WOC Facebook event

Artslant listing

Art Forum gallery guide

Trib mention

Huffington Post

I4u news

Tweet this!

In This Episode

Our Campsite
Fathers Day gift!
Rained Heavily
Topaz Mountain—so close!
Borrowed Vehicle
New Food
New Gear
People
Mishaps
Good Things Happen Too
MYOG
What We Learned

View this photostream on Flickr
Follow Joseph’s Photostream

Our Campsite

Simpson Springs Campground: $5 per night

When we arrived, all looked good and the weather was very nice. Little did I know, when we were choosing a spot to set up camp, the site Carrie and Zoe chose was the one with the most trees. I of course was clueless to their cause. However, when we set-up camp they brought out my Fathers day gift.

Fathers Day gift!

Two person Armadillo hammock. My family is awesome! Thanks Carrie, Zoe, and Xayne! I love it.

Zoe seemed to get more use out of it than I did. I guess we will be making another purchase

Rained Heavily

Saturday night I tried sleeping in my new Armadillo hammock—and then the rain came. I woke up with a start, when I must have moved my pillow (link), and the hammock filled with water! Agh! As I climbed out, I found Carrie running around chasing Xayne at 1:30 am. Damn. She was so frustrated. I felt pretty bad. I thought I went to bed after all activity. Guess not.

Sleeping in the hammock while it rained would have worked though with the rain fly designed for it. Just one addition and I am set for my solo backpacking trip next week (plus a new fuel pump for my Dragonfly stove ). These hammocks make great companions for backpacking without a tent. And it only weighs a little more than a pound.

From late Saturday night, It rained and rained. Didn’t stop until late Sunday evening, when we were packed and ready to go. I don’t mind the rain while camping, however, it can be a bother though with kids, and especially if you don’t have the right clothing for it. Along with Zoe, Carrie is not so fond if either, I was informed. We knew it might rain on Sunday, but we had no idea it would be that bad. Xayne was miserable, not because of the weather—we wouldn’t let him play in it. After being sick multiple times this summer, we were not about tho allow him run amuck in this weather. We did, however, let him loose to terrorize the landscape just a few times during the onslaught of rain. Thats one stubborn boy, and he loves being outside, despite the cold and wetness. I love him, that’s my boy.

Zoe and I tried to hike down to a very old mail house. We were so close to it. The rain almost washed us away before we ran back to camp. I couldn’t get a photo of it, for fear of my camera (that I tucked under my shirt) being damaged.

Topaz Mountain—so close!

I could almost smell the crystals…well, maybe that was the rain. Next time, I guess. Carrie swears she not camp out here again. Next time is a day trip only.

Borrowed vehicle

My brother bought a Jeep Cherokee. He lives in Southern Cali, so I had to register it for him since it will be sitting at our sister, Mindy’s house on the street until he is able to get here and get it. Since the Jeep was in my name, I added it to my insurance and off we went. Thanks Jeff for letting us use it! What a great family I have! It was a great, and I don’t think we would have made it without.

New Food

Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki w/ Rice. I recommend it. Zoe even liked it, which says a lot! This dish serves 2 and seems to be plenty. It was very filling as well. Probably a good idea to take out the Oxygen Absorber Packet before adding hot water…. Just a thought.

New Gear

• Fortunately, I had the chance to use our new REI Ti Wear Nonstick Titanium Cookset on this short-lived trip. They work great! comes with two pots and two pans. Great for family backpacking too.
• CamelBak tube replacement from REI
• Water Purifier: Sawyer Water Treatment System—4L capacity (@ REI). I didn’t get a chance to use it on this trip, but I will update when I do.
• Green Armadillo 2 person hammock Made with parachute nylon, has 3X stitching, and holds 400 lbs (see their blog).
• New child carrier for Xayne: We sold our Kelty pack (didn’t fit very well) and bought the Sherpani Rumba Superlight. Fits amazingly. We love the switch!

