Livin’ the Dream … The Diaries of a Madman

[KOWBOY]

Coupla shots on the scenic loop behind the campground and a feature aptly named the "beehive".

 

[KOWBOY]

A young jackrabbit that lives in the campground came to admire my rig and my super-pimpin' lil' Christmas Tree that I lit up ev'ry night from then on. I liked it.

 

[KOWBOY]

Sunday, 15 December

Damned good nights sleep. And the bat’ries were still over 12 volts this mornin’. Very happy with the electrical system in this camper. Part of that is the big Nova-Kool fridge. Lots of room with a freezer section to boot and a very low power draw. Same compressor as my ARB fridge. And ain’t gotta be level to work like the cheap RV units. Which is a good thang since my air bag ain’t healed itself yet.

Got my routine down pat for cookin’ up a lumberjack breakfast and getting’ ev’rythang cleaned up afterwards. Another beautiful day in paradise and I was anxious to get back on the bike and work the soreness outta my legs. That long trail ‘cross the valley beckoned me like a beacon to wayward ships.

Packed up my survival day pack with my daily vittles. Banana, apple, protein bar, Cliff bar, and a peanut butter sandwich. Also carry fire startin’ stuff, whistle, signal mirror, compass, binoculars, camera, s*** paper/trowel, insect repellent, first aid kit, nylon tarp, parachute cord, rain suit, watch cap, gloves, pullover soft-shell jacket, and two water bottles. Any given day, prob’ly don’t need some of the stuff. But it stays packed and goes where I go … on foot or on bike. Don’t really weigh much and someday might make the difference of y’all seein’ me again or not. On my waist I wear a SOG utility knife with a multi-tool attached on the scabbard. And always got my Spyderco knife and swiss army knife in my pockets. And a bandana. And a tactical flashlight. I might die out here … but I ain’t gonna be the idiot on the evenin’ news that just wandered off unprepared. I give Mother Nature all the respect she deserves and hope to never act’uly need to do battle with ‘er.

So off I go. Uphill a coupla miles of blacktop to get to the trailhead. Then a really cool trail off across the valley. No sign of recent use at all and the trail marker signs were way too far apart. Several times had to reconnoiter on foot to try to reclaim the correct route. Sometimes the trail was just a dry wash. Generally down hill and a very fun ride. Slow go in all the rocks and the bushes were hell on the legs. Took a coupla hours to get all the way to the end where it intersects pavement again. Reckon ‘bout 10 miles. Coulda made a loop outta it and come back on the main park road but that didn’t seem much fun. So turned around and headed back. Generally uphill now. My legs were burnin’. When it became too much, I dismounted and walked a bit. Hike and bike. Then I blew out the front tire.

Evidently them thorn bushes are hell on tires too. No problem. Lil’ bag under the seat has tire tools, patch kit, AND a spare inner tube. ‘Cept I couldn’t get the tire off the rim. I’ve done it a hun’erd times if I’ve done it once. But this machine is dif’rent and there’s obviously a trick to it that I ain’t privy too. Fought it for a good bit and started to get way too aggravated. And realized I better get my sorry ass outta the middle of the desert ‘fore that sun went down over the horizon. So now just hike. And push the bike. ‘Bout 5 miles. Yesterday, she brought me home. Today, I brought her home. We’re even. Great adventure for the day!

Got home and just grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and headed to the bathhouse. What a wonderful, LONG, hot shower. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a daily whore bath. ‘Specially when ya got hot water. But ain’t no substitute for a hot shower. Gonna have to try my exterior version one of these days.

My legs look like I fought an angry tomcat. And most my muscles are too sore to even move. Reckon tomorrow gonna change up and use the truck for transport.

Gotta start a new book now. Zane’s gunslinger main character done went honest, became a Texas Ranger, killed all the bad guys, and got the girl. Good stuff.

Time to light up the candle and the Christmas tree.

 

[KOWBOY]

Nice restin' place for a snack and then some trails shots of the one-track 'cross the valley.

 

[KOWBOY]

This is a cool shot lookin' into the wall of rock. The Visitor's Center can be seen on the right and the steep grade to some of the tourists spots is on the left.

 

[KOWBOY]

Part of the trail became the old road bed from the original park road. Much easier peddlin' on this stuff.

Part of the trail became just a wash. Much harder peddlin' on this stuff.

 

[KOWBOY]

The desert does not forgive. Pictures of life ... and death.

 

[KOWBOY]

Monday, 16 December

Livin’ in hotels can be rough. Dif’rent beds alone is troublesome for good sleepin’ habits. No such problem in my new home. I slept damned-near 12 hours last night. Un-friggin’-believable. Money invested in my beddin’ was money well spent. And I was slap worn out.

Did the breakfast thang, cleaned up, and started packin’. Time for this ol’ tumbleweed to blow on down the road. I’m just tickled pink how easy it is to get the Mobile Home mobile. That was one of my goals.

Swung by the RV dump station on the way outta the campground. Filled ‘er back plumb up with water and dumped a few turds outta the cassette toilet into the sewer hole. Threw all my garbage in the dumpster. Ready to go.

