Northbound – Page 6 – Overland Adventure Excursions

June 9, 2025June 9, 2025

20250609 – Bryce Canyon NP, Utah

We left the campground this morning and headed to Bryce Canyon national Park. We got there pretty early, so we just drove all the way to rainbow point to avoid the rush of people. The drive is pretty, and probably 9000 feet or so, but it wasn’t quite as lush as the north rim we thought. At Rainbow Point we got out and took in the beautiful views, walked the dogs and then Sean took a hike for about and hour and was about 2 1/2 miles. The trails, Bristlecone and Below the Rim provided some great views and photos.

We continued back, stopped at the numerous vistas, and then hit the Visitors Center. And that’s where the people were. LOL. We bought a few trinkets, Kathy got her book stamped, and we headed back on the road after several hours visit.

The next part of the drive in Utah’s Highway 12 is breathtaking. It began the day at Red Canyon, continued across Pine forests, and then dropped down into cedar and juniper sections. Then the road narrowed and the sandstone valleys opened up. There were beautiful canyons, formations, and twisty slow roads across sone sketchy ridges. The road continued up into the Dixie Forest up to 9500 feet in the first and aspens.

We took a little side road and stopped for lunch. There was a spring listed on the map, so we investigated and saw a buried cistern that collects the water. There was a cool stream running behind the lunch site and Maggie was all in for a splash. She continued by rolling in the sand and ended up a filthy mess. Such a dirty girl.

We stopped right outside the NP for the night in the National Forest for some boon docking. Today was 8 hours of driving and 168 total miles.

Here’s a link to today’s photos:

https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250609-bryce-canyon-and-highway-12

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025

20250608 – Zero travel day in Red Canyon

We started the day off with a beautiful hike up the Buckhorn trail that leaves the campsite. About a mile up it meets the Golden Wall trail and then meanders up and down and around the ridges. We took Zuzu on the hike since her longer legs are better for the hike.

The trail all the way around was almost 5 miles and meandered through the tan and red sandstone formations, cedar trees, and scattered forest shrubs. The morning was about 50 degrees when we started and ended at almost 70.

We decided to stay another night here and enjoy this peaceful and non-busy campground. We pulled out the pantry contents and made a list of items and then a menu. We have to eat all of this frozen meat and get a handle on our supplies. In the quick pack we put most of our pantry and freezer in the camper and are not sure what’s all there. We have a plan now for the next two-three weeks.

Here’s a link to days photos:

https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250608-red-canyon-campground

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025

Gooseberry Mesa, Zion, and Red Canyon

The campsite on Gooseberry Mesa outside of Apple Valley Utah was incredibly quiet all night long. This morning when I got up, I heard some coyotes in the distance and a bunch of birds that sounded a little bit like quail. We got everything packed up on route around 10 in the morning. We drove to Hurricane, Utah, filled up the thirsty beast, and stopped by grocery store for a few supplies. And then we are off to Zion national Park.

And then there were people. They were probably 10,000 cars in the parking lot, but a nice family flagged us down and told us to wait a few minutes to give us their spot. Kathy went into the visitor center while I walked the pups. There were people everywhere, but that is to be expected on a Saturday in a national park when the weather is warm and there’s water in the desert. There’s so many people, and with the restrictions on dogs, we decided to just do a drive through the park.

The drive included a $15 fee because our vehicle was large and would require a one-way traffic pattern through the tunnel. Since it was several hours back the way we came, the $15 was probably less than we’d spend on the first hours worth of gas. It was a beautiful drive though especially after the tunnel, with the road was so windy up through the sandstone formations it was beautiful.

We decided to quit the road today at 3 PM as we found a nice campground in red Canyon just before Bryce Canyon national Park. The campground was $30 for the night, but it also has showers. This would be a great place to have electric bikes, because there is a bike path that runs all the way down to the town below and into Bryce Canyon. I can picture Oscar now with a set of riding goggles.
Here’s one picture from today, see the album for the rest.

https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250607-zion-np

June 6, 2025June 6, 2025

North Rim Grand Canyon and Pipe Springs Nat’l PK

We got up early this morning and took the dogs for the walk. We ended up driving up Forest Road 205 for about an hour and then linked up with the road out of Jacobs Lake that heads to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive along this route is absolutely breathtaking. There are amazingly gorgeous meadows, seas of Aspen, and the occasional deer and elk.

We walked around the North Rim Visitor Center, the beautiful lodge, and all the cabins, and took in the views from the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The place was nice, not very crowded, and plenty of parking. All of the campgrounds were booked up, which is common for national parks in the summer. But right outside the park there’s like 50 miles of open area that is for camping, which is where we spent the previous night. We are headed off the rim, and on toward Zion tonight.

Along the way we found another national monument called Pipe Springs National Monument. It was a settlement from the 1800s with the natural springs in the area allowed them to raise cattle, sheep, orchards, and fields of vegetables and grains. The fort was actually pretty cool and was well maintained.

We crossed over into Utah outside of Colorado city, Arizona. We got the obligatory photograph and then headed down the road another 30 minutes and found a camp in VLM land up on gooseberry Ridge outside of Apple Valley. It was really windy in the valley today, but it’s calmed down nicely this evening.

We’re making some beef stew and bread for dinner, and watching the sunset. Tomorrow at Zion national Park.