People

A neighbor lady came to ask for help. John and his family were parked less than a mile away, outside of the camp in there motorhome. The motor home had broken down and John, drove a 4-wheeler down the road to try and get service in the rain. It proved to be too cold and he returned freezing. I jumped in the jeep and took John back down the road where he could make some calls to get help. He’s a really nice guy, and I have to say, the man has some good friends that were willing to drive two plus hours one way to get John and his family where they needed.

When we returned, I tried to move him with the Jeep, but the motorhome wouldn’t budge. He gave me some gas, which would have been very helpful if we had actually been able to go rockhounding…. Overall it was a great experience to help someone in need, and I learned that the 4 wheel drive works on the Jeep! Further more, if we had not had the Jeep on this trip, there is no way I could have helped John, with the condition of the road. Pretty much a mud bog.

Mishaps

• Car troubles with the Honda Civic before we left. It was towed due to the fact that I parked too close to someones driveway late at night, while trying to get ready. Oops! And to add injury to insult, someone jammed a stick into the valve stem and let the air out of one of my tires, then replaced the cap to cover it up! At least it wasn’t slashed. That bit cost us an extra $79, because it had to be towed on a dolly. Thanks to whomever—sorry for my mistake. Cost: $250! That right there should have canceled out trip. But we are stubborn people, so we went anyways, on a dollar and a dime (so to speak). I think we have about $13 for the rest of the month.
• The latch to the back hatch on our jeep stopped working before we even left the valley. I had to strap it down with tie-downs, which I forgot in my car that was sitting at my Mindy’s house. Thanks to my awesome sister for delivering them to me, I was able to strap the back hatch down and also have a tow rope (that she also brought) to try and help our neighbor, John.
• Key hole on the drivers side door of the Jeep broke.
• All of the bouncing around somehow bent the fuel control rod on my MSR Dragonfly stove. Bad packing job on my part. Need to buy a new fuel pump. Bummer.
• Our double mantle lantern sprung a leak near the fuel feed. Carrie went to light it and the whole thing caught on fire, tank and all. Luckily she was able to contain the flames before any harm was caused. The propane canister was damaged and I put it in a bag to discard. When leaving we drove out 10 miles before I realized I had it in the jeep under my feet while driving! It took me that long to realize what the stink was coming from.
• The zipper on the Mountain Hardwear rain fly (Room With A View), finally gave out. Too much tripping over it I guess when zipping down from the top, instead of up from the bottom.

Good Things Happen Too

• Found a pile of wood at the campsite!
• We were able to help a fellow camper
• I got a kick-ass present
• At least I could see Topaz Mountain from the campsite

MYOG

A fellow tweeter TrailSavvy, introduced me to MYOG (make your own gear). I love the idea, and I want to try something of my own. I want to make a tent and camera bag attachments, but I think that is reaching beyond my current capabilities. Maybe with some practice though I think I will start with fixing my tent zipper.

What We Learned

• Jeeps don’t pull motorhomes.
• Too much rain with a little squirt proves to be a bit overwhelming (maybe more than a bit). Too much bad weather while camping can be very taxing on family relations.
• Hammocks rule! A good hammock is a great purchase and worth the money.
• Be careful to pack fragile gear.
• Our Honda Civic has an amazing amount of room, compared to the Jeep Cherokee!
• If sooo many things go wrong before the trip, maybe its a good idea to reconsider.
• Brought one bin, yet still not organized enough!
• We need better rain gear! And so does my camera.
• Apparently I can’t write clearly while making notes for the blog, standing in a downpour.
• Don’t let kids pack their own bag without double checking for warm clothing. However, Zoe did pack it, it just didn’t make it out of her room So she wore one of my shirts and jacket. She looked pretty funny.
• GSI Compact Scraper: (@ REI) (for cleaning pots) is still Awesome!
• I did pretty good packing this time… except for checking on Zoe’s gear…
• Always check and double check fuel canisters and lanterns/stoves.

