB fridge is fantastic - it seldom turn on and when it does, takes little time or energy to push down the temperature.

The truck handled the weight — we are just at GVWR — exceptionally well. The Timbrens and sway bar provided all the support we needed on all kinds of roads and when maneuvering two tracks and exiting parking lots. The Sprinter would stumble out of curbed driveways until we added a sway bar. The 5.3l engine and Allison Transmission pushed us over the Continental Divide, Lolo Pass, Washington and Rainy Passes with no difficulty. We kept up to speed (65mph) in 5th, then 4th on the steeper grades. The cruise control and tow/haul breaking made for a comfortable ride on the down hill sides. I’ve never owned a truck before and those that I drove in the past were not as sophisticated as the GMC Sierra.


We spent a Wednesday night ( Nudie Night to our great fortune) at Lolo Hot Springs on the Idaho side of the Bitterroot Mts. Route 12, which connects Missoula with Lewiston, is a motorcyclist dream with over 100 miles of twists and turns. The next few nights were spent near the natural hot springs of Weir and Jerry Johnson. There are multiple pools at both places, and we found the ones farthest away from the road to be the most welcoming. The historical Ranger's Station along Rt 12 is worth a visit.


We have friends who live in Orofino and stopped there for the Labor Day weekend. Our two night stay extended to three with a punctured tire as we were leaving on Labor Day. The local Les Schwab was closed for the holiday. I’ve not been to a Les Schwab before and was very impressed with them. They don’t sell Goodyear tires, so were not able to buy a new one to replace the tire that had punctured — it turned out to be a catastrophic failure caused by a large sharp rock. The manager asked one of the employees to check the pile of tires out back for a Wrangler and within minutes we were back on the road with a matching Goodyear tire with what appeared to be just a few thousand miles more use than the others on the truck. The spare is a serviceable tire, but sits on a 17” rim and while the size of the tire brought it to the same level as the rest, I didn’t want to have to deal with that!


We weren’t charged for the tire, just the mounting and balancing.


From Orofino we headed north to Sun Meadow near Couer d’ Alene for a night, then across Washington to Lake Diablo in the northern Cascades. The fires were smoking up the mountains and we decided to head home rather than suck in any more fumes.

 

[greenenvy1]

Awesome journey. Just read the entire thread over past 3 days. Thanks for documenting this.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Umnak]

Western Washington

The Olympic Peninsula has a lot of interesting spots to explore. We’ve had two camping trips with the new Cabin on the Road since returning with it in early September on the opposite sides of the peninsula.



First was at the Staircase Campground within the Olympic National Park. The campground is along the Skokomish river before it is impounded by Lake Cushman, and 16 miles from Hood Canal. There are some good trails for short walks near the campground, and it also is a major route into the extensive trail system within the Forest and Park.


It rained hard while we were there. I had put a tarp on the back of the camper to provide some shelter. The eye bolts installed by Capri made setting the tarp pretty easy. We kept a few windows open a crack to reduce condensation and it seemed to work well.



We also tried the catalytic heater for the first time, which cranked out enough warmth in just a few minutes to take the chill off the wet evening.

A week later we met friends from Juneau on the Pacific side of the Peninsula in La Push. The Quileute people have a Campground for R.V.s on the beach near the mouth of the river and next to the school. Our friends had camped here a few years ago and wanted to repeat the experience. It’s a ”resort” campground, with an ocean and beach partially redeeming the flat and open space of the drive-through camp sites.



Our Truck camper seemed like a bit out of place among the larger trailers and class A vehicles.
Still, there was a beach and we had not seen our friends for a long time. It was good.

It blew hard for about 24 hours, and the wind brought a significant amount of rain. Our friends have been with us on most of our long sea-kayaking trips in Southeast Alaska, and we have spent many days weathered in under tarps and near a fire. We agreed that the truck campers are a significant improvement over a tarp for comfort.


The Capri took the wind well and kept us dry and the heater kept us warm. We won’t be adding a dining table to the camper, instead using this small folding one which has met our needs for more than three years on the road.


A visit to hot springs in Central Oregon is next on the shake-down tour, beginning October.

 

[Arjan]

Please keep the write up coming !

Love the read - and a very nice truck....

Pity I can't have one in Europe...

 

[Umnak]

Capri Retreat Review Part 1

We’ve had the Capri Retreat for almost 2 months, and have spent about half that time with it on the road in a variety of weather and places. With that, it seems that an initial review is in order.



Background: Our previous road trip vehicle was a 2006 Sportsmobile Sprinter. We sold the Sprinter after 3 years on the road as we were moving into a permanent residence and wanted something that could take its place and serve as a second vehicle. The idea of a truck camper came from the need for a rig that we could use anywhere we wanted to go, and especially those places we felt couldn’t be handled by the Sprinter. The 4x4 Sprinters that had come to market during our road trip were very expensive and as long as our TN1. 4x4 domestic vans were hard to find and with the whole #vanlife thing having emerged during the past few years, also too expensive.

I drooled over a few Defender 110s with a pop-up but the reality of living on the wrong side of the world from the parts store and mechanics held sway over that decision.
We moved away from soft-sided pop-ups because of the cold and wet conditions in which we will be using the camper for a part of the year. As luck would have it, the truck camper we had hoped to purchase — Pastime — decided to close it doors the week we wanted to place an order. I recalled reading some good things about Capri and decided to give them a call and see what we could build. I’m so happy it turned out that way.

Capri makes unique truck campers and they make them well.

Overview: We like the truck camper, a lot. But it’s not just the camper, it’s also the truck. The 4x4 GMC Sierra with the 6 speed Alison Transmission and haul/tow package is a work horse. And a comfortable one at that. The camper sits nicely on the truck. At 7’ it’s longer than the bed, but doesn’t stick out over the bumper. The truck’s length is 18.5’ which makes two tracks and winding roads simple to maneuver. The camper’s width is perfect for hauling, as it doesn’t require the truck to add extended side-view mirrors. The height of the camper and the truck is just about what we were used to in the Sprinter at 9’6”.

It’s comfortable inside without a table, though I’m not sure it would be with one always in place. There is enough room for me to prepare a meal and have two people sitting on the comfortable cushions provided by Capri. The always made bed is a huge advantage over our Sprinter, whose bed had to be stolen each night from the settee.

Storage is more than adequate for two minimalists like us. We had more than enough space for food and gear on our recent 2 week trip.


Build: The company provides a great deal of options and is very easy to work with. Communication during the build was exceptional, with daily progress emails and photographs. Our Retreat has no shower, water heater, stove top or table. Capri was willing to install our ARB 50 quart fridge and, as it being the first one they had ever done, figured out a good place to put it and keep it viable for easy removal. Options we chose included a 10 gal water tank, house battery, fantastic fan, a few extra windows, and catalytic heater. We also bought a Dometic portable toilet from Capri who has a great storage spot for it when not in use.

Capri offers a number of interior finishes. I chose pecan as it seemed the lightest in color and it paired well with the wooden cabinet doors and walls. The exterior of any Capri can be customized by the owner. Our’s is silver with black stripes and a red accent line. Looks nice on the black truck.

Fit and finish are good overall. Everything is neat and trim. There were a few exposed screw points in storage areas and one of the cabinet doors would scrape the ceiling when the camper roof heated up from the sun ( which seems to expand the roof and ceiling). The overall feel is comfortable and authentic. There are no plastic fittings or molding. The cushions and mattress are of good quality. The Retreat feels solid and weathers rough roads well. It’s also pretty cool looking and has the same puppy appeal as our Sportsmobile did in the first couple of years on the road.

I like the turnbuckle system that is inside the truck bed and camper. We have had no problems with the camper moving on the bed and the lack of external ties and turnbuckles gives a clean look to the rig.

If my math is correct the camper weighs a bit over 1300 lbs, which puts us a little over gvwr, but with LT tires, sway bar and Timbrens it doesn’t impact performance or driving. We are getting 18mpg without the camper and 14mpg with it installed.

Counters and cabinets:
The sink is deep and holds everything you need for a sink while traveling. There is sufficient room for our Snow Peak Baja stove — with the propane canister sitting securely in the sink — as well as counter top for food prep. That portion of the counter is hinged to allow access to the ARB fridge, something Capri worked out and executed well. We use the cabinets above the stove for light food storage. A basket below the sink holds drink and food cans.

The large cabinet that would have housed the Capri fridge was built with three shelves, two of which are used for utensils, a pot, pan and stove. Toiletries and other small items take the top shelf. These could hold more if needed, but we hope that doesn’t happen.

A long cabinet with three doors on the starboard side of the camper holds our clothing and some electronic gear. Again, we could put a lot more in these.

