Pete's First Long Haul

Caprock Canyon State Park, Texas

Wild Sunflowers, Caprock Canyon State Park, Texas

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona

Pictograph of Navajo on Horses, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona

Navajo Bridge Across the Colorado River at Marble Canyon, Arizona. The old, retired bridge is on the right.

Vermillion Cliffs at Dawn, Lee's Ferry Campground at the head of Marble Canyon, Arizona

Bristlecone Pine at 10,000+ ft., Great Basin Nat'l Park, Nevada

Crater Lake Nat'l Park, Oregon

Troon Vineyard, Applegate Valley, Oregon. They make good wine.

Some of the wine I got from the Applegate Valley. Most of it made it all the way home.

Buffalo Crossing the Lamar River, Yellowstone Nat'l Park, Wyoming.

Pronghorn Antelope, Yellowstone Nat'l Park, Wyoming.

The view from my bed. Colter Campground, Gallatin Nat'l Forest. Outside the northeast entrance to Yellowstone Nat'l Park, Montana.

Sand Creek Massacre Nat'l Historic Site, on the High Plains of eastern Colorado. Not a lot to look at, but something to make you think.

Last morning before home. Sanford-Yake Campground, Lake Meredith Nat'l Recreation Area, Texas Panhandle.

Mileage on Odometer at Start of Trip: 29,275
Mileage on Odometer at End of Trip: 35,200
Total Miles Traveled: 5,925

Start Date: 23 August 2015
End Date: 18 September 2015
Total Nights in the Teardrop: 26

Highlights:
Caprock Canyon State Park, Texas. The eastern edge of the Llano Estacado (That’s Spanish for the “Staked Plains”, also called the “High Plains’.) is a rough, broken land of canyons and gullies. You can see how the Comanche were able to hold out against the Texicans and, later, the Americans for over forty years before being forced onto a reservation. The state park is home to the official Texas state buffalo herd. I saw a few buffalo in the pre-dawn darkness as I was leaving on my way west.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Navajo Reservation, Arizona. Jeep tours of the canyon are offered by the locals. During the summer, some Navajo live the traditional life, farming and running livestock in the canyon without roads, electricity or running water. The homesteads are passed from the oldest grandmother to the youngest granddaughter. There are Anasazi ruins at a number points up on the canyon walls. You can also see Navajo and Anasazi petroglyphs and pictographs on the walls of the canyon. Spider Rock, up the south branch of the canyon, is where the Army, led by Kit Carson, defeated the Navajo and forced them onto the reservation.

Lee’s Ferry at the head of Marble Canyon, Arizona. This is where the rafters start their journey through the Grand Canyon. The Paria River runs into the Colorado River just downhill from the campground. Upstream of the confluence, the Colorado runs clear and cold. Downstream of the confluence, it is brown and silty. The transition is something to see. The Vermillion Cliffs live up to their name in the dawn light. I saw a very bright shooting star soon after getting back on the road heading west early in the morning.

Great Basin National Park, Nevada. The oldest known living thing on the planet, a bristlecone pine tree, was mistakenly cut down here. There are still many old bristlecone pine trees a few thousand years old hanging on at an elevation of 10,000+ feet.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. Drive the Rim Road around Crater Lake, but leave the Teardrop in the campground. Better yet, take the “trolley” tour - it’s worth it because you can see more when you’re not driving yourself. (Narrow roads, steep slopes, lots of exposure, slow bicyclists and no guard rails will keep you concentrated on where you’re going rather than sightseeing.) Also, get a reservation, hike down to the boat dock and take the boat around the lake. I didn’t make the boat tour, just the shuttle to Wizard Island. The island is cool! The whole lake is cool! The entire park is cool! Did I mention that I’ve wanted to visit Crater Lake since I was 10 years old? It’s totally cool! It only took me 52 years to get around to it. Capping it all off, I met fellow CampInn Teardroppers “AlCat”, from the Bay Area, in the campground. (I hope I got the name right.)

Applegate Valley, Oregon. A very nice place to spend Labor Day weekend. There are some great wineries here. I brought home two cases of wine - minus the bottles I drank along the way.

Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho. A great big lava field that is only a few thousand years old. It makes a nice overnight stay if you can get in early or leave late so as to have time for a short hike into the lava field. The wind blown lava dust gets into everything in the trailer!

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming/Montana/Idaho. Devout Moslems make the “haj” by traveling to Mecca. Devout Teardroppers go to Yellowstone. Buffalo! Elk! Antelope! Grizzlies! Mountain Goats! Big Horn Sheep! Cut-Throat Trout! Trumpeter Swans! (No wolves, this time.) Big mountains! Big waterfalls! Great campgrounds! And, oh yeah, more geysers, fumaroles, mud pots and hot springs than anywhere else in the world.

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Colorado. It’s important to be aware of American history. In 1864, a group of Southern Cheyenne that had signed a peace treaty, were flying an American flag, were exactly where the Army told them to go, and were accompanied by a U.S. government Indian agent, were killed and mutilated by Colorado Volunteers authorized by the Governor to kill all the Indians they could find.

Books Read Along the Way:
The Life of Herbert Hoover, Fighting Quaker, 1928 - 1933 by Glen Jeansonne
A River Runs Through It and Other stories by Norman Maclean
Mountains of the Mind, Adventures in Reaching the Summit by Robert Macfarlane

 

What a great trip! We are looking forward to taking "Long Hauls" when we retire in a few years. Thanks for sharing, Pete.

 

Hi, Pete! Good fun reading your summary. PM your full name and address (to KathyBob) and I'll send you your long-haul pin when I'm back on town this weekend. Kathy Piggott

 

Oh my gosh, what a great trip. I'm sorry I missed reading about this. I hope you are still having a great time and getting in lots of adventures.