I'm home! Here is my quick summary of my trip. Thanks to all that helped me to plan.
I drove from Minneapolis to Reno and that is when the trip started, April 14th. It was in Reno that I picked up my new ATC Bobcat. I will write more about that later, but I will give a quick review: excellent.
-First Day. Reno to Lake Tahoe to Buckeye Hot Springs. Buckeye Hot Springs was a great way to start the trip. Just myself, my dog and a beautiful hots spring. It is about 4 miles down an easy dirt road and it totally primitive and great. I really like not having rules and signs and fees, etc. This fit the bill.
-Second Day. Buckeye Hot Springs to Mono Lake and Mammoth Lakes and finished up in Big Pine, CA, camped on BLM land there. Mammoth is a great town and if you want to get back to civilization it is a great place to stop for lunch, etc. The Tufa formations on the south end of Mono Lake are pretty cool. There is also the Panum Crater on the south end of Mono Lake, that was neat. I went for a run there, with my dog, and it kind of chewed up paws. Bring some paw cream or vaseline if you have a dog with you. These days followed Hwy. 395
-Third Day. Big Pine, CA to the HomeStake campsite just south of The Racetrack in Death Valley National Park. Big Pine is a gateway to Death Valley. The drive from Big Pine to Eureka Dunes is awesome. You follow Death Valley Road out of Big Pine to Eureka Dunes, essentially. Eureka Dunes is really cool and I found it worthwhile. I tried to take the Dedeckera Canyon Road out of Eureka Dunes. I have a 4x4 Tacoma 4 door shortbed, stock. Dedeckera Canyon road was really pretty, unfortunately there were just two small areas that were impassable for me. I could have made it through, but would have had body damage for sure. If you have a small vehicle, like a Suzuki Samurai, you'd would be fine. Or, sliders and a lift. Or, you could stack rocks and make it. I was solo, so I decided it was best to turn around. I went back out to Death Valley Road, and headed for RaceTrack Valley Road. That drive was pretty nice
Once you are south of Ubehebe Crater on Racetrack Valley Road, the road turns to NASTY washboard. I aired down, then aired down, then aired down again. I rattled my brain loose. Vehicles with larger tires and/or softer suspension seemed to handle it better. My advice, air down and take some aspirin. The road it about 28 miles from Ubehebe Crater to The Racetrack. Just south of The Racetrack is HomeStake and you can camp there. There is no fee or regulation, there is a fiberglass outhouse that is gross. The Racetrack is very cool, check it out if you don't know about it.
Fourth Day. This is where things get a little crazy. So maybe I am a little risk averse. I took the Lippincott Road to the Saline Valley Road. The Lippincott Road was described in my map as "High Clearance or 4X4 Road." It was that and more. Keep in mind my vehicle, my camper on the back, and the fact that I was alone. There were parts were I was rock crawling with one wheel hanging over a void and no spotter. I also was doing this on stock tires, which are basically car tires on my SR5 Tacoma. There was no opportunity to turn around until a few miles/hours down the road. Should you try the Lippincott? If you want an adventure, and your vehicle is in great mechanical condition, try it. Once I finally made it to the Saline Valley Road, I found cattle blocking the road, water crossings, and never ending accents. When I finally made it to Hwy. 136/190 I was very relieved and the road seemed unbelievably smooth. I took this on at night, but it seemed that is would be beautiful, Hwy. 136/190 to Stovepipe Wells. I camped at a modern camping facility at Stovepipe Wells, which is at sea level.
Fifth Day. From Stovepipe Wells I went to Furnace Creek, literally a golf course in the middle of a desert, then the Bad Water Basin, 282 feet below see level. After that, I got out of Death Valley. As a pale guy just coming off of a Minnesota winter, I was happy to be out of Death Valley. Too hot, too sunny, too dry, too sunburned. It was worth it though. Eureka Dunes and The Racetrack are really cool. I feel that the RaceTrack is one of the most mystical/unique/special places on Earth. From there is was on to Vegas to pick up my pregnant girlfriend/ex-wife (that is another story). I went through Pahrump NV. That place is horrible. Find a way to drive around it. Between Pahrump and Vegas on Hwy. 160 there is a jerky stand. If you see it, stop and get some jerky. Its great and the owner is character. Then to Vegas, then Lake Mead. I was not to pick-up my lady until the next night, so I found a lame campground on the western end of Lake Mead at Callville Cove. I stayed there and then found Stewart's Point. I wish I would have stayed there. If you are looking for a cool place to camp on Lake Mead, check out Stewart's Point. You can park right on the lake, for free, and be essentially alone. Stewart's Point is on the west side of the north finger of lake mead, the cool camping is on the northern end of the "town."
Sixth Day. Spent time hanging out at Stewart's Point, then on to Vegas for the pick up and then back to lame Callville Cove. The pregnant travel companion meant that comfort and ease took on a higher priority.
Seventh Day. Callville Cove, back to Stewart's Point, then on to Overton NV. There is a grocery store there and we stocked up and got some ice cream! We got out of Overton ASAP, just a depressing yet funny town if you ask me. Then it was on to Valley of Fire State Park. It was a fun place, great petroglyphs. The campsite was "full" per the sign. We cruised through and found a spot though! It is a very cool setting that was somewhat spoiled by all of the RV's and stuff. Atlatl Rock Camp.