Change of pace today. Gonna do the tourist thang. Drive the truck to all the spots in the Park while I’m here and see all the sights. Man … there were some sights. Started out back at the Visitor’s Center so I could study up on the displays. Lots of geography stuff that was fascinatin’ to read and too complex to remember. Real nice lil’ display of tiny Indians makin’ a go of it ‘round here long time ago. Some great taxidermy work of stuffed critters that I ain’t seen here. All I seen was a jack rabbit and some chipmunks. One troublesome picture of a tire track across some dead cactus thang and a big narrative of how off-road traffic destroys the desert. Old couple lookin’ at it were obviously disturbed by it. Asked the Ranger where it was taken and he said he didn’t know. Asked if the plant was dead before it was run over and he said he didn’t know. Pointed out it could have been taken of an already dead plant in an area designated for off-road travel and he couldn’t deny it. I love the outdoors but I hate tree-huggers. Road to the tourist areas from the Visitor’s Center went up a real steep grade thru a canyon. I downshifted and ran the big diesel up to 2500 rpm on the way up. The straight pipe exhaust echoin’ off them canyon walls was most excellent. Lil’ musical gift for the tree huggers.

Traveled light and fast today. Salomon trail shoes I normally wear on the bike. Runnin’ shorts and shirt. Carry only the truck keys, Spyderco knife, and camera. All the tourist trails are mile and half or less. Done ‘em all By Gawd. Took a billion pics. What a phenomenal lil’ park.

Sure as hell didn’t fit in with all the tourists tho. I speak English. Folks were mainly some version of Asian or European. Kinda strange. I didn’t run across enuf Americans to put together a football team. Spend some time over on the Expedition Portal website and read all the computer wanna-be’s that dream of travelin’ for-in shores. Wonder how many have even bothered to visit the Valley of Fire State Park??

I give this here park a solid, two-thumbs up on the Kowboy scale of places to go. Untold beauty and fantastic facilities. Only takes a day or two to see the whole gig … and only 50 or 60 miles from Vegas. Glad I seen it.

Time to do laundry. Only got a weeks’ worth of clothes with me. ‘Cause that’s all I own. Need a few grocery items and some more beer. Need a few more thangs at the hardware store. So outta the park and 15 miles or so back up the road to Overton. The Suds-Ur-Duds Laundromat was an interestin’ place. Not sure how long it’d been since a live person was in there. Place was a mess. 10 washers and 10 dryers. All machines except 2 of each were tagged “out of service”. Perfect … I got two loads. With that done, it was back to the Ace. Bat’ries for my ol’ cheesy camera. Thang eats bat’ries. Coupla dif’rent funnels to try to get water into my tank outta my cans. Then to the grocery store.

Then mize well go ‘cross the street to the Red Rooster Bar. Open 24/7. I respect the hell outta that. 3 bucks for an ice-cold Coors. I believe the barmaid prob’ly drew them sorry-ass petroglyph drawin’s on the rocks in the Park. She was certainly old enuf. Cool lil’ bar with some character tho. But way too thick with cigarette smoke for me. So one beer and done.

Fantabulous sunset on one side of me and equally impressive moon rise on the other. Back to my mesa. It’s just easy. Pull in and park. Free to all who venture here.

Gonna go mobile again tomorrow mornin’.

 

[KOWBOY]

First stop was Mouses's Tank. A really cool lil' side canyon that ended in a small pool of water.

Story is that a renegade Injun done killed off some settlers so sought shelter from Johnny-Law in this canyon. He held out for 6 months 'fore his lil' head started doin' all the thinkin' and and he went into town to see his woman. He was discovered and killed. Gotta be a moral in that story ...

 

[KOWBOY]

Next stop was a hike to the Fire Wave. A beautiful feature.

Based on the geography I learned at the Visitor's Center ... the first pic shows a hunk of red rock next to a hunk of white rock.

Next two pics show where they got all mixed together.

 

[KOWBOY]

The road ends at the White Domes. Beautiful rocks of a dif'rent color. Don't hate 'em jus 'cause they're white.

 

[KOWBOY]

Reckon there's been a lotta Hollywood stuff in this park over the years. This one had a whole movie set built up. This is all that's left.

 

[KOWBOY]

Tourist trail led thru a wicked-cool canyon that's 'bout shoulder width.

 

[KOWBOY]

And some shots on the rest of the trail.

 

[KOWBOY]

The Silica Dome can be seen from many miles around.

 

[KOWBOY]

Lookin' out the driver's window of the truck on the road almost back to the Visitor's Center.

 

[KOWBOY]

Coupla poser shots at the Seven Sisters picnic area.

 

[KOWBOY]

Quite rewardin' to see the remnants of work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) done back in the Depression. Part of FDR's New Deal program, it put unemployed men to work buildin' all kinds of neat stuff. Do some research on it if'n ya got the time. Helluva concept.

Nowdays we pay folks for doin' nothin' and call it Welfare.

... and a poser shot.

 

[KOWBOY]

A cool rock ...

"Elephant Rock" ...

and another cool rock ... that also looks like an elephant.

 

[KOWBOY]

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.