All the stuff of August

I have to laugh because if I don't I might cry!

I have been telling myself I will sit down and write an update on this blog and I don't. I think I will, then I won't.

Well, about 15 minutes ago, I decided to just sit down and write. It might not have been the greatest post but I would do it.

And I did. 

Then...? 

I went to write my send off and BAM! just like that it was all gone. WTH!? I saved it as I went and blah blah blah...and went back to the draft...gone....just gone.

So, here I sit again trying to conjure up enough mental energy to try it again.

Please bear with me.

We were able to stay in, or around, Zion for about 8-10 days before the heat totally got to us. We were able to get up to the iffy spot, that we had driven to one day but ended up turning around due to no emergency turn around spot and the road being a little too dicey for us. We found a "back entrance" into the same area, Smithsonian Butte Backcountry Byway, and were able to get to an amazing mountain top spot for about 2-3 days. 

We loved the spot but the temperatures were getting pretty unbearable, ranging anywhere from 105-115 during the day and dropping to the mid to low 90's at night. 

We finally made the call one day and decided to head back to Arizona where the weather was much more livable and the gas and food prices would become normal again.

We will have to see when Zion will become part of our journey again but for this year, it's out...too bad for us because it's just so beautiful.

It was a long day drive back to Northern Arizona but it was a beautiful drive that we had never done before, plus we have A/C so that was a really nice treat for all four of us!

The drive took us around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and while we didn't see the actual Grand Canyon we were able to see the surroundings and the one town of Marble Canyon and it was all very cool. 

Very glad we have a reliable vehicle and (now) trailer, because there were hundreds of miles where we didn't see anything at all, even other cars!

I had noticed the sky seemed to be pretty hazy but wasn't sure if it was due to a sandstorm on the way (or way out) or if there was a fire close or far away.

The haziness got thicker and thicker as we drove and by the time we were about 100 miles away from Flagstaff found out there was definitely a fire burning. We were hoping everyone was okay and that they weren't closing the Forests at this point.

We drove until dark that night and were able to drive to a spot we had camped at three years ago up by Marshall Lake. It was good to be back in the state we love so much along with familiar landmarks and camp spots! 

In the morning Jamie decided he was going to go scout out some spots to see if we could tuck up in a little better, but ended up coming back saying we already had a great spot. So we stayed for a couple of weeks.

Savannah even remembered the little mice that taunted her years ago in this tree! Smart lil doggie!

Forgetting that it was Monsoon season in Arizona, we had about 3-4 days of super heavy, crazy down pour rains that would literally knock your socks off if you've never been in a storm like that! The rain was so heavy the second night that we had to turn the TV up to volume 50 (the highest it goes) and a tree had fallen during the night that we didn't even hear, probably due to the rain hitting the van so hard.

We woke up to this:

 

We had a conversation about this exact tree a day or two before, saying we were amazed that the tree was still standing...a day later, it was on the ground! Oops, guess we jinxed it! 

Most of the time we were there, we spent a lot of time in the van because the ground turns into a big mud soup of mess. Take a look for yourself.

You can see the huge rocks piled on top of the rebar stakes due to the ground turning into mush, this was another morning...

The stakes just pulled right up out of the ground...I guess if a tree fell we should have known better, but just weren't thinking of the strength of the Monsoons. So we fixed it with a few huge boulders and that was the end of the problems with the awning!

We did get a few things taken care of while there, between the rains and winds of course. I took the tint off of my passenger window due to it becoming blurry over the years. With this being the only window the dogs stick their heads out of, it got pretty bad over the years to where we couldn't even see out of the middle of the window...so it had to come off. It only took a couple of hours with some dish soap, water, a razor blade and some elbow grease. Now, it's clear as day and ready for some more tint!

The night before we left, I went for a little ride on my scoot and ended up taking my first 'real' dive on it. Actually it was more like a wobble, dive, skid. It hurt and I got hurt but, now almost a month later, I'm almost healed. Luckily, I had on most of my gear sans gloves and even though I got hurt, it could have been a lot worse. I learned a couple of huge lessons in many things on that ride; 1-wear your gear, all of it and always 2- Slow down 3- Shade and pot holes look devilishly the same. My scoot got a little banged up as well but nothing I can't buff out.

This was my left thigh a few days later...

I'm almost healed 100% but my thigh hasn't caught up with the group of hurties yet and is still sore and I can't sleep on that side yet....but I'm getting there.

Needless to say, the next day packing up wasn't the most fun I've ever had, because my hands were pretty banged up due to no gloves, but we got it done and I'm just so glad all of that part of the pain is over.

I think that puts us pretty much where we are now, so I'm going to log off for the night before I lose this post too!

See you again soon.

Stay safe and safe travels.

'til next time....

PEACE

 

The Days Dwindle Down

The weather is changing. We are wearing more jeans, boots and jackets. The leaves are turning beautiful colors and falling off the trees. It's definitely the season of change and change is exactly what we need!

Our time is coming to a close here in North Georgia, we've got about 2 weeks left and we'll be back on the road, living our lives again.

In the past month, we have gone through our stuff that sat in a moldy 'grave' for the past two years, sold some of it, thrifted the stuff that didn't sell and threw away the rest.

These next two weeks are all about buttoning up; putting furniture back (due to renting a fully furnished place), making sure everything fits where we are expecting it to and preparing ourselves for a life back on the road.

This time around we are doing things a little differently and we are both pretty excited about the change. While talking to each other, a few months back about what our plans were for getting back on the road, we both were getting major heartburn over the stuff inside of the van aka our living space. I think for two peeps & two pups we do pretty well with a small area but we are always shuffling tons of stuff around at different parts of the day to make for more room. The things we don't have on the inside of the van usually sit up in the cargo basket on-top, making it very of difficult to get to and it's actually just a really big pain in the butt! When we park, we would put everything from the "living room" into the driver seat and down in the pedal area, making it about a half hour of puzzle building with the toilet paper going here and these books going there, etc. It became a very big and daunting process and needed some rethinking. We would, of course, love to have a bigger rig to stand up in and be able to move around more easily, but right now the van is what we have, so we tossed around ideas to make the van more liveable for all of us. We finally came to a decision of getting a trailer, nothing huge or big, but enough to take the stuff off the top and out of the living space of the van. We talked about it for a few days before going through with it and we are both totally stoked about it. When we received it, Jamie built it out and then added some things to make it more suitable for our travel needs; putting pressure treated plywood down and some I-hooks for straps. It's a beaut!!

The measurements are 40 in. x 48 in. and it can carry about 1,200 lbs. We also bought a double hitch since we have the bikes too.

It's going to be interesting to see everything put together. We now have the van, the trailer, two bicycles, one dirt bike, one scooter and a partridge in a pear tree! haha

We bought a cute lil' scooter, an 80cc Honda Elite, for me. I will be taking a two day motorcycle class so I can get a motorcycle endorsement on my license... That in itself should be interesting since I've only 'driven' a bicycle!! I may have to get a little basket on the back so Chili Moon can ride in style! haha

We will be making a small detour, to Florida, to spend some time with family & friends before heading back West, but we are totally ready to get back to the life we live so well on the road.

Great things are happening and before we know it, this whole stix 'n' bricks in North Georgia thing will just be a blur...

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Crazy the things life throws at ya!

PEACE