We drove about an hour and a half from near Williams, AZ to dispersed camping in the Coconino National Forest about 15 miles from Sedona, AZ. We had originally explored the area near the junction of I-17 and AZ Hwy 179 but after leaving the URRV at a candidate spot, we found a better spot closer to the Sedona outskirts. Mid-afternoon, we drove down south via I-17 to the Montezuma National Monument to check things out. The castle was pretty impressive: Up to the early 1950s, you could actually drive up to the base of the castle as tourists: You could also climb ladders (see ab ..read more

Mellow day today, windy and sunny. We drove into town and just wandered about the main street area which is part of the famed Route 66 highway. There was a sign claiming: Last town to be bypassed by the construction of I-40.  Interesting claim to fame I thought. First, a visit to the Visitor Center/gift shop/small museum featuring Smokey the Bear and memorabilia related to the town's history. Some of the things that caught my eye: Delivering the mail....even in the snow There was a whole wall dedicated to the Williams Mountain Men.  A famous enough group that even attended thr ..read more

We left BlazeOurWay's Lori and Chris Z's awesome hospitality today.   We're starting our eastward portion of this camping trip, and drove just a few hours to dispersed camping south of Williams, AZ. Wouldn't you know it?  The site we picked has excellent cellular internet access!  So, no need for Starlink here. After a late lunch, and some resting from driving, we went exploring in the Honda CR-V: Harriet. We drove down FR140 and then explored the Dogtown Lake Campground run by the US Forest Service.  Nice campground, very wooded so I wonder how it would affect Starli ..read more

I finally broke down, and got the Gen 3 star link internet dish this week. A few notes: I bought mine through the Home Depot in Kingman, Arizona, since I could get the military discount through them. The setup and activation of the unit when sold via third parties is poorly done and a pain in the ass. Once I got it working, it finally dawned on me after I called with RichardM, that my calculations for power utilization had been wrong. I had forgotten that the equation for amps used is different when the volts are different!  Thanks to RichardM, I figured it out and it was drawing the exp ..read more

 We got to Meadview, AZ, Saturday, April 27 and have been Moochdocking at BlazeOurWay's  (Lori and Chris Z.) home.  This is their new base of operations after having been living fulltime in their Overlander Rig: Stewie for the last two years or so. Yesterday, Sunday, April 28 Some maintenance done on both Stewie, the Z's overlander rig pictured above and also on Yagi, my TW200.  New chassis batteries for Stewie and adjustment of the chain for the TW200.  I thought I needed new sprockets and chain due to the chain slipping at times when going uphill above 50 mph, but n ..read more

While Martha went to do some shopping in Henderson, I rode out this morning on Yagi, my TW200 to check out Lava Butte.  It lies outside, the borders of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The beginning of the trail, shortly after it becomes a dirt road from the trailhead off of Lake Mead Boulevard was pretty rough, you definitely need 4x4 and good ground clearance just to get on the trail!  (Big boulders and ruts with a decent slope) Here was today's objective: The way to the butte was not bad at all after the entrance, I experienced not too many technical bits along the way exc ..read more

A somewhat short driving day today as we drove to be close to the Las Vegas, NV area.  Since we gained an hour once we were in Nevada, we were setting up camp by Noon. There's several rigs here but the sites are pretty dispersed so far.  Not enough rig to make for crowded conditions yet.  We got ourselves a pretty good spot with views of the water on Lake Mead: Close to sunset, which wasn't much of an event, I rode out on Yagi to check out the rest of the area.   Not much to tell, more rigs to be found, but still good dispersal patterns.  The roads are rocky an ..read more

 Monday, April 22 We left the Torrey, UT area at 8:32 AM and by 1:00 PM or so we were south of Cedar City, UT setting up camp at a BLM dispersed camping area. Nice spot, and no neighbors which was the best part.  Even the wind, which wasn't that strong, was warm under the bright sunshine once the clouds moved away. We rested and relaxed the afternoon away, enjoying the warm conditions.  I did take Yagi, the T-Dub for a short ride in the trail loop nearby, but nothing pic-worthy was found. Tuesday, April 23 Martha and I took Harriet, the CR-V, south on the highway for about ..read more

Saturday, April 20 Martha and I drove the Honda CR-V (Wanda) down UT Highway 12, a designated scenic byway, towards the Escalante National Monument. A brief stop at "The Hogback" for the above shot. The rest of the photos for this post are screen captures from the footage shot by the car's dashcam.  Not too bad.  There are some really cool and colorful rock formations as one heads towards and through the Escalante National Monument enroute to its visitor center in the town of Escalante. I've been in this area on previous trips and rides: LINK1, LINK2 Martha got her Park ..read more

This morning we drove down to the vicinity of the visitor center for the Capitol Reef NP and checked out the Petroglyph Panel. Our view of nearby Torrey and the rock wall overlooking the town: This is a section of rock wall where petroglyphs are evident.  They're pretty cool, though thoughts of ancient astronauts did briefly fill my head.  The artwork is quite faded now, in fact, Martha had to point the first one below out to me. The below pics have been enhanced to show the figures better. There's a wooden walkway to guide you along the wall, and to keep people from actually di ..read more