Page 19…Fall 2020

All set up here at 3 Step Hideaway for a few days then over to Silverton Colorado Sunday morning. Meeting a few friends there to do some buggying, relaxing, and will try to learn how to make stuff with my new Insta Pot thing. Was going to go up in the Abajo Mountains for a couple of days but have decided to stay put right here. Was nice to see the trailer and buggy faired well the last two months stored here at 3 Step. Scott and Julie are real accommodating about letting me store stuff on their property.

I slept like a well fed baby last night…cool temps and no humidity…perfect….was around 50F this morning when I woke around 5 am…coffee and a blueberry muffin for breakfast. I brought my small microwave with this time…perfect for heating muffins and soups.

BTW…if anyone wants to meet up with us in Silverton for a visit we’ll be at the Red Mountain RV Park from the 6th till the 12th…bring beer.

4 Sept….last night was really nice…a gentle breeze and temps around 50F. Took the buggy for a short drive this morning…was nice to get back in it to explore. Here’s my set up at the overlook in the Abajo mountains. From here I can see Canyonlands NP, the Needles area, and Deadhorse Point off in the distance.

Got the drone out today after about 2 months of hibernation. Here’s the GPS coords for the spot…..N37.910823 W109.486140

With the new trailer it looks like I have lots of room to add more solar…Hmmmm.

6 Sept…All set up in Silverton Colorado for a week or so. My buddy Wendell and his lovely wife Trish should be arriving today. They drove over from central Florida to roam around the west for a month or so. Wendell and I have made several motorbike trips together in the past.

7 Sept….took Wendell and Trish up and over Hurricane, California, and Cinnamon passes in the buggy this morning. Spectacular stuff. Now back at the campground chillin.

I made my first Instapot meal this afternoon…chicken stew. Chicken, diced tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, carrots, corn, peas, and veggie broth…only took 5 minutes and it was done.

Sept 9…been an interesting few days…piled all three of us in the buggy the other day for a drive over California, Hurricane, and Cinnimon passes…a bit chilly but beautiful. Wendell and Trish somehow both fit in the passenger seat! Had a great time before the weather moved in. And speaking of weather…yesterday (Tuesday) the temps dropped like a rock as the front edge of the winter storm that has paralyzed UT, MY, WY, CO, and the Dakotas moved into the area. Torrential rains, sleet, and then snow…glad to have the van…nice and cozy with the outside temps in the low 30’sF.

The Espar diesel heater in the van is doing perfect but starting to make a bit of unusual  noise sometimes…probably needs servicing and a good cleaning…so…I ordered a complete unit to have as a spare…would take me about an hour to change it out should the original one fail on me. I really depend on the system to keep warm and couldn’t travel in the winter without it…so the $600 US for an extra unit is a necessary expense. I’ll install the new unit next week and ship off the original one to a service center to be reconditioned. Then throw it in the back of the van to have as backup.

Last night we all binged watching The Blacklist..I streamed Netflix with my phone in HD…used a HDMI adaptor to connect to the the TV in the van and all is well. Nice and cozy in the van while the wind, sleet, and snow blew like hell outside.

We made a great spaghetti/salad dinner last night in the van…my first time having more than one guest for supper. It’s a bit tight in the van with 3 of us but we’ve learned to move around each other just fine. Here’s Wendell and his beautiful wife partaking of sustenance.

Gonna be nice day to stay inside. Time for coffee!

Wendell cleaning of the stove so we can make a big pot of coffee.

Sept 10…yep a bit cold and really white this morning here in Silverton.

Just wanted to let everyone know I’m turning into an Instapot master. Tonight I’m blowing up three large baked potatoes.

I’m inside nice and warm cooking the potatoes while Wendell is outside in the snow grilling the chicken. Life is good.

Just to be sure haha!

Good grub!

12 Sept…had a great time with Wendell and Trish this past week…they pulled out this morning to do some exploring for a week or so…they’ll keep in touch and we’ll meet up again later this month. Today was really nice in Silverton…clear skies and warm temps in the afternoon…took a long walk around the city…would be nice to live here in the summer but the winters and the price of real estate put a quash on that idea. I’m still leaning towards a place in Utah or NM for the future…and the future is many years off…I do love window shopping for a small patch of land to build a tiny house one day…we will see.

The buggy is loaded and everything is set to pull out in the morning…headed back up in the Abajos for a few days before heading back to 3 Step for the Alpine Rendezvous ADV rally next weekend. I’ll be pitching in and helping Scott and Julie…good folks and I love meeting the guest and seeing all the bikes…lots of fun.

Was sitting in my chair this afternoon and spotted a parasail coming over the mountain…the pilot stayed aloft almost a half hour with the updrafts…really peaceful and beautiful watching him/her sail on the currents.

13 Sept…nice day for traveling…shower at 0700…on the road at 0800 headed to my favorite camping spot in the Abajos again…got here at 1330…salad for lunch after restocking at the Walmart in Cortez ($130 for two weeks of grub…not bad).

I have my 2017 Honda 250 Rally for sale…asking $4500 and includes a Mototote rear carrier that retails for $450. About 2600 miles on the thing. Not a scratch (you know me) and completely stock except for Barkbuster hand guards and a nice rear rack. The bike and rack are currently in southern Utah…I can deliver within a reasonable radius.

14 Sept…it’s a beautiful evening here in the mountains…took the buggy out today for a nice drive through the Abajos…the aspens are really thick above 9000 feet… had about 10 psi in the tires for a nice smooth ride on Johnson Creek Road up and over the top of the mountain. I went in about 20 miles, had a picnic, then came back to the campsite for lunch…made beef stew in the Instant Pot…yummy…then a nap.

Got the drone out for an hour or so…just practicing flying the thing…haven’t crashed it yet…only have two batteries left…one took a crap.

I’ve been a bit tardy taking photos of Trouble’s Traveling Cup (my beautiful niece gave it to me to use during my travels)…I nicknamed her “Trouble” in jest…here’s a photo of her.

I love the peace and quiet of some of the places I choose to camp…the evenings are full of softness that comes from still air and gentle light…a cup of coffee…a chocolate cookie (or 5) makes for a great bit of relaxing.

Sunset and early mornings are my time…time to think about what I’ve done…will do…need to do…family…friends…the neighbor’s dog. The occasional car or motorbike breaks the silence as they slide down the road towards Monticello or Moab…oblivious to me as they pass. The air has a chill tonight…the down jacket I got from Amazon for this trip is my friend…so is my knit cap. I sat in my chair for an hour or so listening to Andrea Bocelli and various guest singers…some of the best stuff out there…even the range cows that come begging seem to like it. A big diesel pickup is parked on the other side of the overlook…a young couple is curled up in the bed of the truck watching the sunset…a romantic interlude perhaps 🙂

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