Eighth Day. From Valley of Fire to Hwy 15 to Arizona for an hour or so, then into Utah. Hwy. 15 SW of St. George, UT is really beautiful. Then on to Zion, where we did the pet friendly and pregnant friendly domesticated hike through the valley. One thing that you must notice when you are in the valley is the stone arch high up on the valley wall. It is hard to spot, ask a ranger where it is, very cool. There are some really cool places to eat in Springdale, just outside Zion. On the recommendation of WTW, we camped along the BLM road up to Gooseberry Mesa. It is just outside Springdale, you basically are in Zion Valley, but its free and more fun and less crowded. Look for the one lane bridge over the Virgin River at Rockville. Head towards Grafton and you will figure it out. Its about 10 minutes from the entrance to Zion.
Ninth Day. Back in to Zion and through the Mt. Carmel Highway and tunnel. VERY spectacular. Took Mt. Carmel Hwy/ Hwy. 9 to Hwy. 89. to Hwy 12. to Bryce Canyon. There we camped at Bryce Canyon, one of the main campgrounds in the park, first one on the right. It was great, but nothing special. People had told us the King Creek Campsite is great, but we didn't see it and it is just west of Bryce Canyon. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend enough time in Bryce, a hike through the canyon would have been awesome. I don't know the details of doing that, but it looks like you could spend a few hours down there and have a great time.
We only spent an evening and morning in Bryce, then on to the...
Tenth Day. Started in Bryce and ended on some BLM land just off Hwy 24 and east of Capitol Reef National Park.
Heading east on Hwy. 12 towards Escalante, then Boulder, and then Torrey, at the intersection of Hwy. 12 and Hwy. 24. Just west of the town of Escalante is the Wide Hollow Reservoir and Petrified Forrest. Its is a nice little place and the reservoir would be quite inviting on a hot day. Here you can see more petrified would that you could ever want. There is a trail that is about a mile loop that is the main loop. Off of this is a 3/4 mile loop that has massive "logs" of petrified wood. Purple, gold, white, navajo, yellow, many beautiful colors. This must be heaven for someone that loves petrified wood.
The drive from Escalante is awesome! Some of the most beautiful and crazy developed road I have seen. Be sure to do it in the day, so you can see it and so it is safe. "Hell's Backbone" is a 100% articulate name for this road. Don't miss the Hells Backbone Bridge, which is on an old CCC dirt road that offshoots from the main Hwy. near the summit. After that, get back on the main Hwy. and arrive in Boulder. We checked out the Anasazi Museum there and it was cool. It only takes a half hour or so and I enjoyed it.
From Boulder to Torrey, on Hwy. 12, AKA Journey Through Time Scenic Byway, IS SO AWESOME. I want to go there and spend a week or two just on that stretch. The mountains are great, the meadows, are great, the back country roads are great, the trees, the lakes, on and on and on. A great trip wold be to bring some bikes, set up a base camp, and seeing all this road has to offer via bike. I cant stress enough how cool this area was. When were going through it was about 40 degrees, raining/snowing, and foggy, and it was still awesome.
From Torrey we make quick time through Capitol Reef, to find some BLM land on the east side of the park, along Hwy. 24, and set up camp. Not a great spot to camp, but we were tired and made the most of it. There did seem to be some decent options, that daylight revealed to us the next morning.
Day Eleven. Headed from Capitol Reef to Salt Lake City for a quick stop to visit some relatives.
Day Twelve. Left Salt Lake and finished at Motel 6 in Moab (boooo hiss hiss). Arches National Park is on the north end of Moab. That was a cool place for sure. A bit of a tourist trap, but nice. Again, it would be a lot cooler to bike it than to drive it. For the rest of the time in Moab we just enjoyed the town, cool people, cool places to eat and relax, a very welcoming feel overall, with some petroglyphs too.
The lady friend was feeling sick, so we did not get a chance to see all that Moab has to offer, the White Rim Trail, etc. I guess that is for another trip. Wooohooo, another trip.
Day Thirteen. Left Moab, finished in North Platte Nebraska. What a change, and not in a good way. After we left Moab I dropped my lady friend off in Grand Junction, where she hopped on a plane and flew over the meteorological
potpourri that is Colorado in spring (snow, rain, hail, lighting, blizzard, high heat, baseball, skiing, sunglasses, headlights) all in about 5 hours. I made it to North Platte, Nebraska that night, popped up the ATC at a truck stop.
I think a little piece of me died inside.
Day Fourteen. Left North Platte, Nebraska, finished up at home, in Minneapolis, MN.
Thanks for all of the help planning and inspiration. Ask me questions, make fun of me, whatever. It was a great time. A special thanks goes out to Bayla, my 58 pound Lab/Poodle mix that co-piloted the whole time. She thinks she is a lap dog, so my lap is where she laid as the hours and miles rolled by and I became more and more sore.
The included picture is us us leaving the driveway for our trip.
One thing I did learn on this trip, Minnesota is a cool state. Other places have more dramatic geology and landscapes, but MN is great. The culture, the people, the lakes, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. If anybody has questions about wandering the mid west, shoot me a message.
I am sure this is full of typos and emissions, I just hammered this out in one shot and no proofreading, apologies in advance.
