This should be the last page of this novel, uh, I mean adventure, uh, I mean web site. After overloading you with photos of the Black Canyon on the previous page, far be it from me to overload you with photos on this last page.

Left Olathe in a huff. Too many RVers (part of a group which shall remain unnamed) arrived in their million dollar motorhomes.....excuse me....."coaches." The dude next to us arrived last night and his coach, which dwarfed ours, blocked the weak wifi signal. So I'm already pissed at him! Now this morning, the dude next to us (that blocked "my" wifi signal) starts his diesel and lets it run for 10-15 minutes. Some of these people seem to think they need to idle their engine for a long time to let it warm up before they dare move it. Dave's theorem: the longer they let it run to "warm up,", the more money they have. Oh well, we're leaving anyhow. But next, this dude gets out of his "coach", looks at a VERY small tree, looks at his "coach", gets out a ladder and a saw and starts to hack VERY small branches off a VERY small tree. Apparently he didn't want to scratch his "coach." Now he could have turned his wheels another 5° and avoided the tree altogether, but noooooooo...........Then to top it off, he only started his engine, warmed it up for 15 minutes, and trimmed the tree only so he could move from one site to another! Get me the hell out of here, we've been invaded!

Two hours later we're at the Portal in Moab. What a great campground (for a private one, of course). Tomorrow I'll bless y'all with a photo of the Portal, but for now, all you get are the three lousy photos below. BTW, the very nice, VERY NICE, woman at the Portal found a spot for me for the 2008 Easter Jeep Safari, much better than Canyonlands RV. Very nice. Dave is a happy camper. Of course the 3 margaritas (one shot each) and the chokecherry wine have helped. Shit, I digressed again!

Got settled at the Portal, took a short, very short, drive to get a couple photos and then returned for the obligatory shopping spree in Moab. What fun!

While the shopping was in progress, made arrangements with Bob for tomorrow's 4-wheel adventure (I sure as hell will not do an "adventure" on 2-wheels - at least deliberately!)

Called Graham and confirmed his arrival Sunday when we are south of Moab, in Blanding.

After the shopping spree, went out to eat at a Mexican joint with Dave and Debbie, some friends from LaSal. Had a good dinner and 3 margaritas. I was chastised for having three. WTF! This is Utah. C₂H₅OH is metered....one shot per BIG glass of ice and acid. DUH! I had three and somehow made it back to the RV. Planned some potential fun trips with Dave if it works out.

That's it. A delightful day. Tomorrow is another day.....

So 5 miles from Tombstone Rock, on the far side, there are these two ATVs blocking the road. Duh! We stop and wait for them to move. These were rental units. The guy (perhaps Pete) couldn't figure out how to get his started and his perhaps bride (perhaps Barb) couldn't figure out how to shift hers. They were having a terrible time but having fun at it. Bear in mind, it's 30 minutes to pitch dark and they are in the middle of nowhere. "Having trouble?" I asked perhaps Barb. "No," she replied as she pointed to perhaps Pete, "He's just a knucklehead!" "OK!" was my reply as we moved on after perhaps Pete got on perhaps Barb's ATV and was able to shift it and move. Then perhaps Barb went over and started perhaps Pete's with no problem. Strange......we had a good laugh at that and shook our heads. What were they doing way the hell out there at 30 minutes to pitch dark? Oh well.....

So then we moved past Tombstone Rock and saw a bunch of people on the East side of the rock, a few cars, and some tents. We assumed perhaps Pete and perhaps Barb were from that group - we were right. This was strange see that large a group that far out....two rental ATVs, no trailers and a goodly number of people. We moved on. After crossing a pretty deep ravine and plowing through the soft sand, we got to an intersection where we stopped to put on jackets. We saw the lights of the ATVs pull into the previously mentioned camp. "Good, they're back and safe."

As we got ready to leave, here comes an older couple in an unmodified SUV and asks "Are you with the wedding party?" "Huh?" After giving him a somewhat puzzled look, all we could do is tell him there was a group down by the Rock, but it's a rocky, sandy road to get there. "Thanks," they replied and went on their way........ verrrrryyyyyy slowly.

