Week 3: Utah, Colorado, and Friends

For my third week on the road, I was planning to explore Utah a bit more on my way to meet up with friends for a week in Western Colorado. The drive from Monument Valley to Moab was absolutely stunning! I couldn't believe the beautiful red mesa's all around, and it made my trip up to Moab absolutely fly by. There was a high wind warning, but Hank the Tank handled everything like a pro and other than lots of dust in the Airstream, I found a free spot about 25-30 minutes north of Moab to hunker down for a few nights.

On my drive toward Moab

When I went to unhook Hank from the Airstream, the OTHER hook (see Week 1) wouldn't come off and I couldn't work the pin as easily. Learning from my lessons, I waited until there was less wind the next morning to problem solve. Much to my delight, I figured it out that next morning, looked up an Ace Hardware in Moab to switch out the pins, and gave myself an "atta girl"!

I checked the forecast for the day as I wanted to explore Arches National Park while I was in Moab and everything looked great. Charlie Brown and I crawled into the truck and made our way into town. As we were getting closer, there was a bit of rain but it breezed by quickly. Just as I was pulling into the Park, a huge rock came screaming its way toward the windshield and gave Hank his first boo boo. I was so bummed, and yet - these things happen on the road, don't they? Par for the course.

Hank’s first boo boo

Arches was gorgeous but chilly after that quick rain, and as I got deeper into the park I saw some major storm clouds heading our way. I didn't get to hike and explore as much as I wanted and made my way quickly through the big highlights. I realized this was one of those parks where I'd really like to explore with friends so I won't annoy unknown strangers with my squeals of, "Oh my gosh, isn't this…WOW!" I kept an eye on the weather, including looking at the spot where the Airstream was parked, and the rain was forecast as minimal over the next hour.

You can look online for better pics than I took at Arches. Instead, I present Charlie Brown at Arches ;)

As I made my way back, however, Mother Nature had her own ideas. I was driving through an absolute downpour and I came back home to a muddy, muddy, muddy mess. I had to carry Chuckie B. from the truck to the Airstream, collecting globs of heavy mud on my hiking shoes along the way.

The muddy mess

The muddy shoe aftermath

For the rest of the evening, the rain never stopped and I started getting nervous about being able to get out of there the next day. I texted an SOS to the Friends Hotline and was assured this was typical desert weather and that it would dry quickly. Ahhhhh, life on the road! So, I did what anyone else would do: binged on Netflix. I said it. I watched TV, and I'd do it again.

My friends were absolutely right, and we pulled out of our spot to meet up with some of them for vacation in Western Colorado (just outside Grand Junction). We had planned this trip back in Jan/Feb and I am so incredibly elated that we did! It's been almost a year since I've been around my people and it has been absolutely heart and soul filling! We've been hanging out outside, playing (watching) badminton, sharing stories around the campfire, doing morning yoga…and accompanying me to get my first vaccine dose (yayyyyy!). Charlie Brown has become borderline obsessed with one of my dearest friends, and he runs over to her camper every morning to say hello.

For more than two weeks, I'm in one spot at a very pretty RV Park on the Colorado River, overlooking a winery (total cost: $732 for 16 nights). I wasn't sure how I'd feel staying in one place for so long, and also paying that much but I'll tell you a little secret: it's kinda nice! There are full hook-ups, so I don't have to track my solar power and stress about water and propane every day. It's great to be near a good-sized city to grab necessities, yet still in an area where we can hike and explore. Oh, and showers and laundry! I'm still going to try to find as many free campsites as possible, but I like the idea of weaving in a good RV Park every so often (as long as we aren't packed in like sardines - ugh).

My view!

Until next week, here are a few highlights from this one. Please share my blog with others if you're enjoying reading, and let me know if there is anything you're curious about and want to see more of. Thank you so, so much for reading!