Capri has two very simple convenience storage areas as part of their standard build. A small shelf under the large cabinet, which would normally house the Capri fridge, holds the stuff in your pockets during the night. A phone shelf with accompanying 12v and usb ports is a great addition, and increases the sound and especial the base from our iPhones. I do wish the phone rack was placed a bit higher and toward the rear to reduce the chances of banging one’s head if sleeping on that side of the camper. Maybe I’ll move it.

 

[Umnak]

Capri Retreat Review Part 2

Eating and Hanging Out
The Baja stove does a good job, and since I’ve been making one pot/pan meals for the past few years of travel, is all we will ever need. I’ve even figured out a way to make cous cous in the same pan as a stir fry.


Our REI small folding table sits easily on the starboard bench allowing us to sit across from each other while eating. As noted above, a large table in this small of a camper would be a hindrance. I would consider a folding table and store it in the space we currently hold our Snow Peak fireplace and grill, but I couldn’t have both, and so we will stick with small bench top table.

The two sitting benches are comfortable for leaning against the starboard wall. The camper is very nice with the heat on and a cup of tea nearby.

Lights:
The led lights are too bright. There are too many of them in the small camper. I’m going to install a switch on the house lights mounted under the starboard cabinet so we don’t have to have so much light! Typically, we use the recessed lights in the sleeping are on in the evening and have seldom turned on the house lights. The kitchen lights are also bright, and provide more than enough for prep and cooking. There is one overhead 110v light that is enough to cover the entire cabin when on shore power.

Heat/Vent
The fantastic fan is a powerhouse. It pulls air from an open window and makes a nice airflow. The Wave 6 heater does the job well, though we seem to have a propane leak somewhere and so I have to go outside to turn it off at the source after warming the camper. I bought some foil-clad insulation to protect the fridge from the heat, and it is surprisingly effective.

Our Sprinter didn’t have any propane service and if I had a diesel truck this one wouldn’t either. An Espar heater would be more expensive but would avoid the potential hazards of propane.

The windows are single pane and easily form condensation. A couple of them are difficult to close but they do close and keep the rain out. I would not order the one that faces the truck’s rear window. It provides no view and just makes the cabin colder. We’ve put the window cover over it and it will probably never come off.

The LPG compartment was a tight fit for the 20lb tank that came with the Retreat. I bought a 10lb tank and am able to store a hose, cord, fire pot and tarp in the space now.

ARB:
The compression style fridge seldom turns on, and when it does only takes 10-15 minutes to return to the set temperature, which we keep at 36f. The chest design keeps items colder than what we had in the Sprinter.

If Capri is going to offer installing more ARBs or Engle fridges I would have them consider moving the location of the fridge to the floor, either in the current water tank location or under the bench that houses the portable toilet. That does, of course beg the question as to where those essential items would be placed. I think switching the water tank with the battery, and then moving the battery under the sink could work. A hinged top for the ARB would serve as the step to the bed. This would allow for a much needed drawer under the counter top.

Battery/charger/converter: The toilet came with 6 pages of unnecessary instructions ( I had an employee who sent out a "how to take a dump" email once, he didn't last very long after that), there was no documentation provided for the battery charging systems and converter. I’ve just recently learned that what we were doing to charge the battery — turning the system to the off position while driving — isn’t correct, and now drive with the system in the “on” position. There is no brand name on the charger/converter so I can’t research this issue myself. I’m still not sure what happens when I have the system off and the camper on shore power. I need an electrical engineer, or a couple of pieces of paper. UPDATE: I now know the ways of the switch. Thanks to Expedition Portal member Tom LivinDaDream


Sleeping The mattress is great and Eve likes sleeping against the forward bulkhead. I might relocate the phone rack to allow for a more open view from bed by moving our head away from the side of the large cabinet.


Tarp vs Awning:
Capri doesn’t include an awning in their option package, and that, in and of itself, is a reason to buy one from them. We slept, ate and hung around under tarps in a rain forest for the past 20 years (and another 10 in the high arctic before that). Capri does offer options for eye bolts attached to the camper. We went the full round and had four installed, two on the back and two on the starboard side of the truck. I’ve been using my 6 ounce 5’x8’ solo tarp to cover the back door and provide a space out of the rain or sun.

We will be doing some winter camping over the coming months and I’ll do a 6 month review in the spring.