Technorati Tags:
BLM Land, Camping, Dehydrated Food, Developed Site, Family, Family Site, Freeze Dried Meal, Friends, Large Tent, Non-Potable Water, Photography, Poeple, Rain, Rockhounding, Simpson Springs, Storm, Travel, Utah, Western utah, Camp Food, Camp Gear

Tweet this!

I decided to postpone the Antelope Island post until a later date due to The Pride Parade being a more timely event.

MUST SEE! Flickr Photostream
Follow Joseph’s Photostream

We didn’t have to travel very far since one of the three staging areas were right outside our apartment. When we realized we were at the end of one of the staging areas, and not in the center, we grabbed the chill’ns and hiked a block (helps to look at the map posted at the front entrance of our apartment building, I guess). Here we were able to catch everyone as they started off. Unfortunately we missed the first half hour, including, Roseanne Barr’s (images on Flickr), grand entrance, while she headed things off as the grand marshal. She is originally from Salt Lake City—view the QSaltLake article.

Salt Lake City Pride Parade (KSL link) (map of SLC) Sunday, June 5th, 2011
Absolutely “Fabulous”! The Utah Pride Center, a community based organization for the LGBT community, lived it up for the 2011 event. 30,000 people were expected this year, and 20,000 were in attendance last year. (View a link to a great information site on the Utah Pride Festival.) The Pride Parade has always been the second largest parade in Utah, next to the Days of ’47 celebration Parade in Salt Lake City. However, things were different this year, with exactly 100 entries! I believe making this the largest parade Utah has seen yet. It traveled along 200 S. (beginning on 3rd S. and 4th E. and ending on West Temple). The Parade lasted for little more than 2 hours. If you were there, it was pretty spectacular. So many dressed up for the occasion. I haven’t been to a parade that was quite so eventful.

Some Tid-Bits

• Salt Lake City has Utah’s largest and most visible LGBT community.
• QSaltLake.com is another great resource for the LGBT.
• Barack Obama has declared June as LGBT Pride History Month.

Dancing and fun
The best thing for me and Zoe, was the great music to dance to!

Highlights (just a few mentions)
Woman warrior toughing-it-up with friends

Cahoots Party Van

Praying Mantis
Quite the spectacle

Utah Uncensored.com
Too many, having too much fun

EqualityUtah

Hey! there is someone I know!
Amazing that Terry can run in those cool stilts!

I found out later that another friend of mine, Mary, was there with her booth. Couldn’t find her through the mass of people though.

Another Photographer In Action
Before running off to join her group, I was able to capture this image of a fellow photographer, right beside me shooting away. I flashed her the image. “Nice!” she said, and bounded off, with her camera system that I envy.

Men in Blue
The police did a great job with the parade in directing and ensuring everything went smoothly. Thanks SLC PD for making sure this was a good time for all who participated.

Pride Flag
We held the flag at the end and walked with it for a block and a half. At this point it was time for Xayne, and the rest of us to head home.

Technorati Tags:
LGBT, Parade, Photography, Pride Parade, Utah, Salt Lake City Event, Event

Tweet this!

In This Episode:
Our Campsite
Biscuit Bomb Launcher
Hike Through Moonflower Canyon
Devils Garden at Arches National Park
New Food/Recipes
New Gear
Organization
Attractions and Places to Check Out
People
Things We Learned

View my Photostream

Campground

Kane Springs West Campgrounds (visit their site or see google Map) for RV, Tent, and open ground camping. See the Places page for directions. To park and camp with a tent is $20 for a 4 person car and $5 for extra cars, plus $5 for any ATV or vehicle trailers. I admit, this is a bit steep, especially when staying for 4-5 days. But we enjoy it. Here is a site with more info on the various places to camp along Kane Creek Road (Blvd), however, the prices are outdated. Here is another site with great info, and has their phone and address. They have listed that the prices are from $15-$30, which seems accurate, being that the prices tend to fluctuate. But it has always been worth the visit.

This is the same place we stayed in 2009, and we are more than likely going to make this a tradition. It is privately owned and they want to keep it family friendly, which is great for us. We like it for this and the open camping and sand—just pick a spot and set-up, being respectful to any neighbors of course. The open atmosphere makes it nice to meet people from all over.

Note: there are 5 areas to camp on the grounds. We just found out about the 5th, which has flush toilets and paid showers and camping in a cave—so we hear. This is the Kane Springs East campground. We want to check that out next year. The spot we have been staying is in the middle and has sand to set up in—our kids love it! The outer areas are somewhat grassy or dirt packed. The Kane Spring Campgrounds are considered to be overflow camping for all that arrive late for the holidays. Meaning if you arrive late (Friday—sometimes even Thursday) and can’t find anywhere to park yourself, you can go there and most likely find a spot, as there are plenty of places to squeeze in.

No Butterfly Release: Unfortunately we did not get the chance to raise and release butterflies this year, as we did in 2009.

Biscuit Bomb Launcher
Just take a can of biscuits (any brand will do, we used Western Family) and set it in the sun upright—with metal on top….Then duck-n-cover and wait for the excitement to begin. Unfortunately most of the can will be unusable, as we discovered by mistake. POP! I looked over to see the remnants falling all around the table and ground—one even landed in the frying oil! So back to the store I went. We had to take care of our new customers in the donut making business, J/K. However, all of our neighbors loves them, and you will too! (see Family Site Food-Recipes for the recipe).

Hike Through Moonflower Canyon
This is a great little hike that is about 20 mins one way. Moonflower Canyon is a hike-in campground that follows a little creek back to a pool of water surrounded by an amphitheater of red rock. The campsites are amazing, but small—we would have to trim down quite a bit to fit in one. If you can find a vacant site—seems to be always occupied—this is definitely a place to stay.

Arches—Devils Garden
This is a 20 minute drive from the entrance, and is located at the end of the road. There are a few different hikes you can take that vary in length. These are easy hikes and pretty much anyone healthy enough to walk can do it. We did 1 1/2 trails—about 3 miles. Carrie ended up with serious stomach pains and Xayne was not doing so well either, so we headed back to our home in the desert to make some more donuts. I was pretty disappointed with our Kelty Summit kid carrier. Was fine when we bought it, but not-so-much when out and about. Of course we didn’t have as much weight in it when trying it on the first time. That can make all the difference.

New Food (see Family Site Food for recipes)

• Camping Donuts (a must try!)
• Fajitas
• Cheese Brats (oh so good)
• Grilled green chili/cheese sandwich

New Gear (see Family Site Gear for a full list)

• Stainless steel bowl
• Chacos for me
• Keen Sandals for Zoe (REI Keen sandals)
• Igloo cooler
• Camp game (we didn’t get the chance to play this, but it looks pretty fun and educational)
• Pants for Zoe (REI kids pants—legs zip off to make shorts)
• Sandals for Xayne
• 2 propane bottles
• Ace Bandage
• Tiger Balm (for sore muscles)

It would have been great to have canned air for my camera and a few other things. This is now going to be added to my bag of gear.

A bit on organization
When packing for a trip it is important to not let the man pack everything, as he might stuff everything in grocery sacks…kinda like I did on this trip. I know better, but hey, I was in a hurry. However, finding what you need becomes very challenging, and frustrating when doing it this way.

Carrie and I decided to separate our gear with strong color coded bags, such as nylon. Maybe we will use big mesh bags… (You can also do this for backpacking with small colored or mesh bags—I prefer the mesh bags.) Clear bins would be ideal, however our Honda Civic does not allow for it.

Attractions and Places to Check Out
Moonflowers Canyon: $8 per night and has 8 hike-in campsites, no hook-ups or water, and the bathroom is by the rd. But still, an awesome place. This is on the left, on the way to Kane Springs Campground.

