• We’re Back – Thanks for Your Patience! We’re thrilled to welcome you back! After some time offline, our site is up and running again, though you may experience occasional instability as we work through the final steps of restoring full functionality. Your understanding and support mean the world to us – thank you for sticking with us through this!
  • Email notifications are being sent but may be blocked by spam filters. If you don’t receive an expected email, please check your spam folder.

Southwestern Haul

Thanks for the good report about Fruta. We will be there in August. (HOT!!) Looking forward to any tips you have. We've been to the area before, but it's always great to get tips.

We've heard great things about DeadHorse Point, and I think we are even camping there.

Renting bikes in Moab? There are EASY offroad rides very close to town (maybe IN town), I am told. Spider Bike rentals, I think.

-Al
 
There are a million things to do in this area, but I also recommend the Virgin River (Narrows) hike. The crowds of the park melt away very quickly as you walk up the river. Water may be warm enough to not need the dry suit? (but I still recommend the special shoes.)

-Al
 
AlCat said:
Thanks for the good report about Fruta. We will be there in August. (HOT!!) Looking forward to any tips you have. We've been to the area before, but it's always great to get tips.

We've heard great things about DeadHorse Point, and I think we are even camping there.

Renting bikes in Moab? There are EASY offroad rides very close to town (maybe IN town), I am told. Spider Bike rentals, I think.

-Al
Click to expand...
Fruita got warm during the day but was comfortable at night and in the morning. We were in site #33 which backed up to an orchard which means of course no camping behind you. There were are few others like that. It is on
Loop B. Do the Scenic Drive and if you like to hike there are several good trails. You will have to go into town to buy ice. Don't go to the first place you, it is expensive. The next gas station is reasonable.

I didn't rent bikes in Moab. My wife and daughter don't ride and I ride a road bike. This is mostly mountain biking here . The bike shop you thinking of is Poison Spider. I did stop in there and bought a jersey as a souvenir. Nice people and if I am ever back and here longer I would definitely use them. We did not get into Dead Horse , just ran out of time. Try the food truck in , Quesidilla Mobilla and the Moab Brewery. For a greasy burger, find Milt's. It is not on the main drag but a few blocks off.
 
Heading out of the heat of Moab in the morning to go to Mesa Verde. We spent the first day in Arches hiking and touring the sights there. Today, we rode to Canyonlands, going to the Island in the Sky District. Wow, some amazing views up there. Our hike took us out on the trail from Gran View Trail. The one good thing about camping in this commercial campground was it had a swimming pool which helped us get through the hot afternoons. That and the Moab Brewery was right across the street.
 
Made it to Mesa Verde, set up camp and did a little driving around. Got tickets to do one of the tours tomorrow in Cliff Palace and I will probably do Balcony House later in the day. What we have seen so far is beautiful here. We liked Moab and the parks there , but we are glad to out of the heat.
 
Did both cliff dwelling tours last year and they were great. Not sure what your route will be after, but if you have the chance, drive Colorado 550 from Durango to at least Ouray - phenomenal views. We went beyond Ouray and camped at Ridgway State Park.
Enjoy your trip!
 
Quesidilla Mobilla, the Moab Brewery and Milt's are some of my favorite places in Moab. Weather wise we prefer late September to early October to be there. Way too hot for us northeners in the summer. Touring the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde is quite the experience.
 
Great tips here. Will get there next year in the fall. Planning on Alaska in the summer and could conceivably do Utah once we're back. Hmm, starting to get excited already!
 
Toured Cliff Palace and Balcony House today at Mesa Verde. Wow, what a fun day we had with that. Going down into those cliff dwellings was really interesting. We had to deal with a thunderstorm this evening so hopefully everything dries overnight. Anybody have solution or a trick to make the REI Alcove perform better in the rain. This is the only rain we have had out West, but we I go back to the Carolinas we have a lot of thunderstorms? Or take it back and start over?

Tomorrow we will drive over to the Four Corners and will end up camping somewhere in New Mexico as we start for home. This has been a lot of fun but we are ready to get home.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
Anybody have solution or a trick to make the REI Alcove perform better in the rain. .
Click to expand...

hahahahahahaha - I am guessing you don't know how funny that question is. After you search the forum, a bit, you will NOT be laughing with me. The REI Alcove's weakness is rain, but people have decent results if the legs are firmly staked, all the guy lines are used, AND by finding a way to keep the rain from "pooling" on the roof (usually by using bungie cords as "rafters").

