Alaskan Snowbirds
Senior Member
This is the second part of the "shakedown" run in our then new FWC Grandby.
We left Organpipe Cactus National Monument and since our family spent one Christmas in a KOA Kamping Kabin in Benson, AZ, (when darling daughter was about 9) we decided to revisit some of that area on the way north. One of our favorite areas at that time was Patagonia, AZ, so, we made a run through there, stopping to look at Patagonia Lake State Park (we’ll spend a night there in the future!) and then on to spend a nostalgic night at the same KOA we stayed at on that earlier trip.
The night after the Benson KOA we stayed at a chilly and deserted campground on Lake Powell. What a view from the campground!
We would like to spend time on the BLM area N. of Lake Powell and explore the lake, but during a warmer time of year.
We continued north from Lake Powell and were surprised to find ourselves at Zion Park…guess I should really look at the map a little closer
I thought that after years of mountains everywhere I looked in Alaska that I couldn’t be impressed by them any more. I was wrong. Zion was impressive.
The “hole” near the lower right of the wall in this picture (above) is actually a portal looking out from the tunnel the road runs through. We were measured to make sure we could fit through the tunnel without a “guide” (the guide closes the tunnel to opposing traffic until you get through if you don’t meet the width requirement…and you are charged an extra fee ($15 at the time)). We were 4” under the width requirement with the jacks on and mirrors folded. For an old highway engineer, the tunnel was a great bonus!
We went through St. George, UT, (we had been investigating St. George as a winter base but decided we needed to be further south) then turned north again and started picking up snow. We pulled into Yuba State Park on Sevier Bridge Reservoir after dark. We were the only ones camping there but the campground was undergoing renovations and the contractor was running until at least 10 pm.
The propane didn’t want to flow that evening but I’m not sure if the regulator was frozen or if there was another problem. I put the tank in the cab of the truck with the heater running on it and after 15 minutes or so hooked it back up and it worked fine the rest of the night…maybe the regulator was frozen and the warm propane thawed it and the heat from the furnace was enough to keep it thawed during the night. Had this happen one other time too, but not since.
We woke the next morning to the sound of a couple fishermen launching their boat through the ice on the shore…thought I was already back in Alaska. Utah fishermen are serious!
That night was our 38th anniversary and we stayed at the DoubleTree Inn in Boise and had a great steak at the Chuckwagon Restaurant next door. The couple at the table next to us was celebrating their 50th and said they were coming back for their 75th. Attitude is everything!
We hit heavy snow and tough driving the next day going over the pass between Boise and Pendleton. We dropped into 4wd and with the low profile and light weight of the camper we didn’t have a problem. Trucks were off the road in many spots and the right lane wasn’t drivable because the trucks just stopped in it to put on chains…the shoulders were too deep. They were closing the opposite lanes just as we made it over the pass. We've spent a little over 30 years in Alaska and I've never had any more challenging drive than this one.
It was 40 degrees as we crossed into Washington and we thought we were done with the cold weather for a bit but by the time we hit Ellensburg it was 20 degrees and falling. I spent a day getting the drain line for the water tank thawed and then put RV antifreeze in the system and got it stored before we got on a shuttle bus for Seatac and flew back to Juneau.
We picked up the camper in late January and headed back to the southwest for two months. I'll post another report on that trip soon!
Happy Trails!
The Alaska Snowbirds
We left Organpipe Cactus National Monument and since our family spent one Christmas in a KOA Kamping Kabin in Benson, AZ, (when darling daughter was about 9) we decided to revisit some of that area on the way north. One of our favorite areas at that time was Patagonia, AZ, so, we made a run through there, stopping to look at Patagonia Lake State Park (we’ll spend a night there in the future!) and then on to spend a nostalgic night at the same KOA we stayed at on that earlier trip.
The night after the Benson KOA we stayed at a chilly and deserted campground on Lake Powell. What a view from the campground!
We would like to spend time on the BLM area N. of Lake Powell and explore the lake, but during a warmer time of year.
We continued north from Lake Powell and were surprised to find ourselves at Zion Park…guess I should really look at the map a little closer
I thought that after years of mountains everywhere I looked in Alaska that I couldn’t be impressed by them any more. I was wrong. Zion was impressive.
The “hole” near the lower right of the wall in this picture (above) is actually a portal looking out from the tunnel the road runs through. We were measured to make sure we could fit through the tunnel without a “guide” (the guide closes the tunnel to opposing traffic until you get through if you don’t meet the width requirement…and you are charged an extra fee ($15 at the time)). We were 4” under the width requirement with the jacks on and mirrors folded. For an old highway engineer, the tunnel was a great bonus!
We went through St. George, UT, (we had been investigating St. George as a winter base but decided we needed to be further south) then turned north again and started picking up snow. We pulled into Yuba State Park on Sevier Bridge Reservoir after dark. We were the only ones camping there but the campground was undergoing renovations and the contractor was running until at least 10 pm.
The propane didn’t want to flow that evening but I’m not sure if the regulator was frozen or if there was another problem. I put the tank in the cab of the truck with the heater running on it and after 15 minutes or so hooked it back up and it worked fine the rest of the night…maybe the regulator was frozen and the warm propane thawed it and the heat from the furnace was enough to keep it thawed during the night. Had this happen one other time too, but not since.
We woke the next morning to the sound of a couple fishermen launching their boat through the ice on the shore…thought I was already back in Alaska. Utah fishermen are serious!
That night was our 38th anniversary and we stayed at the DoubleTree Inn in Boise and had a great steak at the Chuckwagon Restaurant next door. The couple at the table next to us was celebrating their 50th and said they were coming back for their 75th. Attitude is everything!
We hit heavy snow and tough driving the next day going over the pass between Boise and Pendleton. We dropped into 4wd and with the low profile and light weight of the camper we didn’t have a problem. Trucks were off the road in many spots and the right lane wasn’t drivable because the trucks just stopped in it to put on chains…the shoulders were too deep. They were closing the opposite lanes just as we made it over the pass. We've spent a little over 30 years in Alaska and I've never had any more challenging drive than this one.
It was 40 degrees as we crossed into Washington and we thought we were done with the cold weather for a bit but by the time we hit Ellensburg it was 20 degrees and falling. I spent a day getting the drain line for the water tank thawed and then put RV antifreeze in the system and got it stored before we got on a shuttle bus for Seatac and flew back to Juneau.
We picked up the camper in late January and headed back to the southwest for two months. I'll post another report on that trip soon!
Happy Trails!
The Alaska Snowbirds