Moab Rock Shop: Lynn Ottinger, Dona, and Kyle. Lynn’s story is amazing. This is the first time I took the opportunity to learn it. Lynn began rock hounding at age 12, and is now 83. He is trying to get someone to take over the operations at the shop so he can continue playing. Most likely that will be Dona, his daughter-in-law and her son Kyle. Lynn discovered the dinosaur Iguanodon Ottingeri. You can buy a book in the shop that tells all about it.

GearHeads Outdoor store: Just past 300 So on Main St. on left before Kane Cr

Eddie Mcstiff’s Pizza: Just before 100 So on Main St. on left. I have eaten there many times in the past and I love it. Great food and environment.

City Market: This is the biggest grocery store in town. Heading south it is on Main St. on the right past 3rd So. (see map)

The Village Market: Good place to find all of the other stuff you may want, that the City Market might not have. Just past Kane Cr on Main St. on right (see map)

Moab Brewery: Next to the village market. I ate there once in 2005. Pretty good food.

Alco discount Store: They had the cooler I wanted for $10 less than any other store in town. On US 191/Main St. past Jackson Rd on the south side of Moab (see map)

People (In the order that we met them)
Greg, Heather, and twins, Anna and Ally (6 yrs old): The twins and Zoe had a great time playing and creating any adventure that they could come up with.

Jeremiah, Claire, Abigail (daughter-9), and Drackson (son-4), CO: on their way to Disney Land, CA, for their first time, and to camp on the beach. Awesome! I want to do that! They stopped in Moab for a pit-stop because they love it! Jeremiah is a CPA, so I am sure this was his first breath of fresh air in a while.

Kathleen, CO: works for an outdoor organization. In Moab for some R&R while on sabbatical from her demanding job.

Logan and Torry, SLC: He is finishing school in Pre Dental at the University of Utah, and she has a degree in english and journalism.

Dave, Amy, and Christopher (son-9), CO: on their way to Grand Gulch for a four day backpacking trip. Dave is an Arborist and bought a paracord bracelet from Carrie. She is making and selling them along with belts. Photo (No website yet…stay tuned.)

Ed and his wife: on a tour with Bonvoy group that do 5 day tours in Moab. They received discounts through Living Social and Groupon. He says his wife is having a blast, doing all sorts of activities such as: Canyoneering and Rappelling; Mountain biking, Rock climbing.

Dwayne, Jeff, Chris, and Mike, CO: I hung out with them for a little bit at their camp Sunday night. They were all interested to hear about Salt Lake City. Dwayne is a civil engineer. I met him when he dropped in to trade a cigarette for a beer. They stopped by in the morning and grabbed a donut before heading home.

Things We learned

• Grocery bags for packing—bad
• Strong color coded bag system and/or bins—good
• When things don’t go as planned, just breathe, take a step back and smile
• Build a hootch to keep your cooler out of the sun
• Don’t put non-potable water next to drinkable water
• Don’t put can of biscuits on end in the sun—creates a biscuit bomb luancher!
• Update our First Aid kit!!! We didn’t have ace bandage wrap with us for some reason, even though we have about 8 of them at home.

(Via JosephTravels, JosephDC)

Technorati Tags:
Arches National Park, Developed Site, Family, Family Site, Food, Friends, Gear, Hiking, Home Made Dish, Large Tent, Moab, Photography, Poeple, Recipe Dish, Southern Utah, Utah, Camping, Non-Potable Water

Tweet this!

I apologize for getting the Memorial Weekend in Moab, 2011 post out later than expected. I am currently sifting through more than 800 photographs, getting ready for a big yard sale, and, and….Thank you for your patience.

I plan to have it up no later than Thursday of this week.

Tweet this!

