9 apr Sunday Moki Dugway to Petrified Forest/Painted Desert to Coconino National Forest.
Jeff and I agreed to shoot for leaving at 8a.m. I was about 10 minutes late, but mostly successful
We
drove out from camp and down the switch backs of Moki Dugway. had to
pull over a few times for cars driving up, but wasn’t horrible.it can be
scary. narrow road and cliffs of doom. (sorry Mom)
it was an
uneventful 4 hour drive after that to the Petrified Forest/Painted
Desert National Park. Jeff and I ate from our campers in the Visitor
Parking lot, like proper dirtbags. jk. i was the only dirtbag
because my kitchen is the tailgate of my truck. i also was using the
tiny backpacking style Kilos Gear chair I have. You have to have the
leg strength to do a proper squat to sit down into it, or to get back
up, but it’ll support 325lbs. It’s about 2lbs and sits lower than most
camping chairs, but I discovered it’s perfect to use when airing down/
airing up my tires. it just got a promotion. lol previously I was
using it as a footrest most of the time.
anyway, the painted desert stops were very pretty, more pinks and reds than other similar formations that i’ve seen.
the
petrified forest was interesting. i’m a dumbass because I thought
there’d be more stumps, but it just looks like logs cut up for firewood
strewn all about.
Drove to Winslow arizona (such a fine sight to see) stocked up at their Walmart.
Got
a new bluetooth keyboard for $20, so I’m back in blogging action.
also got a $6 wire style vertical paper towel holder that i tied to the
rear GFC tailgate windows corner brace. i’ll take a photo in the
morning. but it works well and it’s not at risk of hitting the glass.
also got a short power strip for the electric kitchen gadgets. the
only one I have to unplug is the mymini skillet, it doesn’t have an off
switch. the rest of my gadgets can stay plugged into the strip, which
will be nice.
On the way into Winslow, didn’t make it across the
train tracks before the gates came down, but I got to see a BSNF line
pass by. FOUR engines were at the front pulling a long line of double
stacked shipping containers. there were 2 engines at the rear facing
the rearwards.
on the way out of town, actually saw the standing
on a corner spot mentioned in the Eagles song. thanks to Jeff for point
it out.
anyway, drove into Coconino looking for a camp spot.
found a turnout which will suffice. drove in a rough jeep trail.
along the ridge we saw some elk. Jeff used his spotlight to point out
a few.
tomorrow we’ll explore more and find something better, camp wise..
too
hot for the heater right now, but I’ll need it in the wee hours of the
morning. i just wait to wake up cold then turn it on. otherwise the
GFC is like a sauna if I run it before going to bed. I’ve got it set
to the lowest setting too. good problem to have vs the other
possibility
Tomorrow will be a high of 70 something and Tuesday
mid 80’s, but first thing in the morning it’s been 30F or less. that’s
desert life. stays warm for a few hours after sundown, but the heat
rapidly goes away overnight.
anyway, been a very long day. it’s
only 8:30 right now, but feels like 9:30 seeing how we were back on MT
time the last few days.
12+ hours of being on the move today, but it feels good.
time for pj’s and will watch some tablet tv. good night.