Then we saw the signs, "Pete and Barb" with arrows pointing the way, You can figure out the rest. It was strange, very strange. "Yeah, we had a wedding under Tombstone Rock." Whatever! Remember, this is way out here in the middle of what used to be nowhere. As we drove down the road towards town, at least 3 or 4 other cars passed us, allegedly coming in to the "event." This was really strange. Not that there's anything wrong with getting married outside, but under "Tombstone Rock?"

In the distance, we saw even more cars coming but turning down another road. We figured they were going to the wedding also but were lost. Wrong. We got to an intersection of the sand/gravel back country roads, and there's a sign for "Young Dems" and there seemed to be a large number (2) of cars heading to that. This is getting even stranger. Then there were the 5th wheel trailers and motorhomes all over the bluffs above the road. And it's not even Easter Jeep Safari. This is getting way to crowded, time to head to Blanding.

This was a really great day of scenery with a very bizarre ending.....but entertaining though. Thanks again, Bob.

Tomorrow we move to the Needles Overlook, even though the SLC TV stations are predicting the end of Utah as far as rain, snow, sleet and hail are concerned. We'll see.

It looks like I'll have internet tomorrow (Sunday) at Blanding. We'll see !

It took the whole morning of shopping to replenish some supplies, along with a $35 pizza "lunch" at Zak's (don't ask!) Called Graham, he's on his way. All is per schedule. By 1 PM, we were on the road heading towards the Needles Overlook and a delightful unmarked camp site 40 miles from the nearest town. The weather was a little iffy with storms predicted tonight but this will be my last chance to escape reality, or at least so I thought. But that's another story.

Once arrived and set up, it was entertaining to see storms come and go in the the distance. To the south, west and north, we can see maybe 50 - 80 miles. Awesome! Groovy! Like wow! Between the 20 raindrops we had thus far, we went on a hunt for the elusive sage (Salvia officinalis, not me!) The hunt was successful.

Back to camp, cooked a couple steaks and baked potatoes and had a couple beers. I sat outside and watched the rain showers come and go. This little camp spot is a long way from anywhere. We have only one neighbor, a ways away, in a tent. No cell phone, internet nor electricity. My kind of camping.

9 PM now, running the inverter, hacking away at this page while the TV is blaring in the background and the rain has increased a little. Roughing it is great.....well.....almost great.

Morning has broken.....actually not...it's pretty well fixed. Last night was fun. About every hour or two, a little rainstorm would come in accompanied by 30-40 mph wind gusts. There was some lightning, but mostly way off in the distance.....a good thing as the RV is the highest point around for miles! But when the rains came, they literally pounded the RV, as well as the tent of our neighbors. The RV lifestyle is great....heat, water, potty, dry, etc.

So this morning, a hell of a rainstorm woke me up. But looking outside, to the southwest, there's blue sky and the sun is shining - maybe 50 miles away but shining nonetheless. Snow is being predicted for the high mountains (> 8000' tonight) so it's probably a good thing that I put the soft top on the Jeep last night, however very reluctantly and with much sadness.

Next is to gather my thoughts (now that'll take a while), load up the Jeep, sit outside and watch the clouds clear and the sage grow, and then move to Blanding to meet up with Graham later today.

12 noon, pulled into a commercial CG in Blanding. What a change. From a site where you couldn't see the other person in the camp area to one where some "person" is 5' on the other side of us - at least they're to the back so the front of the RV has an excellent view. People seemed a little too helpful here. Pulled in and a sign stated we should find a campsite and register this evening. As we're driving around, some other "camper" was "trying" to direct me to a site. WTF! Leave me alone! I can find a site all by myself, thank you very much. Out of the 40 sites, 10 are in use. I thanked him much and explained that I was looking for a site less crowded. He seemed puzzled.

Wifi almost works here except I can't send email again. Damn these wifi providers that block port 25. Grrr. This means I can UL this drivel, read email, access the web, but cannot send email except via webmail (which is an affront to geeks - and entirely too much work). Maybe tonight I'll learn the secret handshake so I can send email.

While waiting for Graham to arrive, diagnosed the wastegate valve on the turbo. (Problem: turbo pressure, normally 22 PSI max., is now 26 PSI - a little too high). Yes, there is a problem with the pressure relief valve. No, I don't know exactly what the problem is. Yes, I will have to fix it....I guess.

Monday. Email works. Go figure.

LaSal Dave and Debi drove all the way from LaSal (where else?) to the camp in Blanding to join Graham and us in a romp to Hotel Rock. We all left, with LaSal Dave as our intrepid trail leader. We got gas (didn't eat) at Shirttail Junction then proceeded through the awesome cut in Comb Ridge and quickly found our first (and last) obstacle.

It's now Wednesday morning and will be making some additions to the hastily conceived rants of yesterday. As you can probably tell from the number of photos, it was an especially scenic day, as predicted. DUH! What day out West isn't? I'll dispense with my usual phrase about the photos, as it's only 8:18 AM, too early for a drink.*

After a late start (10) AM) due to some inefficiencies on my part, we headed 40 miles southwest to Muley Point, overlooking the Goosenecks of the San Juan River near Moki Dugway. Given those world famous landmarks, one should be able to pinpoint, with accuracy, where we were. If not, try this: 37N14.232", 109W58.843".

^*We have a little drinking game back home. Whenever the complete set of photos are shown - and viewed (something one - especially the viewers - cannot do without immense quantities of alcohol), each time I say "These photos do not do it justice!" we all take a drink. There needs to be some kind of reward for sitting through what already is > 1000 photos. Damn them bits.

After bartering for beads, we backtracked a few miles and purchased fuel in the town of Mexican Hat, not much larger than the rock and perhaps less impressive to some. What was impressive is that in the Shell station after fueling up, I proceeded to the washroom. Down a small hall, across from the Men's room, were about 100 post office boxes, a mail deposit box, and a stamp machine - all under a sign that proudly proclaimed "U. S. Post Office." No comment.

Then we backtracked again for a number of miles and took a 16 mile drive through "Valley of the Gods," a miniature Monument Valley and I think much better....especially since they don't have the busloads of tourists arriving every half hour as does the real Monument Valley. Tourists - ugh!

As we left Blanding in the morning, I was lamenting the fact that our ETA for Valley of the Gods would be around noon, not a good time for photos. 4 PM would be more apropos. Well, duh, by the time we got there it was 4 PM, and we didn't even try to drag our feet. Life just goes on that way when one is out and about in this magnificent part of the country.

After the Valley, we drove back to Blanding via Butler Wash, a long, almost 4WD road. Doc and I did this in 2004. It was nearly sunset and the scenery was outstanding but there are already too many photos up here to include them.

Back at Blanding, 8 PM, we had a quick supper at a local eatery and tried to plan the rest of the week. We now have Plan A, B and C with Plan C being the preferred plan but perhaps being morphed into Plan A if the initial phase of Plan C is successful. Yes, you are probably as confused as us. That's OK. We don't care either! It'll be great either way.

Got back to camp at 9 PM. Made an initial attempt to finish this day's trip before we leave for Hanksville tomorrow. We may be there for up to 3 or 4 days with no internet.

Also need to work on the RV (again) and check out the errant wastegate valve so better get moving. It's warmed up now (9:10), I've had my coffee so I'm warmed up and it's time to get the show on the road. Graham may have wifi at his motel room in Hanksville and if so, may have a chance to upload more of this junk. Aren't y'all lucky? Later.......

Great day! A road trip. 121 miles from Blanding to Hanksville but what a gas (or diesel.) More later. The day started when I got up. Duh. Turns out the wastegate actuator is f***ed. When the turbo increases the manifold pressure to 25 PSI, it should activate a pressure actuator that opens the wastegate valve which keeps the turbo pressure from going bonkers and blowing the engine. The actuator leaks like a sieve! How that was diagnosed is another story, but a good one (hint, it has to do with the left front tire of the Jeep.) Leaking air may be OK as while it's not opening the pressure relief valve, it's leaking so bad that it prevents the manifold pressure from going nuts.

Solution: Call Rocky Mountain Cummins at SLC and have them ship the replacement $147.21 part to the campground in Hanksville for $25.03 with an alleged delivery of tomorrow (Thursday.) Promises, promises.

9 PM now. Sitting in the Redrock Campground after a delightful meal and a number of Polygamy Porters (why have just one?) A GREAT day. No internet, but 'tricity and H₂0. Will steal some of Graham's wifi at his motel one of these days to upload my ramblings.

