Going with the flow

On this road trip (number 5), we have only a vague idea of our plans.  We were going to stop on the way and see Silvermoon,Vicky’s sister, in North Bend, WA, and then her son, Owen, in Spokane.  Then we were going to head to the 4-corners area and spend time at Valley of the Gods (near Monument Valley)  after which we would go to the St. George, Utah area.  After that, we’d head to Southern California deserts where we would spend most of our time on BLM lands.

After we left Owen in Spokane we drove about 400 miles to our first stop along the way to Valley of the Gods, which was Clark Canyon Reservoir.  We had planned on just spending the night and then heading out the next day for another 400 miles.

Well, the place we found was an almost deserted campground (the advantage of traveling during the off season) that had water, toilets, and trash!  And was free.

But most of all it was quite beautiful.  And the hills above the reservoir were too inviting for us hikers to pass up.

So, instead of spending one quick night here, we spent three.  And took two very lovely hikes.

That is what our road trips have turned into—spontaneously deciding what we want to do, how long we want to stay in one place, and where we want to go.  We contrast this with our first road trip where we spent most night in RV parks or established campgrounds and had it all planned out ahead of time.  We just didn’t know how to make it work, so did the best we could, and had a lot of fun.

But this is more fun.  It will be the rare occasion that we have toilets, trash, or water, or have to pay for our night’s stay.  Mostly we will be looking for remote areas where we see no lights of civilization.  And, at night, only the stars which are so very bright when they are all there is to light up the sky.

Some photos of our three days.

Our campsite:

The hills that were too inviting to pass up:

Our hikes:

Temperatures fell 50 degrees every day.  From 18-22 in the morning to mid 70s in the afternoon.  Cold enough that we needed every blanket Vicky brought or knitted at night, and could take showers and do laundry during the day.  Temperatures drop at night everywhere, of course, and especially in the desert.  But we have not experienced this type of drop.

Warm enough to take showers from our solar powered shower bag and do laundry.  We have learned how to take a good shower with one gallon of water.  

Here is Vicky using the handy-dandy camping laundry plunger that I bought her for her birthday (what a guy). 

And here she is after discovering that the handy-dandy camping laundry plunger didn’t work as well as the old fashioned way.  Unfortunately, we “accidentally” left the plunger at the campground when we left….look for it close to the trash.

 Tomorrow we head south.  Wonder what we'll find.

At Silvermoon's:

 At Owen's: