Tag: planning

White Rim Road… alone in the desert wilderness

September 3, 2017

Canyonlands, Utah–White Rim Road

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To prepare us for this road trip, we took a side trip down the Shafer Trail when we visited Canyonlands, Utah in 2016. This road has to be seen to be believed.  It heads over the side of the Mesa and in 8 km it drops 1400 ft. into the canyon.  It follows the cliff with many switchbacks and is a single track gravel trail.  We didn’t need 4 wheel drive that day, but high clearance is necessary. Once at the bottom, we turned on Potash Road and followed an interesting road out to Moab, with views of arches and the river.

There is another road that continues from where we turned off.  It is 160 km and travels around a third of the park with the Green River to the west and the Colorado River to the east.  There are a number of campgrounds available for booking along the way.  Peter decided then he wanted to take this White Rim Road and explore the desert in his truck.

Planning

This was his trip so he did most of the research and planning.  He read up on the regulations in the park.  He watched YouTube on others who had done it and checked out the route on Google Maps.  The campgrounds were analyzed and booked.  The truck had all the fluids topped up and the tires checked.  Extra water jugs were pulled out of the basement and the backup battery charger for the engine’s battery was prepared.

I was rather anxious about this kind of adventure, but I trust his driving and I knew the truck was safe, so I was in.  Not ecstatic, but in.  I thought of it more like a backpacking trip with our Coleman Instant Tent, where you needed to be self-sufficient for a number of days, in this case, 4  We had 2 coolers, 1 for ice and 1 that runs off the 12 volt.  I checked the first aid kit and made sure we had all the necessary supplies.  

After a pleasant journey through Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, we arrived at Canyonlands National Park at 5 pm on a Friday afternoon.  It is about 45 minutes north and west of Moab, Utah.  We fully expected to have to camp somewhere in the Land Management Area in order to find a spot, but drove through Horsethief Campground just in case.  It was almost empty!  We couldn’t believe our good fortune.  Our site overlooked the desert and although it didn’t have water, vault toilets were available and it was only $15.  

Desert Sunset
Sunrise

It was hot and breezy, but the sky was so dark.  The moon was almost new and I enjoyed working on my night photography skills without having to wear my toque and mittens.  The MIlky Way was so clear and it was hard to see all the constellations for the stars.  

Milky Way

Milky Way with our tent and a plane trail

Shafer Road to White Crack Day 1

We stopped at the information center at Island in the Sky to check in.  The sites we booked were confirmed and after looking at the entire trip, we decided that 3 nights would be adequate for this trip and cancelled our final night.  The fee for our back country permit was only $30 and was good for up to 7 days.  It included our camping.  

There was water available here and we topped up all of our containers.  They recommend 4 liters per person per day when travelling in the desert where temperatures were usually 35 Celsius in the day and 18 at night.  We had 47 L plus our filled water bottles.  The cooler had a variety of canned drinks as well.  There was plenty to drink, but I felt thirsty the whole time between the heat and knowing that my water supply was not unlimited.

Model of the White Rim road in red

We tipped off the top of the world onto Shafer Road.  I felt okay since we had been down this cliff before.  I had been in the back last time so hadn’t seen how many times the road seems to disappear at the corners.  The road was smooth and a little more than 1 lane wide with amazing vistas.  Looking back though, it is hard to know where you just drove.  As we wound our way to the bottom, there are sheer red cliffs above you, and sheer drops below.  Fortunately we didn’t meet anyone until the bottom.

We passed 2 tour vehicles ready to head up the trail.  We also met a park ranger whose truck you can see in the picture.  The info center told us they drive the White Rim Road daily, but this was the only official we saw in 3 days.  We were also passed by a couple of Land Cruisers.  They didn’t have any camping reservations and were driving the entire loop in one day.  They could travel much quicker than us as they had a shorter wheel base, were not loaded with equipment and could reduce their tire pressure to go over the bumps and rocks more easily.  

