Prescott, Arizona

On Tuesday (10/26) we left Yuma for the cooler hills of Prescott (Preskit if you know the local jargon). We had looked forward to this stop as we had heard many good things about the town. A one day stay certainly is not enough to write a review for travel books. So, to be kind, I will focus on the one highlight of the trip- biking.

Prescott has many mountain biking options, especially for people such as me...who don't really like jumping rocks and logs. I tend to end up in the sagebrush if the trail is at all technical. Prescott also has many miles of expert riding too. We opted for an easy cruise by Willow and Watson Lakes extending our tour on the Peavine and Iron King Trails. The two trails were reclaimed from the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway. These and other trails encompass the city creating a 50 mile loop.

Most of you know us well enough to understand that if the food was not the highlight of our Prescott experience, you can safely predict that we will never move there. We asked a wine shop owner where he recommended eating and he responded, "Sedona."

Watch for our next post from Sedona.











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Jordan Hot Springs

Some places stay with us long after the visit is over. Jordan Hot Springs is one of those very special places. The hot springs is in the Gila National Forest, which is in the southwest corner of New Mexico. Our last minute decision to go to Gila proved fortuitous and just what we needed after some frustrating days.

During the past two weeks, Philip and I traveled back to Jackson to leave our dog, Gus, with our dear friend Jen. We visited with Beth and Gib in Fort Collins. They have one of the best guest rooms with an extra large shower and Beth is a super cook (yummy raspberry pancakes!). Next stop was Colorado Springs to hang out with Max. We parked in a lot behind Max's house. Thankfully, the van is well insulated and we slept through all the late night college parties. The Springs has a wonderful old downtown with good shopping and eating opportunities all within walking distance of the campus. Best of all was being with Max.






We decided to head south to Santa Fe (eat at the Santa Cafe'). In Santa Fe we stayed at the Santa Fe Skies RV Park just south of town. Good spot for a short stay. It's near the train station making it very easy to get into town. And it has a unique feature. Here's something I've never seen in a bathroom before...





We decided to get out of town and out of parking lots. Heading south on I25 we camped at Caballo State Park. Good for a night or two, longer if you like to fish. Next, we turned east driving the long winding mountainous roads to Gila National Forest.

In Gila, we relaxed for a night at Mesa Campgrounds on Roberts Lake. There are many developed campgrounds and plenty of places for dispersed camping too in Gila. It is a good rode biking and mountain biking area. The forest is green and healthy with a wide variety of flora and fauna, including interesting characters such as the javelina. It's very east meets west with beautiful sandstone canyons, crystal clear streams and a shady canopy of deciduous trees.

We hiked to Jordan Hot Springs via the Little Bear Canyon trail (six easy miles) and out the Middle Fork of the Gila River (eight miles with over 30 river crossings). On Monday morning we passed eight hikers on their way out and never saw another soul. The hot springs was ours.

Jordan Hot Springs emerges from the shaded hillside filling two pools created by loose rocks and logs. The pools are deep enough to be submerged when sitting, spanning about 12 x 20'. The water is bath temperature. Just wonderful to soak in.




One of the many river crossings. Don't bother with hiking boots, but do bring sturdy water shoes.




Giant cottonwood tree.





A view of the hot springs from above.





Beautiful morning in the canyon.

From Gila we headed towards Yuma, Arizona stopping overnight at Picacho State Park outside of Tucson for one night. In Yuma, we gathered with family and friends to celebrate Russ and Marie's 60th wedding anniversary and Marie's 80th birthday. The picture says it all.







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Our Home

The van. Two solar panels on the roof. Four storage batteries. Hot water and interior heat. Two roof vents, one with fan. Slider windows on each side of bed. Diesel engine, 18 mpg. Wireless Internet. TV with DVD player.


Philip's office. Flip desk and mounted monitor.


The Galley. Two burner propane stove. Flip up counter/table on end. Both front seats swivel.


Refrigerator (microwave above).


Queen size platform bed with storage below. Impossible to make the bed military style.


The composting (you heard right) toilet and shower. We also have an outdoor shower out the back.


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Small Spaces Big Places

The name of our blog originates from our first wilderness experience in the van. A few weeks ago in SE Utah we visited Grand Gulch, which is a BLM primitive site. At the very southern point of Rt. 261 you can drive up to the mesa on Mulley Point Road. On top of the mesa you will find many unbelievable undeveloped camp sites and a spectacular view. So, here you see our small space perched atop a big place. On the mesa you can see the sunrises as well as the sunsets. After a rain the slick rock fills with pools of fresh water. From the rim you can see to the east, south and west. This has to be one of the best camp sites that doesn't require hiking. And, it's free!


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Evening View, Todie Canyon, Grand Gulch Utah. September 25, 2010

Look closely to see the moon rising. Great vista from our sleeping perch on the rock slabs above the gulch. Unfortunately, we did not have a mountain lion sighting.


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Bear Lake, Utah. September 20, 2010

They call this a beach?!


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Beginnings Start with Endings

Every new beginning starts with some type of ending. For Philip and I, that meant having a party, relocating our pets and moving out of our house in Bryan Flats. With direction from Robyne and help from Heather, Susanne, John and Jeannie the party was a piece of cake. Relocating pets was emotional, but we feel they are happy with their new families. Packing was another animal all together. At one point it seemed as if there would be no end to the boxes. However, with help from Guy and some friends we managed to fit everything into our storage units.

Our first destination was Bear Lake, Utah. We camped at Rendezvous State Park. The advantage of traveling off-season is that we nearly had the place to ourselves. Beautiful setting, but I would skip it in the summer because of the crowds and the high number of motorized boats.

We had our first roadside overnight experience just south of Moab. The sound dampening material in the van worked and we had a very comfortable night at the rest stop.

By the fourth night we reached our destination- Grand Gulch in SE Utah, known for its Anasazi ruins. The mesa is beautiful with few visitors. Absolutely wonderful free campsites overlooking the San Juan River valley. We arrived in time for a fabulous sunset followed by a full moon. After two nights on the mesa, we strapped on our backpacks hiking Kane Gulch through to Bullet Canyon for 23 miles over three days. This route contains many Anasazi ruin sites. The hike was difficult due to prior heavy rains and thick vegetation. Route finding was a challenge at times and we were fortunate to have a set of foot prints to follow. All in all it was a good trip, but we would recommend hiking in for day or one night from both trail heads and skipping the middle section of the hike.

From there we headed south to Bluff, Utah to restock. Bluff is more of a village than a town. Its "claim to fame" is the San Juan and the many river trips that start there. We did have a good dinner at the Cottonwood Steakhouse and a great quad-shot latte the next morning before leaving for Durango.

Love Durango! Wonderful campground, Junction Creek, just north of town in the San Juan National Forest.

Please be patient as I learn to manage the blog. Working from an iPad limits some of the Blogger functions.

Happy Trails!