The Shakedown Cruise, Mantra versus Reality, or How the Grandby got its name.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I need to type this up, but I thought I would kick off with a place holder. Our mantra on the trip was "There are stores, we don't need it all." Reality is that we have a storage box on the Yakima, and we bought a hitch platform for the other storage box. As we have been out, we've been discovering that this isn't the Airstream, and that we really don't need it all, and that there are more efficient ways of packing. We did determine that the Grandby needed a name. The most relevant we could think of was "The Pack Rat", so The Pack Rat" it is.

We've been out about nine days now, first a few days in DVNP, then down to the Mohave Preserve (which I really like!!!), and now back to DVNP to rendezvous with friends. Probably Valley of Fire from here, Gold Buttes and ???? who knows.

Here's a shot from Death Valley, at the Borax Works, with Orion over the top. More to come in form of trip report and photos.

 

[Bosque Bill]

After the first few months with my Fleet, I went through the storage areas and removed a bunch of stuff I thought I'd need (or would be nice to have.) The temptation to bring everything one could possible need is strong

Wonderful photo. How long was the exposure?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Bill, f11 at 20 seconds. ISO 400 for the stars, ISO 1600 for the foreground. Hand blended in CS 6. Light was a LED lantern with orange gel, from the left.

 

[Bosque Bill]

Thanks, WS. I want to try my hand at a little night sky photography this year.

 

[SunMan]

Amazing pic. Good stuff.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Great photo. Thanks for the details.

 

[LuckyDan]

The only description that comes to mind for that picture is stellar, with absolutely no pun intended. Thank you very much for sharing.