Thanks Giving Trip

[n0izh]

Hello all,

The wife, cats and I went camping for Thanksgiving again this year. We went to Burro Creek Wilderness area near Wikiup, AZ for a couple days to break up the trip a bit. Had Turkey with all the trimmings including a pumpkin cheese cake. The wife cooked the bird the weekend before, and we finished on the BBQ. Things sure taste better in the boonies!

 

[leadsled9]

Hello all,

The wife, cats and I went camping for Thanksgiving again this year. We went to Burro Creek Wilderness area near Wikiup, AZ for a couple days to break up the trip a bit. Had Turkey with all the trimmings including a pumpkin cheese cake. The wife cooked the bird the weekend before, and we finished on the BBQ. Things sure taste better in the boonies!


Thanks for the great pictures. Although I live in California now....I was born and raised in Arizona....spent 25 years there.

Those pictures bring back memories....I love the desert.

 

[n0izh]

After Burro creek, we drove down to Tucson, AZ to go on a Ladder tour of Colossal Cave. We knew there was going to be some close in spots, but several of the passages I had to work hard to get the big belly through. Then some of the walk ways were only a foot or so wide, but like 50 feet in the air. The pictures don't really show it well, but it's high. Several people opted out of those sections. Then we got to the real tight spots there was only my wife, my friends kid, and Me left. There is one passage called the Birth Canal! It's really a tight squeeze. After the tour they put on an amazing Chicken BBQ. We weren't expecting real food, but they really surprised us. Even had homemade brownies.

 

[n0izh]

We did the cave on Saturday Night, then got up Sunday and headed for Phoenix for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert on Sunday night. They sure Rock the Christmas songs in a new way! After Phoenix we decided we wanted to see some snow. We headed up to the Grand Canyon for the last 2 days we had to play. Camp sites are a whole lot easier to get in the winter. There was only one other camper where we were. We found about 3 inches of snow and temps were a whole lot cooler than Tucson. We had over night lows at 9 degrees F. We camped right near the bathrooms because I was worried about the porta-potti freezing even with the RV anti-freeze. Even so, you think twice about how badly you have to go in the middle of the night. The bathrooms were heated to about 60 degrees so after the run from the outside it was almost warm in there. We had the Wave6 with us this time to see how it does when it's cold out. It worked flawlessly and kept the temps inside about 70 degrees depending on how much we opened vents. We have always opened the turnbuckle slot under the icebox an inch or two and the open the vent a bit to bring in fresh air. The cats found that the cabinets to either side of the door get some nice heat from the wave so they curled up there most of the time. We still had to deal with some condensation problems though. The reflectix keeps all the water away from us, but it still got wet( actually frosty) between the vinyl and reflectix. Also those damn staples in the ceiling at the wood strips...they go right into the frame and conduct cold from the outside. Even with all the air we had moving inside they still managed to form little icicles on them from our breath. Of course I didn't notice them until I reached over and kicked the big furnace up to warm the camper way up. Then the icicles all started to drip on our faces. Anybody got a solution for that? And by the way, anyone have a solution for the sink drain? Ended up on dish duty in the bathroom because the drain froze and the BOSS volunteered me to clean up so she could stay warm. Also the icebox icicle was kind of funny too. Can't wait to get my Engle.
All in all the trip was real fun and the camper worth the weight in gold. Sure beats the couple that came the last night with just a piece of plastic and their sleeping bags. Slept right on the ground!
Our fuel mileage worked out to just over 17 MPG with the fully loaded camper. I sure love my diesel!
Cheers
John

 

[n0izh]

Some more pictures...

 

[MarkBC]

Some more pictures...


Thanks for the report and photos, John.
I'd hoped you'd include a photo of your camping cats.

This one looks a little unusual...or is it just the photo/lighting?
I wonder if I could convince my kitty to enjoy travel...?

 

[highz]

Is puss a Devon Rex?

 

[n0izh]

Rosey(the cat) is a Cornish Rex. They have curly hair and are very soft as they only have the down hairs. A regular cat has down, then awn hairs(middle layer)and then the longer guard hairs. They are extremely smart, and learn how to push your buttons real quick. My wife says you only win about 20% of arguments with a Rex.
Here is a picture of my guy Toby looking for Lizards. He thinks he's the great hunter...still hasn't caught one yet. I wouldn't really let him have it(but don't tell him). They travel pretty good as long as the road isn't real rough, or we are 4wheeling too long or fast. The center seat is the choice, and who ever gets there first is happy. Occasionally it's a shoving match to see who is king of the hill. My guy out weighs the girl 3 to 1, but she yells louder!
John

 

[MarkBC]

Rosey(the cat) is a Cornish Rex. They have curly hair and are very soft as they only have the down hairs. A regular cat has down, then awn hairs(middle layer)and then the longer guard hairs. They are extremely smart, and learn how to push your buttons real quick. My wife says you only win about 20% of arguments with a Rex.
Here is a picture of my guy Toby looking for Lizards. He thinks he's the great hunter...still hasn't caught one yet. I wouldn't really let him have it(but don't tell him). They travel pretty good as long as the road isn't real rough, or we are 4wheeling too long or fast. The center seat is the choice, and who ever gets there first is happy. Occasionally it's a shoving match to see who is king of the hill. My guy out weighs the girl 3 to 1, but she yells louder!
John


Very cool cats!
I think I'm gonna take my cat for a litte ride in the truck this weekend and see what happens.