The Road

The road was primarily one lane wide.  It was dirt or small gravel in lots of places which made for easier driving.  The challenging sections were in the drainage and washout areas.  Rain run off had washed away all the small rocks and left large rock or sometimes bedrock called sliprock.  There were many large holes in front and behind these larger rocks that required lots of driver attention.

It wasn’t too bad in the flat areas, but the same thing happened on lots of the steep up and down climbs. Some climbs were so steep we couldn’t see past the hood of the truck. Watching for rocks sticking out from the side, holes in the road, drop offs and having no idea if the road turned left or right at the top of a climb made for full-time navigating for us both.  Fortunately the 4 wheel-low works flawlessly.  4 high did a good job too when needed.

The advantage of being 1400 ft below the usual viewpoints is that you are that much closer to the canyons.  We walked into Mussleman Arch and could look at the other hoodoos and formations and colours that are not apparent from the top.  I took a picture of Mesa Arch from the top last year and was able to look at it from behind this time.  The Washerwoman looks so interesting from close up.  It is just a tiny formation seen through Mesa Arch.

Mesa Arch and Washerwoman from above March 2016

There were a few campgrounds and picnic stops along the way.  We had a picnic in the truck and completed 60 km to our first stop.  It had taken most of the day as we were travelling between 10 and 40 km/hr. White Crack Campground was 2 km off the road and set on a rise overlooking the lower basins.  We were at the very southern tip of Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands.

White Crack Campground

The camping area can be booked by a group of up to 10 with 3 vehicles.  Since we were only 2 people with 1 vehicle, that is all they booked into this site.  It is remote and silent. The sound of jets flying over were all there was to remind us that we were still part of the modern world.

It consisted of a vault toilet with the most spectacular view in the world, a large slab or red rock and a single juniper tree that we moved our chairs around to get a little shade.  There was a short squall soon after we arrived but the wind died quite quickly and we didn’t lose any of our supplies over the cliff.

The sunset showed itself with clouds and lots of virga, although by true dark, the stars could be seen through the open windows of the tent, even without my glasses.  We got up to watch the sun come up over the mountains and light up the canyon walls in the west.  There was a short trail that took us neared the views to the south where  we could clearly see the white rim of stone that was the uppermost layer in the canyons.

White Crack to Murphy Hogback  Day 2

Our second day was much shorter than the first at only 15 km and about 1 ½ hours. We returned to the main road and travelled over several washout areas.  We stopped several times to look at rock formations.  Erosion is always at work here.  We saw towers with harder rocks balanced precariously on top.  There were some rocks that stood out from the canyon walls like fins.  

Our first real challenge for the truck was driving up Murphy’s Hogback.  It is a section of land raised up from the White Rim where we felt like we were driving straight up like those trucks you see in the commercials.  It was very scary but the truck and driver did a great job.  By the time I arrived at the top, I had a few tears of relief.

The road up!

Murphy campground

The camping area was right at the top of the Hogback at almost 1600 m.  We were there by 11 am but I was glad for a break after all the anxiety of this trip.  The steep section was a success, but I knew we had to go back down the other side.  We did see one more truck go by all day, and that was the last of humanity that we saw until we completed our trip.

This campground had 3 separate sites, but we were the only ones there. Again we had a vault toilet with a view and a friendly juniper tree to give us so more shade. There were no tables provided, but we had a portable table top that unrolls and sits on a base.  

We also had Coleman Instant Screen room.  It was really handy on our trip to the Alaska Inside Passage.  We set it up over the picnic table and used the propane fire ring in the doorway to keep us warm and dry in all the rain.  Since we were encouraged not to exert ourselves in the heat of the day, we set up the room, covered the sunny side with a tarp, spread out our camping mat and had a day off.  I worked on my blog and read.  Peter read the maps and rested from the driving of the last week.  We had lots of water to drink and finished the day with rib steaks on the grilling pan and wished we had brought wine as well.  Those kinds of meals are definitely not backpacking meals. (Pinot Grigio)

A juniper tree gives a lot of shade
shade in our screened patio
Stay out of the sun!

