Road Trip Blog reawakens

Looking grim for getting to the Upper Ruin.  Monday's tour is filled and they don't give tours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This blog has been dormant since January 2013. We're bringing it back to life for an early March Wild Flower Road Trip. The general idea is to head over to Payson Sunday and spend some Quality Time in Wal-Mart. Really?  Yep, we need to do some riggin' for how Sharlot carries our camping gear. Plus, we need to restock our chuck box.

After we're fully rigged, we will head down to Roosevelt and get a camp there. Hopefully, we'll be able to get on the Upper Ruin tour Monday. If not, we'll take whatever day we can get. Then we're heading to Globe to visit Dear Friends. After that, we're heading out to Peridot Mesa on the San Carlos Rez to search for a rumored vast field of poppies. Chances are we'll veer down to the Old Pueblo while keeping an eye on the various intel reports on Arizona wild flowers.




Here's some of the intel links:

http://www.dbg.org/gardening-horticulture/wildflower-infosite

http://wildinarizona.com/wordpress/

http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/az.html

http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/sonoranwildflowers.html

http://archive.azcentral.com/travel/articles/20130128places-spring-wildflowers.html

Rigged

The first time we rig a new truck, it's always like solving a brand new jig saw puzzle.  We have good idea of how to begin and we always have high hopes on how it will end.  This time around, we got a pretty good idea of our "working space" by studying the truck online before we actually had it in our possession.

We also happened already have some sets of modular plastic boxes. We hoped they would fit and they did.  Anyway, the truck is all packed now at 12:30 pm.  We will probably drive out of here about 1:30-2 pm.  There's no hurry, we're only going to Windy Point Campground on Roosevelt Lake near Tonto, Arizona.  As long as we get there by about 5 pm, we should have plenty of time to set up camp.  (Narrative continues below photo.)

In the Photo Module #1 is the camp and sleeping set up.  Module #2 (three boxes) is the kitchen set up.  Module #3 is our personal clothes and stuff. J for John and S for Susun.  The blue bucket holds the propane tank and become a gray water slop bucket in camp.  Module #4 is our hiking stuff and Module #5 is obviously a cooler containing the typical cooler kinda stuff.  A bungee cargo net will go over the top of everything.

First In, Last Out

The very first thing we pack for a Road Trip is our "Home On The Road."  For this trip that means a tent and all of what tenting entails: sleeping bags, pads, pillows, groundsheets, etc. etc. etc.  We learned long ago never to make assumptions about anything when riggin' for a Road Trip.  So, naturally, that means we had to pull out the tent and set it up and make sure it is all there with no missing pieces or dangling participles.

Same goes for everything else--step-by-step.


We also long ago went "modular" so that everything has its place.  Here's what the "Home On The Road Module looks like now that it is packed into its "Frist In Last Out" position.

Road Trip Resources

One does idly embarks on any Road Trip without "resources."  In our case, such resources ALWAYS include many maps and at least a few books.  Generally, the very first step in riggin' is to assemble the maps and books.  Here's what we are traveling with this trip:

 Can't leave home without a pile of maps--Forest Maps, State Maps, you name it, we got it.

 Gotta have the bird guide, the back road atlas and, a Guide to the Supes.

At left is a genuine Edition 1911 copy of Sharlot Hall's "Cactus & Pine."  Her Poems of a Ranch Woman is a later trade paper edition.