Link to the day’s photos.
https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250606-north-rim-grand-canyon

June 5, 2025June 5, 2025

Page and Jacob’s Lake, AZ

We got started about 10 again this morning and headed towards Page, AZ. We were lucky enough to see some of the rare rains that fall along Highway 89. We stopped briefly in Page for fuel and snacks and headed to the Glen Canyon Dam and visitors center. It sure is impressive what we humans can accomplish.

We continued onward and back down 89 to the 89A scenic byway. It was a beautiful drive in the valley beneath the Vermilion Cliffs. We stopped to walk the dogs at the Navajo bridge historic site, took a short nap, and then continued up into the high Kiabab National Forest in the Jacob lake recreation area. Cool mountain air at 7689 ft elevation.

205 miles today. Tomorrow we will head to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

June 4, 2025June 5, 2025

Northern Arizona – Flagstaff day 3

We left the house around 11 and headed towards Page, AZ. We made it to Flagstaff and had lunch, and did a couple of quick errands. By the time we left it was already around 3. Since Page was still 90 minutes away, we decided to find a place to stop. Just north of Flagstaff and beneath Humphrey peak, we found a spot, got leveled, and set up Howie. Nice area at the edge of a burn area.

The truck is hauling well. It’s a bit heavier than I’d hoped but we will drop some weight as we consume the items in the pantry. When we were initially planning this trip, it was going to be in the 2008 FJ Cruiser with a tent on top. This setup trades some off road capability for a living space. It’s cozy. We named it Howie, our house on wheels.

June 3, 2025June 5, 2025

Family and the local ER – day 2

Got started on some yard work at my parent’s house. My brothers and I have been looking at this old black walnut tree that had a bunch of dead limbs and I decided to start cutting. Managed to fill my dad’s truck bed full and take the load to the dump. Looks great now and much safer.

The batteries and solar are working great. Ran the MaxAir fan at night and Starlink all day and battery down to 80% by morning. Solar had it charged by 10-11 am.

And another minor hiccup: Kathy has some infection in her finger so we met the local Willcox ER staff. Thanks Julie and crew for the help. Now with some antibiotics and healing. We headed back to Coolidge to pick up and drop stuff off. Tomorrow will be northward bound.

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025

The PanAmerican Adventure Begins

I finally finished all of the little projects for the truck camper and the truck. We’re still getting organized on where everything goes, but we’ll get there. Right now it’s a bit of a mess.

Our first leg of the journey is down to Willcox Arizona to visit our parents, brother, and sister. We had a great day visiting, did a little yardwork, and had a great dinner at Isabelles, south of the border.

We will be heading north today, stopping in Coolidge to gather mail and packages and organize a bit more. We are also meeting up with a couple of friends this evening. Tomorrow will be a drive to the vicinity of Page, AZ.

July 16, 2024July 16, 2024

European Tour – Day 18 – Barcelona

We docked early in Barcelona and had a quick bite to eat. We had an excursion scheduled so we got right on that. The bus took us into the city and then stopped a block of so away from the basilica Sagrada Familia. We were treated to a great tour around the four sides of the basilica with each having a theme. The construction continues but the project is to be completed by 2026 for the main structure and the area around it by 2033. We headed back to the bus and toured through some great neighborhoods with more Gaudi designs as well as some other great architects.

We continued the tour into the old part of the city where we saw one of the old royal palaces and some more churches. We passed a shop selling statues pooping and we learned that it was not an insult but an actual sign of good luck (due to use of such in the fields to fertilize crops).

We stopped for a coffee and tried the Catalan chorizo sandwich which is significantly different than what we know as chorizo. We headed back to the bus and continued the tour past the old bullfighting rings and up to the Olympic village on the hill where we got some great views of the city. The tour concluded and we were back on the boat for lunch.

After lunch I headed back into the city to walk up the hill to the old fort. It took about 75 minutes to make it up to the top, about 300m high. On the way up, I stopped at the Olympic pool to get some pictures of the city that we missed as the bus sped by. Beautiful. The old fort had some big guns and great views, and I was treated to some Gaudi inspired dresses in the old vaults. There were some other exhibitions going on as well. The city has had the fort or some version of it since Roman times.

I headed back down the hill by a different route (lots of stairs) and dressed up for a nice dinner. We were treated to a show on the boat of local Flamenco dancers, which was quite interesting. Great day. 12+ miles of walking

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024

European Tour – Day 17 – Palma de Mallorca

The ship was in high gear last night as we headed south to Palma de Mallorca. We arrived just before noon and caught the shuttle to the old part of town. We first checked out the Basilica de Santa Maria de Mallorca. It is a massive gothic church that glows in the sun. The lines were short so we went in. It was not as ornate at other Basilicas although its chapels are well adorned. One was reconstructed by Gaudi after a fire. The Basilica had two really interesting things, these massive candelabras that were 3m tall and took 14 years to make. They only were placed on the altar for special occasions. I feel for the lads that had to get them up there. The other item was a statue of Mary that dated back to the 13th century (made from one log, something we’d never see from our lumber sources these days). Oh, and there were dead people in there too, including one arm bone from a saint (placed in a replica arm).

We wandered the streets, which were very narrow and not at all straight. Apparently this was common in the 1200s when this was all built.

We had a beer and mojito, and another beer and mojito near this old olive tree that had a gnarled trunk about 12 feet in diameter.

This was a short portion of day so we headed back to the busses. On the way we watched the peddlers pick up their stores on sheets and run off as the police patrolled the area.