~Friday, September 25, 2020~
Day 103 (Travel Day)
Pretty warm in Mesquite, so we’re glad we’re headed to a higher elevation of around 10,000 feet. First stop was Hurricane, UT to dump the gray/black tanks then fill up the fresh water tanks since we’ll be dry camping the next 4 or 5 days. This gas station allows you to dump for free if you buy gas, which we needed anyway. Perfect. We also filled the 4 collapsible water bottles for backup. I guess there are no facemask requirements in Hurricane, UT.
The drive to Cedar Breaks Campground was about 1-½ hours with a 7,000 foot elevation gain. It always makes me nervous to carry so much water, when we have a lot of climbing to do. The scenery as we moved closer to Cedar Breaks grew increasingly more beautiful.
Many of the aspens are changing color, the sky is bluer than what we’ve seen in the valley of late due to the fires, and the air smells clean. I must admit as our GPS told us we had arrived at the Markagunt Plateau, it was strange to know that we can pretty much hunker down in any dirt site we pleased. Dispersed camping does not mean you can pull into any grass or bushy areas, since a hot muffler and dry brush don’t mix. We stopped in one area that already had a camper (dispersed camping etiquette means don’t camp in the same vicinity-people want their space which is why they’re here). While I stayed with Sadie and the vehicles, Jeff took a walk down the road to see how our RV would fare, and to see if there were any potential site candidates. He was gone quite a while, so I decided to head down there. He was heading back towards me, when we decided to take a side road (don’t take the side roads) which turned out to be a rough, logging road. It didn’t take long for us to figure out, as the smooth gravel stuff disappears, replaced by rocky, rough terrain, you’re not in for a good time. So we headed back to the entrance and found an even better area to hunker down. This is when a series of unfortunate events started to unfold.
I walked up the side road a bit, meeting a fellow RV’er/hunter, who had just arrived the same day, and told him where we were thinking of planting our rig (visible from his vantage point, but not right on top of him). All good. But Jeff walked a little further back and found an even better spot for us. Unfortunately where we decided to enter through a tight grove of trees, was not going to allow us to go in and turn around for the perfect orientation. This approach is what cost us a few hours of settling in. If we hadn’t tried to go through the set of trees, we would have been fine. But the location was pretty tight to begin with. Needless to say, while Jeff tried to steer it right and me trying to guide him in, it was extremely challenging. Let’s just say a lot of bickering took place. What compounded the problem was the fact we hardly ate or drank anything (we thought we would have settled in much earlier) all while adjusting to the huge elevation gain. Not a good combination. We think this may be the highest we’ll ever camp.
Lesson learned…..expect the unexpected on traveling days. I’ve mentioned before to eat well before hitting the road. We originally thought with the 1-½ hour drive that we would just eat when we arrived. I don’t think we finally unhitched until around 4:00 (new 1 hr. time change).
Needing our space, Jeff tackled the outside, while I set up the inside and also made us a late lunch of quesadillas, Ken’s beef jerky and olives. Looking back on the trip so far, Jeff and I have gotten along fabulously. It’s not easy being together 24/7 sometimes. But Jeff and I really are a great team, and have an amazing relationship. Today was definitely a test, and we’re both very stubborn. So what one thinks should be done a certain way, the other thinks it should be differently. Ugh. It doesn’t take long for us to get over it and move on. But, let’s put this day behind us shall we, and look forward to tomorrow.
We both agreed with our late lunch that dinner didn’t sound appealing….except for that bowl of Raisin Bran we ate as we talked about our plans while visiting here. We have been going, going, going so are both looking forward to some chill time, with less driving. It’s nice not to have the internet at our fingertips and we can just enjoy the beautiful scenery, and just BE!