8 National Parks in 3 weeks with lots of pics

A

alano

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It took a while to process this all and used Google blogs for the first time but here is the TR of our recent excursion in our Hawk.

We usually go to the desert in the early spring / late winter, but with so little rain it seemed like there wouldn't be any flowers so we reset and took our planned Fall trip to Glacier and Yellowstone in the late spring. A good friend's death delayed our departure and we ran up against theater tickets we'd purchased in October so we decided to spend a week in CA before the theater and then head up to the Rockies.

Enjoy.

http://alaneorcutt.blogspot.com/2014/07/8-national-parks-in-3-weeks-click-on.html

Alan
 
I enjoyed your report- quite a trip! Nice photos too. Your fridge must have a ton of magnets on it by now...

I laughed at your mention of dumping water into the truck when dropping the camper roof- having done that same thing myself.
 
Wonderful report. What a splendid trip. Thanks for the photos.

I think I have to do the clothesline for towels thing...
 
Just starting to read your blog (Tuolumne Mdws so far) and enjoying the read.
The humor is right there under the surface, waiting to come out. :D
 
Wonderful report.

How did you get away with outside showers? In the research that I've done on most National Parks and reading posts related to this subject, it is apparently against the rules even with eco-friendly shampoos, conditioners, and soap to disperse water on the ground. I ask because my wife has made it clear she wants to be able to shower or at least wash off when we don't have access to real showers. Our new Grandby will have an outside shower, so I'm interested in any feedback.
 
Alano, really enjoyed your trip. Maybe you or one of our members can tell me if this true about snakes. Poisonous snakes swim if the heads up and non-poison swim flat
 
Thanks for sharing, looks like a great trip.
You covered a lot of the same ground I did, but a couple of weeks before me. :)
 
Longhorn,

I've never seen any mention of a ban on dispersing water on the ground in NP CGs. Many CA State Park CGs ban it but they usually have showers. We do use the eco soap and wash our hair over a bucket to minimize the water on the ground. Perhaps I've missed something.

Adrian,

The garter snake had its head up sometimes and head under most of the time. I have no knowledge of poisonous vs non-poisonous snake swimming habits though.

MarkBC

I'll bet you had better weather. Was The Going to the Sun Road open when you were there?


Alan
 
alano said:
....
MarkBC

I'll bet you had better weather. Was The Going to the Sun Road open when you were there?


Alan
Click to expand...
The beginning of my trip had some of the same weather you did -- not rain-all-day, but afternoon showers.
The GTTS Road was still being plowed, so I didn't take in Glacier on my trip (which has yet to be Reported).
 
alano said:
Longhorn,

I've never seen any mention of a ban on dispersing water on the ground in NP CGs. Many CA State Park CGs ban it but they usually have showers. We do use the eco soap and wash our hair over a bucket to minimize the water on the ground. Perhaps I've missed something.

Adrian,

The garter snake had its head up sometimes and head under most of the time. I have no knowledge of poisonous vs non-poisonous snake swimming habits though.

MarkBC

I'll bet you had better weather. Was The Going to the Sun Road open when you were there?


Alan
Click to expand...
Thanks. If that is the case my life will be a little easier. I had thought about one of those portable shower tents until I had read some information. I will do a little more research. John
 
Alan what a great trip.All the places you got to visit brought back fond memories for us. Some we haven't been to for many many years but need to think about revisiting them.
Nice to hear you got a spot at one of our favorite spots,Pebble Creek. That area is so full on wildlife and some of it just wanders through the camp ground.
We crossed paths in the Markleyville area ,we were headed to Grover Hot Springs on our beginning of June trip the same day you came through.
Thanks for the report.

As for the dish water. One time at Pebble Creek the host told us to just throw the water into the vault toilet. Now it's strange at Ca. SPs there are signs all over the rest room/shower area about not washing dishes dishes there,but they give you no idea what to do with your dish water after washing dishes at your camp site.
When I do the dishes I first use a paper towel to remove all solids,than wash with as little water as possible. After the rinse I carry the water to the restroom and dump it in the toilet.
Don't like to just throw it on the ground near the site it might attract things you don't want at your camper.
If I need to dump it at the camp site I just take a good distance away.

Enough of the soap box.
Thanks again for the great pictures and report.
Frank

PS Don't you have solar?
 
Frank,

Had the solar plug installed on the roof but it is still in the sometime category.

As for dishes, I put the two buckets on the ground and put our old cooler on top to make a table and then I put a basin (that carries the non-refrigerated produce elsewhen) on the cooler/bucket table. I then wash and rinse them in and over the basin using the shower hose. I shake em and hand them to the wife inside who dries them and puts them away. When finished, I dump the water in one of the buckets, rinse out the basin, dump that water in the bucket and take the bucket to the designated sink or toilet to dump. Sometimes there is no such place so then it goes on the ground. When it goes on the ground we wipe em with paper towels first and use the eco soap.

The sinks with signs about not washing dishes there may be because of the time it takes. It isn't always clear to me whether to dump my grey water in the sink or the toilet. If in doubt, I use the toilet.

Alan
 
alano said:
Frank,

Had the solar plug installed on the roof but it is still in the sometime category.

As for dishes, I put the two buckets on the ground and put our old cooler on top to make a table and then I put a basin (that carries the non-refrigerated produce elsewhen) on the cooler/bucket table. I then wash and rinse them in and over the basin using the shower hose. I shake em and hand them to the wife inside who dries them and puts them away. When finished, I dump the water in one of the buckets, rinse out the basin, dump that water in the bucket and take the bucket to the designated sink or toilet to dump. Sometimes there is no such place so then it goes on the ground. When it goes on the ground we wipe em with paper towels first and use the eco soap.

The sinks with signs about not washing dishes there may be because of the time it takes. It isn't always clear to me whether to dump my grey water in the sink or the toilet. If in doubt, I use the toilet.

Alan
Click to expand...
A lot of the NPs have sinks just for doing dishes which makes sense. I don't get the campgrounds that make a big deal about washing dishes in the restrooms but don't give any alternative.
Oh well enough of the soap box.
Just glad you had such a great time.
We hope to head off east to Yellowstone this fall. I sure miss going there.
Last year we were there 3 days than the gov shut down and they kicked us out. Had a nice time but it was too short.
Frank
 
Very nice trip reports. I have bookmarked your Blog. I was at Lassen NP one week after you, it was still very empty.


Bill
 
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