New Adventures

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I woke about 4ish, but things were different. It was much colder in the trailer and the refrigerator Check light was on which lead “Dennis the genius” to speculate the active propane tank was empty (used also on shakedown trip). Dressing hurriedly, I braved the cool desert air to switch propane tanks. There were several reasons to quickly make the switch (unhappy travel buddies waking to a cold trailer, food going bad, and brewing my morning coffee). Soon everything was back to normal and I had time to start Blog updates.

After a bowl of Irish Oatmeal laced with dried fruit and nuts, Emily took a shower and I waited my turn. Don't think I mention this, but the on-board bathroom has a shower in the tub, sink, cabinet and of course a pottie. Emily finally emerged squeaky clean and I prepared to do likewise. However as I was adjusting the water temperature, the water flow stopped. The fresh water tank was empty. We both knew there was only a limited amount of water in the tank, but wondered how it was depleted so quickly. The obvious reason was Em's shower, but she assured me that she was conscious of a limited water supply and used water only conservatively.

Task of the day was to fill the water tank. Fortunately I had chosen a camp site next to a fresh water supply, but a 35 feet motor home bus beat me to the water connection. Although there was a fresh water source at the dump station, he chose the one next to our camp site. I am sure he did not do this to “pull my chain”, but it was pulled and reached epic proportions when I found out his tank was 3 times the size of mine and would take close to a half hour to fill. I went inside and watched while time wasted. However that soon passed and I was able to fill the tank and ready for a shower.

For those of you who have trailer-ed know, water used in the trailer does not just run out on the ground. No, never, but instead collects in a tank called the gray water tank. There is another tank called the black water tank which is connected to only one source – the pottie. After reading this, you make think that instead of a trailer it should be called a Tank Trailer and not a Travel Trailer.

Emily from her trailer experience wondered what was the status of the gray water tank. It was 2/3 full and needed to be dumped soon (dump station). I decided to take an abbreviated shower with only hair, underarms, and other areas of aromatic body source locations. Not squeaky, but much refreshed and I was ready for the day to finally begin.

A quick review of the trail map found a 1.3 mile loop trail as a starter for the days hike. It was after 1 PM when our boots hit the campground pavement on this beautiful winter day. As we moved away from the trailer, a discussion started as to where the trail head was located. Since the trail map was still with KC, we went in different directions to find the trail. A quick trip to the ranger station got a trail map and specific direction to the trail In looking at the trail map we found it was about a mile to the actual loop trail, but what better thing to do on a great day. However the trail in reality was quite different from the map. We went up and over a ridge or two into a canyon where the loop trail intersected. I was pleased we found the trail, but a quick look saw the upcoming path matched the trail name - Far View. Taking a hard left, we started up another ridge with several switchbacks and way to many stairs for my creaky knees. Additionally the weather changed as we got closer to the top with a temperature drop and ever increasing breeze (OK wind).

After a trail snack, I became a bit weak with little energy. Taking a short break provided my body a chance to deal with the snack carbos and off we went to the ridge where the view was amazing as the snow covered mountains to the northwest was a strong contrast to the Joshua trees and Yucca plants surrounding us. We hit the downhill track with a vengeance and soon arrived at the trail head. What a surprise as there was a partially paved road a half mile from the campground. The hike was not over as we trudge along the road (Emily actually walked briskly) to our House on Wheels (HoW) for a rest and a hot meal. As the night grew windier and colder, we snuggled watching a video (not the norm for a travel trailer, but I had a 700 Watt inverter installed) while the heater kept us warm.

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Photos

Joshua Tree Grove
On the Far View Trail Joshua Trees and Yuccas were in abundance

Far View
Contrast - desert to snow covered mountain peaks