The sky was very cloudy around sunset.  There was rain and virga in the area, but we didn’t get moisture.  I didn’t want to have to worry about slippery roads for the way out.  After sitting and relaxing all day, we realized that we didn’t need another night in the desert so planned to drive out the rest of the way.  We planned to stop at our last camping spot and check it out just in case.  It was also the day of the North American Solar Eclipse so we needed to be somewhere open enough to see what effect an 80% eclipse had on the landscape.

Murphy’s Hogback to Potato Bottom and beyond  Day 3

Getting up so as not to miss the Canyon sunrise meant we were on the road by 7:30.  The trip down off the summit was like pointing your skis down a black run.  You just have to go.  It was steep and rough, but it was okay.  Luckily no one was coming up at the time.  We used the GPS more today to see which way the road curved before we got there.

 

The road today took us along several canyon edges and eventually down to the Green River.  The weather was clear and sunny again and the views amazing.  We could look up at towers and mesas.  We got to our booked camping spot about 9 and decided to carry on to the Mineral Bottom boat lauch for the eclipse, just past the end of White Rim Road.

Or next scary section was up Hardscrabble switchbacks which very quickly takes you up and over a high section and back down to the river again.  It really took 2 of us to get through this.  I watched for rocks and holes on the  right and Pete kept his eye on the left.  I was also responsible for any big rocks jutting out from the right although there was seldom any room on the cliff side of the road to do anything about it. Neither of us looked down.  There was one switch back that we had to enter a turn around area to get the right angle to continue up the hill.

We got back down to the river again along a narrow trail that caught us by surprise and were soon found ourselves at the exit to the White Rim Road, 3 days and 160 km of adventure later.

We got a chance to see the eclipse through some paddler’s glasses.  The light seemed to glare less off the cliffs but it was really not that noticeable, considering how much of the sun was covered by the moon.  We did notice some really interesting shadows on the sand and the temperature dropped from about 35 to 25 Celsius for a short time.

After watching the paddler’s prepare for their trip, we finished our trip on the White Rim Road by exiting up the Mineral Bottom Road.  It was steep with lots of switchbacks, but it had signs for curves and reinforced corners and felt like a highway.  It was time for a shower and dinner in Moab.

Finally packed and to the airport in San Francisco

November 1, 2016

Car lights on the bridge at twilight

Car lights on the bridge at twilight

This blog describes our last day on our road trip to the airport. My next one will share what I thought I knew about sleeping on a plane, and the truth.

Roadtrip map

Packing 

I thought that packing everything a couple of weeks ago, then driving to California would make the day of leaving simple and stress free.  While I felt less anxious on the days leading up to our departure, the day of our flight was another matter.

We had each packed a large, wheeled duffel bag.  They are a great size for holding the clothes, shoes and extras we thought we wanted for 5 months of living…things like umbrellas, cards, extra camera supplies and a roll of toilet paper, which did in fact need on our first night in our hotel.  The downside of these bags is that they are heavy due to the hardware of the handle and wheels.  We were close for weight at home but had added and deleted a few things on our way.  Without a scale, it was difficult to come with an exact measure for the airport weight.

We also had Pete’s golf clubs in their hard case.  His shoulder and knee have been feeling much better and he found a golf course and driving range near to our location in Chiang Mai.  He was looking forward to a winter of practice.  He was also looking forward to a winter of playing his guitar while I was learning to better photo edit.  We had checked on line, and the airline stated that both the golf clubs and the guitar would count as checked luggage.  Since Air China allowed 2 free checked bags per person, that was a possibility, as long as we weren’t overweight on our other bags.

Guitar on a Plane

I also looked at stories online about how other musicians manage their guitars on flights.  Sandwiched on a luggage cart is not really how you want it to travel.  Most said that they took it as a carry on, kept the guitar in a soft case, then spoke nicely to someone on the plane about storing it in a coat closet or overhead bin. At the very least, it could be gate checked with the strollers and car seats.  If that was possible, then we had space for the extra weight in another checked bag.  If it wasn’t then we needed a carry on size bag for the things that might make our bags overweight.