Actually, I think it's the WIND, not the rain, that is the culprit, ultimately. The roof gets filled with water and then the wind catches it like a sail and one of the plastic "hubs" bends/breaks. And you can't buy just the plastic hubs; you have to buy an entire alcove.

We still like it despite this shortcoming. We just need to set it up less casually....

Al
 
AlCat said:
hahahahahahaha - I am guessing you don't know how funny that question is. After you search the forum, a bit, you will NOT be laughing with me. The REI Alcove's weakness is rain, but people have decent results if the legs are firmly staked, all the guy lines are used, AND by finding a way to keep the rain from "pooling" on the roof (usually by using bungie cords as "rafters").

Actually, I think it's the WIND, not the rain, that is the culprit, ultimately. The roof gets filled with water and then the wind catches it like a sail and one of the plastic "hubs" bends/breaks. And you can't buy just the plastic hubs; you have to buy an entire alcove.

We still like it despite this shortcoming. We just need to set it up less casually....

Al
Click to expand...
When I camp at home, especially on the Blue Ridge Parkway or Great Smoky it rains, a lot, sometimes twice a day so it has to work. We had it staked and and did add the guy lines. The poles that run down the sides at the bottom of the pitch are bowed slightly which didn't help. Probably going to start over and return it, but we may try some things first.
 
This past weekend our Alcove survived 2 or more inches of rain, and 30 mph wind. Bungee cords and guy lines were in full use. Alcove survived with no problems.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
Toured Cliff Palace and Balcony House today at Mesa Verde. Wow, what a fun day we had with that. Going down into those cliff dwellings was really interesting. We had to deal with a thunderstorm this evening so hopefully everything dries overnight. Anybody have solution or a trick to make the REI Alcove perform better in the rain. This is the only rain we have had out West, but we I go back to the Carolinas we have a lot of thunderstorms? Or take it back and start over?

Tomorrow we will drive over to the Four Corners and will end up camping somewhere in New Mexico as we start for home. This has been a lot of fun but we are ready to get home.
Click to expand...
Don't forget Hyde Memorial or Black Canyon federal campgrounds outside Santa Fe as possible spots...
 
We made a big leap on the slog home today. Good traffic got us all the way to Elk City, OK. Tomorrow we will go down to Hot Springs, Arkansas and do a couple of nights there. Hope to get in Gulpha Gorge but we'll see.

Moment of interest on I-40 in Amarillo, TX today. I am driving in the middle lane. A pickup truck merges on to the Interstate. In his bed he has s rather large gas grill that is not strapped down. I noticed it rocked forward hitting the back of the cab and then fell towards the tailgate. For a split second it hung on the top of the tailgate before crashing to the Tarmac and sliding into the two outer lanes . As it did this, it of course was breaking into pieces. One of the grates came closest to me.

Meanwhile in the Subaru Outback/ CampInn 560 Ultra as this was unfolding, I checked my side mirror and with nothing inside of me, I moved rather quickly to the unoccupied lane and gunned it to get past the carnage. If I could not moved over I would have probably hit the grate and maybe more. Hope nobody was hurt.
 
Close call! Nice driving on your part. Too bad the goof driving the truck didn't at least get ticketed.
 
Hot Springs, AR tonight got in a liitle walk around town and we will do a little more before we take off around lunch time. Looking to get to Oxford, MS which should be our last night out.
 
Did a Bath treatment in Hot Springs before leaving get some more miles in. We made past Memphis and into northern Mississippi. Somehow there is a state park here that is not filled for this weekend. We had figured we would be in another commercial one, but first tried here. About 6 more hours and we'll be home.
 
5340 miles, visited 7 National Parks (Grand Canyon, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, & Hot Springs plus the Hubbel Trading Post Historic Site), 21 nights camping, lost track of the number of bags of ice used, 3 calls/emails to Camp Inn to solve minor problems, 1 cooler cover hit in Oklahoma, 1 gas grill dodged in Texas and tons of memories.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
5340 miles, visited 7 National Parks (Grand Canyon, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, & Hot Springs plus the Hubbel Trading Post Historic Site), 21 nights camping, lost track of the number of bags of ice used, 3 calls/emails to Camp Inn to solve minor problems, 1 cooler cover hit in Oklahoma, 1 gas grill dodged in Texas and tons of memories.
Click to expand...
Sounds perfect!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top