The "temporary" campsite. I'll be back.

Got hooked up to facilities, packed down 3 beers, aired up the Jeep, Graham arrived and aired up his, had another beer, went to the restaurant to eat. We conversed, at length, with the Danish owner of the restaurant and campground, Elliot, ("I was drunk when I bought this place in the 1970s. My wife is still pissed"). YAC - Yet Another Character! But another story. Came back to the camp, showered, and started this rambling with the hope of uploading in the next few days.

Tomorrow is a 150 mile trip around the South end of the Henrys to search for more elusive JAFRs, which Graham now, painfully, understands.

This was planned to be a long day, and a long day it was, but another good one. But when is there any day out West not a good one? 8 AM and the day started with me putting more gasoline on the ground than in the tank of the Jeep. It seems the gas pump shutoff didn't and by the time Graham got my attention, there was more than a little fuel flowing down the ramp at the gas station. The nice young lady inside wasn't fazed, "Oh, that happens all the time---just don't throw a lit cigarette on it until it dries..." With that, we departed hastily, very hastily. 45 miles later we were at the Southern end of the Henry Mountains. There was this old mine road into the clay hills. It was calling my name. First Connie bailed. I got to the last obstacle then Graham bailed and he wasn't even riding with me. After Graham did some excellent spotting and acting as a counterweight (good thing he ate a lot the night before), I managed to get over the obstacle and back again. Jeez, that was fun! I'm not sure others were as impressed.

After that, we took a side trip down a fantastic canyon and wound up in Ticaboo where we gassed up. On the way down, we passed some massive mining operations so elected to go back that way to continue the rest of the journey. This was the "Tony M" mine in Shitamaring Canyon. Yes, that's the name on the Delorme and Garmin. New signs seem to call it Shootamaring. Some people just have no sense of humor.

But at any rate, on the way back, Graham talked to one of the workers and he was told this is the largest uranium mine in the world, with the adit going back over 5 miles. Awesome. Along the way there tens, maybe more, mines in the side of the mountain that had been there since the 1950s.

This time we got back early - 7 PM. Had a good supper at the Redrock again with Elliot joining us for most of the time. My parts didn't come in (duh, surprise!) but they should be here tomorrow. Also tomorrow we'll calibrate the turbo pressure gauge on the dash, plan the day's events - we have 3 options to choose from, and then try to upload this stuff. Today was a long, long day (180 miles) but one of the best. Amazing scenery, a very remote area, and a fair amount of 4WD! Yessssss.

A day of great success! 1. We checked the calibration of the dash turbo pressure gauge and it's right on. And yes, you may ask how! 2. We fixed a couple minor issues on Graham's Jeep and tightened some loose nuts and bolts on his and mine. 3. We discussed 3 options for today, and wisely chose the first option (A) which was the last numerical option ......go figure. 4. The new wastegate actuator arrived about 9 AM (will install tomorrow AM). 5. The potential storm dissipated , the clouds cleared and it became a gorgeous, but windy day. 6. Our Plan A scenic drive had enough 4WD to please us both (Graham and me!) 7. I got some great sunset photos.

It "could" get better than this but it would be hard to do.

And, in true form, by the time we get back to camp, we're so damn tired, all I can manage to do is drink about 2 or 3 beers, write a little for this blog and then get some sleep. There hasn't even been time to wander over to Motel Graham and upload this drivel. Tomorrow perhaps we'll be in Verde River and I should have wifi access there.....maybe.

Today's adventure (Plan A) was to drive 2000' up to Capitol Reef National Park and take the 4WD South Draw road out of the park to Bown's Reservoir. From Capitol Reef we climb another 3000' to Boulder Mountain. This was a day of spectacular scenery (like none of the other days were!) Not much to say, at least that I can write here. Instead, sit back and enjoy the trip with us.

9 PM, in Green River. Just finished showering and removed about 5 lbs of red dirt and dust from my hair, ears, eyes, mouth and other assorted body parts. Finally warm (after the temperature dropped from 85 to 48), now dry, and sipping on a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (real beer > 3.2!) It was an interesting, but very fun, 4WD day.

