Mr. Swiffer
I was going to point out how the passenger seat in this camping van has been cleverly turned around to make a nice easy chair, but this irresistible little terrier Tony got in the way. Completely silent, adorable and affectionate to strangers, a guard dog he is not.
Originally posted 4/25/2013
I made a walking tour toward the entrance to Forest Road 573 a couple of days ago after another camper checked in to see if the newbie in the area was still alive. That’s her dog above, and yes, he came from a rescue place in the middle of nowhere. So many people wanted him (several dozen) that they had to draw numbers to pick the winner. This nice lady considers that she won, and I must admit that he’s the perfect travel companion. Extremely well-mannered.
I remembered the initial climb into this NF area and had thought, oh no, here we go again. But it quickly leveled off and varied from fine to rutted deeply enough to drag the trailer axles if I let them drop in. They aren’t made for that kind of action, so I was careful, you betcha. Temperatures here are in the mid-70s during the day, and about 40 at night. My planned move to Kaibab National Forest a week from now looks like a
no-go at this point due to nipply temps, so I will either hang here an extra week or move on to Winslow, Arizona to stay in their city park (where there is no cellular signal). Obviously, I’ll keep you posted.
Besides a deer this morning, this beetle is the only critter I’ve seen. I’ve been warned that there are rattlesnakes about in this area, though.
Here’s the climb up from the highway. Not bad, but enough so that you don’t want to go down it with full waste tanks. The plumbing system does not include check valves. Now how do I know that?
What an embarrassment for the locals. One showed up and dumped this crap just inside the entrance. A shame.
This sign basically warns that people with vintage travel trailers should think twice. Besides ground clearance problems, rain causes the dirt road to turn to mush.
This is the road, post-mush. The ruts don’t appear too bad in this photo, but are, being 8-10″ deep in places. That’s more than my trailer can clear.
Groovy, man! If you drop in and steer to the side to climb out, not much happens, which is why the prior photo has a crumbly look in the groove.
Not that many people play tag at night around here.
Huh? Well it’s about sunset, and time for one of my faves that I frequently have: tomato with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt. It’s the lazy man’s salad and oh, so good just as it is. Note that I’m in “Water Conservation Mode” here, which means paper and plastic instead of china and stainless. I don’t dig the waste that creates, but unless I’m sure of my schedule being short enough, saving water also saves fuel.
Strolling Amok 