Been a few months since I logged my life. Since my birthday, I’ve driven from Fargo, North Dakota to Las Vegas. It was a wonderful 3 week trip that meandered across 7 states, over 2,000 miles, and about 200 geocaches. Most of it I dry camped in forests or other federal lands. Twice I stayed in small towns, once a fairground and once a city park. Most days I moved, but not all. I stayed 3 days in Grand Canyon, 4 days in Roosevelt, but one day at most other locations. At one point I packed up and drove 10 days straight… which is a lot of work for me. I really prefer the drive and stop for days, then drive and stop for days, schedule.
I think my favorite part was picking up Tira in Idaho Falls. After, we camped together for a week. I was in the Tetons when I picked her up and we stayed there for a couple of days before heading home from Wyoming through Idaho and directly south into NV, bypassing Utah all together.
After we returned home in mid June we spent a few weeks getting caught up around the house and the first week of July, while Nicholas was working at a Boy Scout camp in Utah, Tira and I went camping up to Bryce Canyon area. We stayed 2 days at Panguitch Lake but I just didn’t like it so we headed towards Bryce. Before we even got there, we came to Red Canyon on Hwy 12, just 9 miles west of Bryce Canyon…. and we fell in love. We stayed there for 5 days and were making plans to return before we ever left. Red Rock Canyon offers “Bryce like” scenery with hoodoos and canyons and beautiful rock formations. Tira and I walked a trail on our last day that was almost 2 mi each way, and climbed 500′ or so. It was tough but absolutely beautiful.
Yeah, “Bryce like” scenery, without the “Bryce like” crowds. 🙂
I was only home one day when I packed up Tira’s Murano and headed to Missouri. Now that was a whirlwind drive!!! In 8 days (door to door, here in Vegas) I drove 3,700 miles. I picked up Tim in Albuquerque and day 2 we headed up to the NE corner of Missouri to pick up a motorcycle (trike). We towed an empty trailer up and towed his 1998 Honda Valkyre Trike back. I didn’t get to geocache near enough, but I did collect one per state… and Tim and I drove through 10 states. 🙂
I think the coolest thing we did that drive (other than driving nearly 4,000 miles!) was stopping at Ken and Angies place in Braggs OK. Next to that, the coolest thing was stopping at the cadillac ranch outside of Amarillo TX. I even got to make my mark there. (see pic, below)
I returned 18 Jul and for the last month have been winding down and planning. In that month I’ve found over 200 geocaches, I’ve hidden 5 geocaches, and I hit 1,000 total caches on 18 August… which is “International Geocaching Day”… by the way. 🙂
Tira flew to OK to visit her mom, in August. She stayed at her cousin’s house… I don’t remember their name right off… oh yeah, Ken and his wife, Angie. 🙂 Mom broke her hip and had to have a complete replacement. She’s doing ok now, is back home as of this week, but it was pretty traumatizing still.
Tira starts back to work tomorrow, Monday, Nicholas starts school Friday. He’s a Senior this year. We’ve both helped her prepare her classroom for the new batch of first graders so she’s ready and anxious to go.
Nic and I pulled the bad head on the Mustang but it needed a complete rebuild and I got a call from the shop just a few hours ago that the heads are done and to come pick them up. WahooOooOOO!
Nicholas bought a 1992 Ford Ranger for daily transportation and he and I have done a couple of things on it. I think in the last few months he’s learned more about cars and car repairs than in all of the rest of his life. 🙂
He paid for it completely with money he’s earned this summer working at a law office, as a runner and filing paperwork. He’s also paying for his own repairs, like all 4 new shocks we put on last week.
Well, that about caches me up. (I love that word, now) My next big venture will be to spend some time on the “ET Highway” which travels North of, and past area 51. It’s a geocaching “power trail”, and one of the largest power trails in the world. In under 100 miles of remote highway through the desert there are over 2,000 geocaches hidden. By myself it will take me probably 2 weeks to find all of them so I’m looking forward to doing it in stages or maybe finding a friend to do it with.
Thanks for reading.