Rescue

 

A few miles out of Big Water you get a choice: Smokey MOUNTAIN Rd or Smokey HOLLOW Canyon Rd. I chose Smokey Hollow Canyon.

The road has had A LOT of work done on it. ALL the rocks, boulders really, have grooves showing where they've been ground away and made smooth. I've been coming to Utah for years and have traveled some of these roads before they've been worked on. Even AFTER the work, top speed is barely more than a crawl. At the end of the 3rd day I realized I'd set a new record: 7 miles in three and a half hours. 

It was hot too. The day before I'd sat in the shade of a large pinyon for three hours waiting for the heat to abate. I'd found a campspot nearby but with no shade I'd have have had to set up an awning. And it was too hot.

While waiting, one car came by, going toward Big Water. We had a nice conversation about the small herd of mountain sheep I'd seen, livestock depredation in the west (not the mountain sheep) and they were kind enough to accept a Western Watersheds Project newsletter.

Yesterday, the 9th, was my 4th day and I was lovin' it! But as I reached the top of a hill in 4wd low, something told me to check under the hood. Doing so, I saw the power-steering belt was gone and the waterpump belt was frayed to a thin thread.

As I was leaning on the radiator thinking about the 15-mile walk (hike?) to Escalante three BLM range management guys in a side-by-side showed up. 

After some discussion it was decided a wrecker was needed. Before I could say Jack Sprat, one of 'em was on the phone (there was SERVICE!) to their office where Janalee, another BLM employee, called the tow-truck company.

After the BLM guys left I thought it might be good to clean up a bit. I hadn't had a bath in 4 or 5  days and it'd been over 100 degrees each day. It wasn't long after my baahth that Klane showed up with a trailer. We loaded her up, he strapped her in, and off we went.

When the subject of cats came up Klane said they have three. He told how two years ago his wife'd found a tiny kitten up under the front fender of a truck. Its whiskers and the pads of its feet had been burned off. He surmised it'd been done intentionally. The kitten, a Smirket (black cat) took to him and mostly ignores his wife except -- every morning at 2 a.m -- when it comes in it steps on her neck....just to let her know he's thinking of her. Then, after greeting (waking!) Klane's wife, he curls up under Klanes chin for the rest of the night.

He also told about their two Jack Russell cross-breeds, both of which are rescue dogs.

By this time we were traveling through some beautiful canyons and I was realizing how far 15 miles is. When I mentioned how quickly he'd gotten to me he said he'd have been sooner, but the hitch on the company truck was too big for the trailer and he'd had to steal a 2-inch ball from his wife's.  

It's the meds that're keeping me alive. But even with them stress can make things painful...and possibly deadly. HeIp arrived so quickly there wasn't a hint of pain. 

Thank you to everyone! And an extra thanks to Klane "& Company" for rescuing the cats & dogs.

Into the Wilds...of Grand Staircase-Escalante

 I've been wanting to go for years. FINALLY!!

Open Space to the Right

Open Space to the Left

The Wall

Toadstool

Toadstool Location Shot

(see it there in the middle?)

Looking Back....

is always fun. And it's one of the reasons I blog...to be able to recall what happened, and when.

In 2016, after six years of travel in Eggbert, my 1999 Geo Metro hatchback, I turned in front of the Arizona State Parks & Rec Supervisor. We were in a residential area, going slow, so neither of us was hurt, but Eggbert took it hard.

In May, eager to explore the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, I set out in Schvoogie, (so-named because he looks, to her, like a house-slipper) one of Double El's Honda FITs. (Seen here in November, 2019 near Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona.)

Although far less dramatic than 2016's, I'm at another phase shift. I can hardly wait!

Here's the post describing my departure....

https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2016/05/yuh-gotta-wait-around-and-see.html  

Angel - Two New Tires

In the business of philanthropy they're known as Angels. They tend to maintain their anonymity as, once known, they're often inundated with requests.

I'd read about the Utah Traverse in Overland Journal and was enroute when, after airing down for some sand in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Natl Monument, I noticed Phoebe's back paws were down to the nub. Being Capricorn, I'm partial to calculated risks; it wouldn't do to venture into the remotest part of the continental U.S. without good tread.

The change of plan and its cause just naturally came out in a conversation. And then, suddenly, through the donation button on my blog, there appeared enough for two new tires!!

THANK YOU!!!

And to the others who have given: Again, many thanks for your contributions, too.

Best Laid Plans...

At 1.9 million acres or 3,000 square miles, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument offers enough to keep one busy for a lifetime...except for the heat. It's already getting warm, but I figured it'd be a week before it got hot. Route determined, herring, gin and lox acquired, I stopped to check email. A serendipitous Craigslist search for a Geo Tracker turned up a mighty pretty face in Weiser, Idaho. After a lengthy conversation with the owner, I went off to sleep on it. 

The road into The Grand Staircase is well-hidden. Although shown in the Delorme, it wasn't on the GPS and the location on the map wasn't clear. I stopped at the gas station to ask.

Peggy, managing the place, and Mark, a horse wrangler, were on the veranda discussing the weather. I'd barely settled muhse'f when a car pulled up...stopping mere inches from my knee and equidistant from Schvoogie's fender. (Double El thinks he, Schvoogie, looks like a house slipper, thus his name.) While remonstrating the driver I noticed the word Sheriff on the side of the car. Cop humor "Where yuh from and where yuh goin'?" has never hit my funny-bone. I offered to arm wrestle. He gave good directions and left.


Crossing Waweap Creek.

Dispersed camping is allowed everywhere...you can get to. But with NO cross-country travel and zero side-roads, at least in the five miles I traveled, it meant this song was echoing. I chose a wide spot. (Oh, BTW, overnight camping permits are required. To give him credit, when I copt some 'tude with the fellow staffing the Visitor Center about the reg, he said to relax, there's only one enforcement officer and he lives in Cedar City.

                           A Wider Place

German Flag Suspenders and After-dinner Coffee

The Schvoog isn't cuttin' it tho'. He's several inches too short for comfortable reclinement. Fortunately, it's warm enough to sleep out. (That thar's muh bedroll behind me.) But with just ten gallons on board his belly rubs at the least protrusion; the 20 for this trip had him really hunkered. Not good.

In the morning I called the guy (in Weiser) and said I'd be right up.