Planned activities for this trip:

• New Recipes
• Camp Fire Cooking
• Area attractions and places to visit
• Bouldering (climbing boulders). Hopefully we will get a chance to do this…

Coming Soon:

Another Moab, UT trip, May 2011 scheduled release: Jun 9th, 2011
Current Creek, UT, Aug 2010
Saltair, Great Salt Lake, UT, Jun 2010
Our Front Porch, Salt Lake City, UT, May 2010
Xayne’s Birth, Salt Lake City, UT, Mar 2010
Antelope Island, UT, Mar 2009 scheduled release: Jun 16th, 2011
Star Garnet Hunting, ID, Jul 2010
4th of July @ my uncle Dan’s, Mount Pleasant, UT, Jul 2009
Backpacking in Europe, UK, Ireland, Sweeden, Mar-May 1999
I Ran Away and Joined the Circus, Norfolk, VA, Apr 1997

Technorati Tags:
Moab, Utah, Escalante, Current Creek, Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island, Star Garnet Hunting, 4th of July, Backpacking Europe, Circus

Tweet this!

Wow, what a trip! Box-Death Hollow, in Escalante State Park, Utah, is an amazing place, and I want to go again! Great people and great fun. The instructor, Roxanne Tea, an employee of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and an instructor at the University of Utah, and Jenny Merrill, our medical expert, were both fun and motivated, and are very knowledgable in what they do. This was a 2 credit class taken in the Fall Semester of 2010, with 11 other classmates page for a list of attendees. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the outdoors and backpacking.

People
(see the People) I was able to get this group photo in the end. Unfortunately I did not get images of all classmates while hiking, being that I was hiking in the back of the group, taking photos, and not wanting to slow the group down. So for the ultra hikers who were always in front, I apologize for not getting images of you. I am also disappointed that during group meetings, I was so focused on participating and not wanting to interrupt, that I did not get shots at all during those times. Perhaps this fall, Roxanne, will allow me to audit the class to promote it.

The class consisted of the following:

Class Meeting

• 10 days prior to trip
• 3 hours long
• Itinerary: discuss the logistics of the trip and gear we would need; details of packing our backpack; Homework—2 page paper for presentation given on second day; and get acquainted.

Friday—Base Camp, Short Hike
A few of us went on a short trail hike near our first campsite. Later that evening we held a meeting for a more detailed itinerary of what was expected, and to get more acquainted by telling a little more about our selves.

Saturday—Drive to Trailhead, Hike to camp
I got Lost! Or rather missed the group at the trailhead. Thats what I get for lagging behind trying to make my camera bag attach to my Backpack. I hiked up the mountain about 2 miles father than needed before my weekend roommate, Alex (who I would recommend for any outdoor adventure), caught up to me in his truck. He had almost given up too, thinking there was no way I could have walked that far up the hill that fast…lucky for me he checked around one more bend on the road.

About half way through the first days hike we stopped to do our presentations.

Looking at the photographs you may notice there seems to be an awful lot of stream crossing. We crossed that stream 35 times—maybe 36 (The final count was unsure). In places it was as narrow as 4 feet and sometimes as wide as 12 feet. My classmates all proved to be very helpful to anyone in need—including me, with my large pack and and camera gear in tote. I was very impressed and felt honored to be a part of this group. That evening we had another get together to finish our presentations. I hung a clothes line for people to hang socks and wet clothes from the stream crossing.

Sunday—Hike Out
In the morning we left in two groups so the people ahead could bring our vehicles down from the trail head. I left with four others in the last group.
I ended up twisting my ankle, while jumping across the stream—about 8 ft—with all of my gear attached. We were almost at the end too.

Gear I used for this trip (see Backpacking Gear for a full list)
Solid Backpack. Mine is an Osprey, however, there are plenty of efficient ones out there. If you want advice, pick one that has a good reputation and is the most comfortable. You will want to keep the pack as light as possible, so try to minimize on the gear. My pack for this trip was approximately 60 pounds, with my photo equipment bag strapped on front. Typically find ways to go lighter than this for a two day hikes, if you bring a smaller camera and less gear, but I like my comforts.