Who would think so much energy could go into solving such a minor problem?  In the end, we took along a carry-on size bag that was needed for the 3 kg we were over in our other bags.  We checked it with the duffel bags and the golf clubs in the cargo and took our day packs and the guitar onto the plane.  For both flights, the stewardesses were more than happy to find a safe place for the instrument to travel in the passenger part of the plane.  The only preparation needed was to loosen the strings and Peter wrapped a yoga mat around it inside the bag for extra protection.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Once everything was loaded we began our final drive to the airport.  Our flight was at 1:30 am but we wanted to spend a few hour in San Francisco first.  Melissa took us on a quieter back road to the Bay area.  We joined the 101 and turned west toward the Point Bonita lighthouse.

Pt. Bonita lighthouse

Pt. Bonita lighthouse

The first few viewpoints were packed with people late on this Saturday afternoon but it didn’t matter as the views from just above the lighthouse were spectacular.  You could see back to the bridge and the city, the coastline south and west of the city, as well as the lighthouse.  The light is functioning and it is still used by ships to find their way into the harbor through the fog.

 

City view from the lighthouse

City view from the lighthouse

 

The fog was rolling in along the horizon as we watched the sun begin to set into the clouds.  We returned on another road back to the Golden Gate Bridge and drove over it.  Knowing the engineering that went into its construction and the number of men who died building it , I am always in awe whenever I get close to it.  We found Melissa’s top secret parking place and walked under the bridge for a few more photos of the area at twilight.  The fog made the far side disappear at times. There were surfers in the waves that curl around the rocks and the bridge. It had cooled from 25 degrees in Stockton to 16 degrees in SFO, but the wind didn’t feel as cold as usual there.  It was a perfect end to our road trip to the airport.

And it's foggy again

And it’s foggy again

Why Thailand? How to choose one place from so many.

October 18, 2016

How did we end up going to Thailand? Once we decided to start living our life now, and not waiting for it to happen to us, we started looking for a place to go.  After watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel we could see the appeal of spending time living and learning in a new country.

We heard of a magazine called International Living  that also had regular email notices.  It is a “dream of retirement” publication that is mostly aimed at Americans, but describes how you can live somewhere else for less money in retirement.  It has testimonials from people who have done it and good guidelines on how to start thinking about this possibility.  Panama came up several times as a place to go, due to its low cost of living and discounts given to retirees.  You can live in the city, near the beach or in a smaller town in the mountains

We read some of these testimonials and looked up the names of the places on Google Maps.  We then used Google Earth and zoomed in to get a closer look.  With streetview, we could check out the feel of the place and see the kind of shops and parks or the general upkeep of the homes along the streets.  This was such an easy way to check out a town so far away.  We thought that we could learn a little Spanish and had some sense of the culture from our trips to Mexico and Arizona.  I realize that is a pretty naive understanding, but it’s all we had to go on.

Peter also found a website that compared the cost of living in cities around the world.  Calgary was about $5400 a month for most of what you would need to live well.  Panama City only required $3600 for the same living expenses.  He used this site to start checking out other places in the world from Spain to Thailand, Costa Rica to Australia . We began narrowing down the list to places that were economical based on my pension and investments.  Health care availability was something else we wanted to know more about.

As we were in the midst of this conversation, I received a call from my friend Bernice, who has been a much braver traveller than I for her whole life.  She has worked and travelled in Asia for the last 5 years and spent the last 2 winters in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  She skyped me around her apartment and talked about the benefits of living in Thailand, as compared to Central or South America.  Bernice felt very safe there.  The cost of living was very low for rent and food.  The area that they lived in had excellent transportation to the places we would want to go.  The winters were like our summers only more so.  She also added that Chiang Mai was a city with a large number of ex-pats, many from Canada.  That made it possible to learn about a new culture, while still being able to pursue many of the same interests we would have at home.

