We entered NM through Raton Pass and promptly blew a tire on the Jeep trailer. We got it before it ruined the wheel. On to Santa Rosa Lake State Park. Nice place but not much wheeling there. In Albuquerque we got two new tires and headed off to Cibola NF and did the Zuni drive. Not tough but very pretty. The photo on the left is the campsite at Bluewater Lake State Park, a really nice place. The photo on the right is the Jeep loaded up for a couple days run.

Here we stopped at Joseph City and went looking for petrified wood. We broke the main spring leaf while playing so went to Flagstaff, pulled the spring out at Black Bart's and had them make a new one while we guzzled many $$$ worth or margaritas at Bart's. The next day we drove around and later wound up " touring " the microbreweries (of which there are several) in Flagstaff. This one was of the most perfect days ever!

Next we traveled over old Route 66 to Seligman and then on to Kingman where the motorhome about busted a gut getting up to the top of the Hualapi Mountains for a few days of wheeling there. One day we headed out in the morning and on the cliff to the right, within 3 feet of the Jeep saw a big old Diamondback rattling at us. That same day we crossed into California and about 10 miles out of Needles, in the desert, 110 degrees, the damn Jeep died. Turns out a wire broke off the fuel pump after I hit a berm a " little " too hard! We left the Hualapis and then did a some wheeling around Chloride.

We headed over Hoover Dam, toured that and wound up in Vegas. What a mistake. Plan A was to head down to Phoenix and do some of the trails down there. Plan B was to go to Vegas for a few days. Plan B won. I could have done some gnarly wheelin' around Phoenix, done some major, major damage to the Jeep and still have been money ahead! Screw Las Vegas!

The Arizona Strip is larger than the state of Massachusetts and has less than 1000 permanent residents. It's great! Too bad the greenies want to close that to the public also. At any rate, we headed out to Whitemore Wash, a supposedly 4WD road that takes you to within 900 feet (vertically) of the Colorado River at the west end of the Grand Canyon. It was a nice drive, really long (used 19 gallons of gas!) but easily a two wheel drive road. " Sure was pretty! " " How pretty was it? "

After that we went to the North Rim of the Grand canyon. We wanted to get to Point Sublime but the NPS closed the access road citing " too much dust " generated from the vehicles. Say what? That was the most absurd excuse for closing a road I'd ever heard! Idiots! So, we found a circuitous route in anyway from public lands north of the Park, got on a trail that the NPS probably forgot to close and got where we wanted to be anyhow. The North Rim is far better than the South Rim, less people and better scenery!

Lake Powell and Page were next. We rented a boat on the lake followed by more wheeling.

We now entered the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Boondoggle. First the jerk at the BLM information center wouldn't let us park our motorhome in their parking lot since we wanted to unload the Jeep and wheel a little. I repeat myself: Idiots! We then went up the Paria River to the old ghost town and movie set. I'm sure by the time this is written, the frickin' BLM will have closed up access via the river (we might drive over and damage a mosquito larvae.) But in spite of the BLM's crappy attitude, it was still a nice, relaxing, beautiful drive.

We spent a few days in Kanab , a neat little town that has fantastic sights and some reasonable wheeling. Bryce Canyon was next followed by a few days on very scenic Highway 12 and then we headed home. I'm ready to go back anytime!