Sleeping
45˚ Snugpak bag (European bag I picked up in Northern Ireland—can be ordered online) with a thin liner. It was very chilly when the sun went down, and I kept warm by wearing synthetic long underwear, with sock liners and loose socks, light weight pants, a moisture wicking long sleeve top, with a wool sweater over that, and a beanie (cap). This system kept me pretty warm and I did not wake up through the night at all, except to pee (too much coffee I guess).

Clothes

• Mountain Hardware down filled jacket
• Salomon Hiking Boots
• 3 light wool socks/2 moisture wicking liners
• Rock climbing pants (room to move in and very light weight) and a pair to sleep in
• 2 T-shirts
• 1 Long sleeve-T
• 1 pair of REI Long Underwear

Water system

• 50 oz CamelBak
• Two 32 oz bottles
• MSR Sweetwater drops (to purify the water)

Cooking set-up

• MSR Dragon Fly. Can use many different fuels.
• Anodized Aluminum Pots, tall and short I found I didn’t really need the tall pot for a short trip.
• I have a titanium spoon, but really anything that isn’t going to break will do.
• I like to bring a titanium kettle to heat water for coffee, tea, and dehydrated meals. This boils water much faster conserves fuel.

Food
On this trek, I brought rice, lentils, oats, raisins, dried cranberries, brown sugar, coffee, tea
cliff bars, homemade cranberry-nut bars, peanuts, sunflower seeds, trail mix, jerky sticks

Remember that everything you bring in needs to be packed back out with you. So the only weight to lose on the trip is the food you eat.

Things I learned
Iodine tablets do go bad, and should have an expiration date on them.
Find a bag and strap system for attaching my camera to the shoulder straps at the front for easy access. I used a shoulder bag that I rigged up to the front of my packs waste belt. It worked alright.
Don’t jump across an eight foot stream with a 60 lbs backpack…

(Via JosephTravels, JosephDC)

Technorati Tags:
Backpacking, Gear, Food, Friends, Hiking, Photography, Poeple, Small Tent, Southern Utah, Undeveloped Site, Utah

Tweet this!

This Trip was a Last Minute Idea
And our results showed our lack of preparation. Wanting once again to get away somewhere for the weekend. Being that we really wanted to go rockhounding, we chose the Dugway Geode Beds in Utah. It is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours form Salt Lake City. If you go, make sure you do your research on the best way to get there and have some pretty specific maps on where exactly you will need to go once you are there. Unfortunately we missed the boat on all that and could not find the location to rockhound for geodes. Not only that, I took the very, very long way to get there from where we live (down through Eureka, south of Utah Lake). The best way to go from SLC is through Tooele on Hwy 36, to Pony Express Rd, heading southwest. I had it all wrong on which direction to take while looking at the map, because of the rush to pack and get out the door. I thought I knew where it was. It took us about 5 hours or more (I lost track) to finally arrive. And when we did, we had no idea where to go, having expected to count on GPS and our online maps. Fortunately we found a campsite and parked ourselves after doing some exploring. (I won’t mention that the only internet we had at home at the time was on our phones. Made it a little more difficult to do searches, keep track of everything, and we couldn’t print anything either.)

Other attractions in the area include Topaz Mountain. There you can find some pretty amazing topaz, so we have been told. There you can find some pretty amazing topaz, so we have been told. Here is a good blog site about the area we found before leaving. He has it all laid out and knows the good spots. Sadly though, we could not remember or access any of the names or places while there. Another good site with some photos and a penciled out map is willhiteweb.com.

Hunting for Geodes, Jasper, and Really Cool Rocks
We found a couple of flat rocks with inlaid crystals, and a ton of jasper and many other really cool rocks, but no big geodes. Turns out we were in the wrong area. When we did our search for maps and such, we saved everything online without an option to print. Didn’t think about being in the middle of nowhere with the possibility of no internet service. Oops. Turns out we were pretty close, even on the right road. We just didn’t go far enough.