I asked her about the Eastern Culture.  We have never been to Asia and didn’t know much at all about the people and their way of life.  Her reply was that everyone in the world is on the Internet these days.  They share the same Facebook posts and wear the same clothes.  Globalization is a real life thing, not just something you hear about on the news.

That was all I needed to hear.  It was a place that met our needs as new retirees, and, it had the seal of approval from someone who had gone there and done it.  That last part was really the tipping point for us.  We booked ourselves into the same building I had seen on her computer camera for a 5 month stay.  (Smith Suites ) We decided that if we were going to learn about a new place, we needed to be there long enough to feel like part of the community, and not just tourists passing through.  Next we started in with the practical issues of moving for 5 months to another country halfway around the world.

Cost of living comparison Calgary vs. Chiang Mai  chart  $5400 vs $2600

map of Thailand

Life prepares you for retirement. Pay attention!

October 15, 2016

 

I spent most of my life doing what was expected of me.  I worked hard at school, did my chores at home and had a part time job during high school.  I took piano lessons, played in the band, learned to swim and hung out with my friends.  It was a pretty typical life in a small town in the 70’s.  I went on to University, got my teaching degree and a music diploma, married my soulmate and had 2 children and a dog-he arrived in a slightly different way than the children.

Everything was going according to plan. That’s when the adventure really began.  Teaching jobs were scarce in the early 80’s and we ended up living and teaching on a First Nations reserve west of Rocky Mountain House.  What an interesting place to start a career!  Although we ended up with teaching jobs in Rocky Mountain House it was a taste of living within another culture.

We live next to the Rocky Mountains so we camped, hiked and backpacked in the national parks.  Much of our summers were spent travelling around the western United States and Canada in our tent trailer.  We have pictures of the kids straddling the Canada/US border, exploring the formations at Bryce Canyon and being in awe of the bubbling ponds at Yellowstone.

20161015_100734-1

We took them to the UK and Paris when they were 9 and 11 to meet their Welsh relatives.  Cathedrals and ruined castles were added to our list of discoveries.  As they got older we flew to Mexico and Hawaii to enjoy more tropical climates and ocean life.

Finally they were ready to head out on their own.  Both were athletes as well as capable students.  Melissa went off to California, Pennsylvania to study sports administration while playing on the golf team.  Owen traveled to Cleveland, Mississippi to get a business degree while  playing soccer.  We wished them well and told them what a great adventure they were embarking upon.  How lucky they were to get to live in a new place.  It would make them appreciate their home and also get to learn about a new culture.  If you’ve never been to Mississippi, it really is different than anywhere else, but in a good way.

We traveled by car to visit them or take them to school and saw most the the United States.  When we would stop in a new place for the night, we would ask ourselves, “Could we live here when we retire?”  Most of the time the answer was yes.  Almost everywhere had some good quality of life.  Although we didn’t spend much time in either place, El Paso, Texas and Bakersfield, California did not make our top 20 list.

As I got into my 50’s, I began to think more about retirement.  I had a pension I could begin collecting at 55.  I had been teaching in the same school since I was 26 years old.  My children were settled in jobs in Stockton, California, and Houston, Texas.  My husband, Peter, was already retired and ready to start the next phase of our life.

I initially pictured myself subbing at the school a few days a month, volunteering in the community, golfing and gardening in the summer and learning to take better photographs and edit them with software that seems to have a steep learning curve.  I thought I might do some presenting at conferences or even teach a few children’s music workshops here and there.  The church choir would have a director that had more time to prepare and the group we sing with in Red Deer would have a rested alto who knew her music well in advance of the performances.  It sounded like a pretty good life.

Then last year my brother died of liver disease at the age of 52.  My dad passed away from lung cancer just before Christmas.  His brother and wife were gone by the summer and I suddenly realized that life can completely change in a very short time.  Your health is worth so much and I decided that I needed to take advantage of it now.  I turned 55 in May, 2016 and retired in June.

But, what to do?  That’s the topic of a new blog.