We left Hanksville at 10, got to Green River by noon. After an hour to set up and enable the wifi (but damn them, they block port 25 here also, so no outgoing email!) we left on an allegedly short trip to find some JAFRs. We had found these with Bob a few weeks ago and were going back to retrieve a few more. I mean, how hard can it be to find this one hill loaded with these special rocks?

So off we went on the route I traveled this last spring to intersect with Bob's route and then just drive to the hill, get the rocks and return back. Right!

After a couple hours of searching for the intersection, we eventually found it, but it wasn't easy. There were many wrong turns as Barbie and I were arguing about which way was left and right. (Barbie usually won.) We went through some really fun stuff that required more than a little attention on our parts at various times. But alas, the skies were darkening. The wind became brutal: 40 - 50 mpg gusts! Many parts of the trails were in dry washes and ravines, so we elected to make a hasty retreat (which isn't all that hasty on these trails!) and forget the JAFRs in the event the skies opened.

After miles on trails, we hit the main road. We'd been sandblasted for the last 5 miles so we elected to put up the tops on the Jeeps in a 40 mph wind. At least it wasn't 50 degrees .... yet! What a PITA. Blowing sand whipping the windows and the tops around as we tried to get them battened down. About the time we got done, it was mentioned that the sun might come out and as we looked to the northwest, sho'nuff, here comes the sun. But the wind intensified.

The clouds hadn't cleared, in fact they came and went, but we elected to return from whence we came and continue the search for the JAFR hill. I mean, how hard can it be to find this one hill loaded with these special rocks? 30 minutes to go the 5 miles back. During this time, we were literally in a sandstorm - driving right into the 50 mph wind, sand and dust. It was pretty impressive ---- and fun ! ! ! ! !

We drove and drove and drove but somehow missed the JAFR hill. But in the meantime, we wound up on some incredible 4WD roads and had a great time trying to figure out if the road we were on would ever get us back to Green River. Despite Barbie's objections, we made it. Jeez, this was a fun trail. And we were almost as full of sand and dust as the Jeeps.

As we pulled into Green River and the campground, the sun came out and highlighted the clouds to the East. Most awesome.

We never got more than 50 raindrops, never enough to settle the dust, but at times it looked like the Second Coming. We did get the 50 mph winds and a 40 degree temperature drop within an hour. I guess one could say, "cool."

After sitting in the RV, drinking beer, and watching folks try to put up tents and what not in the high winds, it worked up an appetite so we ate and planned the morrow's activities. Sadly I was outvoted and everyone else either wants to, or has to, go home. So the grand compromise was to do one more trail tomorrow: Black Dragon Wash in the San Rafael Swell. We leave at 7 AM, should get back here at noon or one, then start the trail of tears back home. The fun is almost over. Reality sucks, it really, really sucks!

6:15 AM. It's dark out. OMG! What's happened? ....Oh....the sun hasn't risen yet....whew! This is an unusual occurrence for me. Time to get ready for the day. Coffee and a piece of toast (sweet rolls are all gone.) We leave in about 20 minutes so need to prepare for the final 4-5 hours of 4WD fun for the next 6 friggin', cold, snowy, wet, stressful, and work-infested months. May upload the photos before leaving but probably little text as we need to get OTR. Will try to make it past Denver by 8 PM tonight or so.

Later.......

9 PM. Camp Cummins in Denver. No, the motorhome is not broken. Yet. Sipping on some Elderberry wine and chillin'. Ooops. That's gone now. Now cherry wine. Yummmmm.

Back to 7 AM. Our tour of Black Dragon Wash was a highlight and a great way to end the week on a high point. It was a remarkable canyon with just enough obstacles to get our attention. We ran the entire canyon, as well as a little side trip and still got back to Green River by noon. Graham left for home, I loaded the Jeep and we took off also. I whined and sniveled each time we passed a campground or spot that would have been nice to stay at for a few days. Sigh. Someday. I'll be back.

Going over the first two major mountain passes on I-70 at sunset was a treat. So pretty. The last pass, and Denver, was in the dark with quite heavy traffic. That was fun also. The goal was to get to Brush, CO, tonight but I got too tired so stopped at Camp Cummins for the night and will continue the sad, long, depressing trip back tomorrow. Boo hoo.