We left the house on Friday, April 26, 2013, for our inaugural trip with our new Camp-Lite camper, attached to Alan's Toyota Tacoma. Royal hopped into the truck and was ready to go, before we were finished packing. From Durango, we headed west, thinking we were going to end up around Butler Wash or Hatch Point.
Alan was thinking our issue would be off-road capabilities -- meaning the ups and downs of Butler Wash, and finding a campsite that we could get in and out of easily. Alan has a lot of experience with motorcycles and boats. Campers and trailers? Not so much. And, I have no experience with any of this, so I'm not much help.
We decided to stop at Devil's Canyon Campground -- about 10 miles south of Monticello, Utah. It turned out to be a nice campground -- not many people there. Easy in and out of the campsite, which was good for our first night. We had a picnic table and a firepit with a grill, and restrooms a short distance away.
That evening, we walked down to the end of the campground, and found a Nature Trail -- very short -- but, we got to see part of Devil's Canyon, with the Moki Ruin.
Issues we DID have, right off the bat -- The gas (propane) didn't work -- ugh, major pain. iPod didn't work in the radio. Drain in sink didn't work and had broken water gaskets. Air in the water pipes, we guess, because the water sputtered all weekend. Alan had to drive into town (good thing we didn't camp at Hatch Point!) -- got ice and filled the propane tank, which it turned out, didn't need filling. So, there was a clogged line right from the tank. We ultimately "fixed" it with duct tape. Next day, coffeemaker didn't work, but we were able to use the truck, so at least we had coffee every morning. Gotta fix that.
Had smothered burritos for dinner and margaritas -- with ice! Yum!
Next day (Saturday), we packed up and traveled south, past Blanding, and then headed west on 95. Decided to take a right turn, towards Cottonwood Wash.
The cottonwoods along the creek are just starting to bud, so they look pale gray-green from the top of the canyon.
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| Indian Paintbrush was blooming! |
Lunch was Italian sandwiches, chips, pickles, cookies, and beer, probably.
Thanks to Alan's GPS, we found a great campsite, right on the creek -- no one else around. (BLM land)
There's water in the creek right now, so Royal is in heaven!
It's 73 degrees and sunny -- perfect! Setting up the awning was a little tricky (we should really learn to read manuals), but it's nice to have. It's actually hot in the sun.
We took a hike along the creek before dinner, and saw an old ruin . . .
Back at the campsite, Alan made a fire and opened the bottle of Pinot Gris.
Dinner was steak, baked potatoes, coleslaw, and brownies for dessert.
There were little lizards everywhere, rustling in the leaves and scurrying up and down the trees.
Another issue we need to deal with -- The smoke detector went off when I was cooking, and then when we turned on the heat. How annoying!
But, the stove works fine, and so does the refrigerator. I just need to bring a smaller frying pan.
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| Our clean and shiny new camper isn't so clean and shiny anymore |
On Sunday, we took another hike -- this time, we brought water.
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| The Abajo Mountains |
Royal had a run-in with a wild turkey, who flew a little ways off. I'm sure the hen was relieved when we finally left and she could get back to her nest.
We'll definitely come back again, and spring is the best time. There probably won't be water here, later in the year, and it'll probably be pretty hot and dry in the summer.
Here's a slideshow of our trip, with soundtrack by Norah Jones . . .
Can't wait for our next trip . . .
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