At the End of the Day
After a long day in the sun, we took some time to have some fun with the camera.

To view more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Our Camp
It was extremely windy at the camp when we returned to our tent that night—and most of the next day! Our tent nearly blew away for good this time had it not been for the tree that stopped it, as it had almost taken flight in Moab. I learned from that trip and did not create another opportunity for a spinnaker sail. Unfortunately this time the tent did not make it. We bought another one the day after returning home. When we pulled up Zoe’s tent was no where to be found and our tent was hanging a tree five feet from the ground, with the exception of where the cooler sat inside—now tipped over and spilled out over all of our clothes and belongings. It is important to note that everything had been tied down and staked in the ground before leaving camp that morning! So, seeing this, we sat there in complete shock for about 30 seconds and lightly chuckled. I have to admit that Carrie is much more light hearted about these sort of things than i am. When we got our bearings, we commenced to strap and tie the entire tent back down in the dark—after untangling it from the tree—on every side in multiple places. We used up all of the rope, tie-downs, and cable that we had in the car, which was quite a bit. All the while, the chillin’s slept peacefully in the car—it was about 11pm. And no, once again there are no photos of this event. We were too preoccupied and shocked to see the tent and poles completely bent around a tree. There was quite a bit of weighty gear in it too. Looking back, it was quite a funny site. We can laugh about it now. Well, Carrie did from the beginning. It took me at least a day, maybe more.

The Next Day
Tired and not sure where else to look for geodes, we decided to just hang out and have a relaxing day with the extreme wind. There was one other campsite the day before and they were gone when we came back the from hounding, so there was no one to ask where else we could go. We could have gone back into town, but kids didn’t look at all like they could handle another day out. Besides, we wanted to stay one more night, and expected our tent to be gone when we came back.

The Wind Finally Calmed Down
We took a break to relax. Dehydrated and tired from the wind, activities, and sun, we chilled out and explored the area around the campground.

Time to leave

All packed and ready to go. The car didn’t start. Dead battery. I am so glad I bought the Black & Decker Electromate 400. What a life saver, even though I had to unpack the entire trunk to get to it.

Tuckered Out and Sun/Windburned
By the time we arrived home (very late), every one passed out pretty quick. Overall, we had a great time and it was definitely worth every bit. This is a neat place to go, if you want an adventure and to get away for a short vacation. However, I recommend staying for more than 2 days, or have a solid idea of where you are going to actually find geodes and topaz.

Recommendations

• The dirt roads can be pretty hard on the car. Take a truck, or maybe rent a vehicle.
• Always have solid maps of the area and its surroundings.
• Print all research and finding before leaving home, maybe even buy a book!
• Have what you need before going there, as there really isn’t too much in the area to shop.
• Research. Another site to look at—Utah Geological Survey. They have some good info. It’s a place to start.

What We Learned

• The Dugway area has kinda hostile weather in August.
• Be prepared for anything.
• Check your battery before leaving on a trip into the middle of no where.
• Cant always rely on GPS.
• Bring extra fuel.
• Heavy winds can cause some serious dehydration!
• Buy Heavy Duty tent stakes.

Food and Water

• We tried some dehydrated food, but most of it wasn’t great. The eggs were a bit bland, but not too bad. Zoe’s first experience with it didn’t go so well and she wouldn’t eat any of it. I guess we will have to find something else when we go backpacking.
• The campground has non-potable water. Bring everything you will need because the nearest town is Vernon to get food and gas, and it is about 1 hour back the way you come in.)

New Gear

• We bought a new tent after this not-so-mild trip. Most of the ties, seems, and plastic corners ripped and broke. One of the poles even snapped. It was bent around a tree after all.

(Via JosephTravels, JosephDC)

Technorati Tags:
Dehydrated Food, Developed Site, Family Site, GPS, Large Tent, Photography, Potable Water, Rockhounding, Utah, Western utah, Wind, Camping, Non-Potable Water

Tweet this!