It’s all about the journey

A few days delay and a minor bout with COVID and we’re finally on our way. It was a lazy exit from Las Vegas as we had no definite destination in mind. This is Blanche’s “shakedown cruise” and we were champing at the bit to be on the road. We’re nomads at heart. Gypsies, wanderers… addicted to travel… slow travel.

With Blue, our Ford Transit van, we worked for months to get him ready and though we loved the finished product (is any project really ever finished?}, we overspent and overdid on many things we later discovered were unnecessary. We were committed to trying a different approach with Blanche. Granted some preliminary work like insulation, header and floor were already completed and she had solar panels when we bought her. That said, the electrical was a mess, the batteries were dead (due to the shoddy electrical work), the interior carpentry was gimcrack and we didn’t fit in the bed. There was definitely work to be done, but this time we’d only complete the basics and take her out for a few weeks. We’d then decide what we liked and what we didn’t; what we needed, and what was superfluous. Instead of an ultimate destination this time, it would be the journey that would be most important.

The red, rugged magnificence of Grand Staircase/Escalente National Monument

Right out of the gate we were very pleased that Blanche had outgrown her rattles, chatter and general clangor she originally had. She was so noisy on her initial trip from Denver to Las Vegas, it was hard to hold a conversation without shouting. David adjusted the latch mechanism on the passenger door which cut down drastically on road noise. Anchoring, adjusting and altering of the floor, header and side walls removed several errant rattles. Installing the bed and redoing shoddy carpentry and tightening loose fixtures evidently cured her of her “rattletrap-ness”. The armrest and console that David built and installed for me is wonderful and very comfortable. In general, the first few hundred miles have been relatively smooth and quiet; we’ll see how she does on secondary and gravel roads later in the trip.

Though the plan de jour was to head south towards warmer nighttime temps, we headed north out of Nevada and east at St. George, straddling the Utah-Arizona state line through the southern boundaries of the red, rugged magnificence of Grand Staircase--Escalante National Monument… eye candy for the camera and nourishment for the spirit. Nighttime temps too cold to camp, we holed up in a cozy, warm hotel room in Page, AZ. No sense in rushing into a cold camping experience; we prefer easing into it, plus a diesel heater is on the list for future upgrades, but not yet installed.

All sorts of unusual rock formations entertained us as we passed.

Though nights were cold in the 30s, days were warm and sunny. We relaxed, hiked, talked, planned, and just enjoyed the days and each other.

Hiking in the area is great. Lots of trails ranging from easy to hard, long and short and in-between. Since we’ve been here several times before, we re-walked a couple of trails like the Hanging Gardens and the Rim Walk that we’d walked before and tried out a few new ones, too.

We’ve walked the easy Hanging Garden Trail once before, but enjoyed it just as much this time.

Midst all the surrounding desert foliage, the Hanging Garden is lush and green with ferns.

Some industrious walkers have built cairns along the route.

The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, administered by the National Parks Service, extends around the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell areas. Again, the scenery is magnificent and the hiking is pure delight. The Hayden Visitor Center was closed, but we walked across the Dam and then along a trail to a Colorado River overlook. As with Lake Mead, Lake Powell’s water level is precariously low. Several of the marinas and boat docks are closed due to lack of water.

The Glen Canyon Dam is a wondrous sight.

An overlook above the Colorado River.

We’ve dawdled enough and we’re now ready to begin Blanche’s camping experience to see how she does and how we do. Blanche was not a “love at first sight” kind of van. She had problems, but she’s slowly beginning to grow on us. This, too, seems to be all about the journey. Join us next time as we continue our errant wanderings and ramblings.