raoulduke101
New member
My work schedule is such that planning trips far out is difficult, but occasionally something gets canceled or postponed and I have a few free days. This very thing happened the last weekend of September. I had just purchased a new-to-me '17 200 Series Land Cruiser, so I decided to seize the opportunity and take the rig out west for a "sea trial" of sorts. The first step on these trips is to find a willing accomplice, because they are just more fun when you can share the experience with good company. I knew this was going to be a challenge because I literally put the trip together on about 24-hours' notice. My usual accomplice, my son, was in school and could not accompany me. Nevertheless, a good friend with a flexible schedule and understanding wife agreed to accompany me on a 5-day blitz through UT and Colorado. I called him Wednesday evening and told him I could be ready to leave the following afternoon on Thursday. He agreed, and by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, 9/26, we were headed west on I-10 from San Antonio.
My original plan was to make Roswell, NM around 1:00 a.m. and then camp for a few hours in the Mescalero Sand Dunes just outside town. We made great time to NM and, rolling past the Dunes, we both felt great and decided to press on through the night, alternating drivers to burn through the less scenic parts of the drive. After switching off every 100 miles or so, we made Gallup, NM just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was about 95 degrees when we left San Antonio, and the cool, crisp 55-degree morning in Gallup was a welcome change. We provisioned up at Wal-Mart and began heading north toward Utah.
We made Bluff, UT by around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, stocked up on beer (albeit 4.0% beer) and ice, and pushed onward. My buddy had never been to Southern Utah before, so I figured that a trip up the Moki Dugway would be a good introduction into this awesome landscape.
After climbing the Dugway, our goal was to explore some of the canyons in the area. We found a suitable one that involved a number of small stream crossings, but it was pretty tight and I immediately suffered my first bit of fender rash. Not quite ready to beat up my rig yet, I decided to turn around and start heading further west.
Our next stop was the Hite Marina for one last fuel top-off and a quick look at Lake Powell.
From Hite, we left the pavement and headed into Glen Canyon NRA. I had a campsite reserved closer to the Maze District for the following evening, but we had no reservations or firm plan for this night. GCNRA did not disappoint.
After a few miles, we found a campsite with great views that suited us just fine.
The winds began to kick up as the sun went down. Having gotten very little sleep the past night, we each decided to turn in early. I was asleep by 9:00 p.m.
To be continued....
My original plan was to make Roswell, NM around 1:00 a.m. and then camp for a few hours in the Mescalero Sand Dunes just outside town. We made great time to NM and, rolling past the Dunes, we both felt great and decided to press on through the night, alternating drivers to burn through the less scenic parts of the drive. After switching off every 100 miles or so, we made Gallup, NM just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was about 95 degrees when we left San Antonio, and the cool, crisp 55-degree morning in Gallup was a welcome change. We provisioned up at Wal-Mart and began heading north toward Utah.
We made Bluff, UT by around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, stocked up on beer (albeit 4.0% beer) and ice, and pushed onward. My buddy had never been to Southern Utah before, so I figured that a trip up the Moki Dugway would be a good introduction into this awesome landscape.
After climbing the Dugway, our goal was to explore some of the canyons in the area. We found a suitable one that involved a number of small stream crossings, but it was pretty tight and I immediately suffered my first bit of fender rash. Not quite ready to beat up my rig yet, I decided to turn around and start heading further west.
Our next stop was the Hite Marina for one last fuel top-off and a quick look at Lake Powell.
From Hite, we left the pavement and headed into Glen Canyon NRA. I had a campsite reserved closer to the Maze District for the following evening, but we had no reservations or firm plan for this night. GCNRA did not disappoint.
After a few miles, we found a campsite with great views that suited us just fine.
The winds began to kick up as the sun went down. Having gotten very little sleep the past night, we each decided to turn in early. I was asleep by 9:00 p.m.
To be continued....
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running the Moab 240.