But to backtrack a bit....I set the alarm so I could get an early start. My A/C ran off and on all night...WAY too warm for me. I left the campground before 8:30 and headed north. Initially I was following a Class A pulling a Tracker (so will see it in many of my early photos). Eventually I passed them on a hill...imagine that. I think he was going for optimum mileage at 55 while I prefer just a little faster at 60.
Here are the first shots leaving Page & Lake Powell.
The first 50 miles were pretty washboarded, at least for me in a truck chassis Class C. Since I can hear my stuff bouncing around (as well as seeing my Garmin & Sirius Visor bouncing all over my dash), I tend to slow down a bit under those conditions....not that it helped very much.
No winds and the rig handled the grades pretty well. I only had to shift into 2nd a couple of times and never dropped below 40 (usually held 45 on the worst grades). The downhill grades were mostly 6% and taking it out of overdrive was all that was needed. I forgot to mention in my earlier blog about the wind on the way to Page...between Williams and Flagstaff I passed an accident. There was a fiberglass trailer that appeared to have been blown off the road and the truck & trailer were both on their sides in the ditch. Yup...it really was windy.
I pulled over on the wide shoulder on the north side of Hatch and ate some lunch....found out I had EVDO so signed on (first time of the day). Suddenly I happened to look out the windshield...seems as though I had parked beside a nice empty lot where there was a community of prairie dogs. I know those that deal with them daily, aren't so fond of them but for us visitors they never fail to amuse. There were several little babies but they always scattered before I could get close enough to snap a photo.
Speaking of wide shoulders, I know I'm not alone in liking towns that offer those....perfect for stopping to visit neat little towns like Kanab, Hatch & others. No hunting for a usuable parking spot for our long rigs. Thank you to the founders & planners....LOL!
Much more of US89 was heavily washboarded....my top shelf on the door of my refrigerator completely broke, my teapot wiggled off the no-slip pad where it has ridden for 2k miles without an issue, BUT my drawer fix held! WHOO-HOO!!
I arrived at Lizzie and Charlie's RV ATV Park in Marysvale, UT around 1:30 MT. The clerk was really nice....I offered all my discount cards but they don't honor them. Then he told me he would give me a discount anyway. He said their normal rate was $25, how did $15 sound. WONDERFUL! I paid in cash rather than my credit card as a thank you back. This isn't a place I would stay more than one or two nights but it's fine for that. Lots of ATVs and dirt bikes running around, sites aren't always level (mine is pretty good though). I hooked up to power (yes, the A/C is running again...) but left off the water. I have 3/4 of a tank and it's easy to work off that. Tomorrow I will try for an early start and hope to make Phillips RV Park in Evanston, WY. An alternative is Holiday Hills RV Park in Coalville, WY where I will stop if running later or overly tired. It's 20 miles short of Evanston.
One final note, what's up with the bugs in UT? They started in Page, little gnat like flies and have been joined by larger more irritating insects as I've driven north. I'd forgotten how much I dislike flying insects after spending 7 months in AZ...just didn't seem to run into many of them. UGH!
NOTE: For more photos from today, visit today's SmugMug gallery.
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
Stu and Donna
As a 50 year Arizona resident, I can't let you get away with saying "we are back in the Mountain Time Zone." You were IN the true Mountain Time Zone when you were in Arizona, you are now in the Daylight Savings Mountain Time Zone, which is equivilent to Central Standard Time. I'm glad we don't have DST in Arizona. We adjust by our construction workers going to work earlier. And I've read that there are no real savings in energy from DST, it is just an artificial situation.
ReplyDeletePhil, had to laugh. I TOADILY agree about DST. I hate it....the reason I mention everything by time zone is for family back east. If they had to track what state I was in where and what time zone it was in and whether it was DST or not...they'd NEVER call. Much easier to just tell them what time zone I am in (and AZ with the non-DST becomes Pacific to them).
ReplyDeleteHi, Jim and I went up 89 from Flagstaff in April on our way up to the North Rim. Maybe it was because we were pulling a trailer, but I didn't find it to be washboard at all. We go up 89 from Jacobs Lake to Fredonia every other week on our way to St. George, Utah to get groceries.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my weight loss. I am really aiming for a goal of "having to buy new pants" before we leave here in October. I am "almost" there. :)