South East Utah planning

[iamunique127]

Back in October of this year, I was reading a thread about the annular eclipse. A post by forum member EscapeBoulder https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f39/annular-eclipse-in-nm-25383.html#post455891 that contained a photo of Valley of the Gods in southeast Utah really captured my imagination.

photo credit: EscapeBoulder

I showed the photo to my wife and we agreed it would be a wonderful new area to see for ourselves. Photos of Goosenecks and Muley Point make them areas of interest as well. Boondocking is really our preferred way of camping and the idea of unregulated walks is very appealing, too. Although admittedly they are very beautiful, we are not big on National Parks or the big tourist attractions due to the crowds and congestion.

So we started thinking about when we could realistically get away for an extended time, to make the trip worthwhile from our home in Winnipeg, and figure sometime in the mid-April to late May time period would work for us. We enjoy travel in the spring and the month of May, here in Canada, is just about ideal. We will be travelling southwest from here but may experience high elevations, I'm not sure. I haven't looked into the route that far yet.

Generally, at least at a glance, this highlighted route seems favourable. We prefer to stay off the interstates as much as possible but realize short sections may be necessary. We tend to wander when we travel so it may take us a week to get down there although we've travelled the North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming sections before so don't need to spend a lot of time exploring there this time.

For those of you familiar with the southeast Utah area, what are your thoughts on what we would experience weather-wise in that time period? I've read travel is not advisable or possible on the backroads when they are wet but I don't know when rains can be expected there.

I have spent a bit of time in the Tucson area and cactus thorns were a problem for dog's feet on the trails. We now travel with a dog and I wonder if cacti are an issue in Utah?

Although I've stated some preferences they are not hard and fast rules for our travels. Is there anywhere else in the area or on our general route you'd suggest we see or do?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[MVA]

Weather preferences can be quite subjective. Weatherspark will help you compare temperatures in places you are familiar with to places you are unfamiliar.

There are various cactus species throughout the US southwest.

https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/8367~3012/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Winnipeg-and-Moab

Kathy

 

[WillyB]

Be sure to checkout www.freecampsites.net

I have used it several times and my good friend uses it quite a bit. He's camped for free at a lot of great sites. There is no particular search function other than zooming in on areas to see what is around. Most reviews are well written and include photos.

Plus, you can also uses the satellite feature to get an overview of the area.

 

[alanmalk]

Speaking for myself only: I would prefer the Casper to Grand Junction option for two reasons. 1. Weather in the high country of Colorado in late April to late May can be snowy - and sometimes measured in feet at a time. The good news is that the intense sunshine can dry the road surface in a day or two after the storm is over. 2. The traffic on Interstate 25 southbound from Cheyenne to Denver and from Denver to Glenwood Springs varies from miserable to atrocious, and although I have done it with the trailer out of necessity, it remains my least favorite drive.

 

[Buzz505]

May is a great month to visit Gooseneck and Monument Valley. The temperature is mild during the day and not that cool at night. Blanding has a nice RV Park if you are interested, just pick a site away from the road. You will run into "Goat Heads" in this area, just know what they look like and keep your dog from walking on the plants & you'll be fine. Moki Dugway is a fun drive when you are in the area. Enjoy.

 

[UncleTim]

To be sure the drive down will be of great concern, no matter which way, that time of year. All high elevation roads will be of concern. Mountainous roads will be icy in spots, at least.

I have found I can get a good sunburn in early to mid March in Utah, even up North by Dutch John if I pick the right week. Once you get South, off of I-70, the drive is not quite as high and usually in good shape about then. You will have storms blowing through from week to week so you will want to stay in one place for them. But once you get South of Moab, you should be able to do what you want. All of the dirt roads turn into quick sand when it rains. We usually wait till they dry out, however, I have been caught on them and had to drive through muddy roads. You can easily get stuck. Matts Towing Service (Youtube them for fun).

All of the mountain roads will be snowy. You need to stay in the desert and the lower the better. Avoid Colorado and definitely Denver at all costs. Watch out for all Winter storms coming across the West. Stay away from them, even if you have to leave early or late. Just avoid all storms or plan on sitting in one place till it blows over and the Sun returns.

That time of year can definitely be worth the struggle to get there. Just be smart with roads.

 

[iamunique127]

Weather preferences can be quite subjective. Weatherspark will help you compare temperatures in places you are familiar with to places you are unfamiliar.

There are various cactus species throughout the US southwest.

https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/8367~3012/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Winnipeg-and-Moab

Kathy

Thanks for the weather link.

 

[iamunique127]

Be sure to checkout www.freecampsites.net

I have used it several times and my good friend uses it quite a bit. He's camped for free at a lot of great sites. There is no particular search function other than zooming in on areas to see what is around. Most reviews are well written and include photos.

Plus, you can also uses the satellite feature to get an overview of the area.

I'll check out freecampsites.net. Thank you.

That brings up another subject for consideration: cellular data. Last summer we travelled thru the northwest US and depended on finding free wifi for our data because our Canadian cell service provider charges exorbitant roaming fees, like, $12/day exorbitant. To us that's outrageous. But being used to having internet access everywhere at home it was a PITA being without for the majority of the time. This trip I'm considering getting a US sim card or two so we can search campsites, etc. when we want to.

From what I understand there are two main US providers and one is better in urban centres and the other excels in rural settings. We tend to shy away from cities.

I have yet to investigate getting sim cards for a short term, like a month or two, but I am hopeful it is possible.

Any recommendations here for which cell provider you've been most happy with in the situations I've described for our trip?

 

[iamunique127]

Speaking for myself only: I would prefer the Casper to Grand Junction option for two reasons. 1. Weather in the high country of Colorado in late April to late May can be snowy - and sometimes measured in feet at a time. The good news is that the intense sunshine can dry the road surface in a day or two after the storm is over. 2. The traffic on Interstate 25 southbound from Cheyenne to Denver and from Denver to Glenwood Springs varies from miserable to atrocious, and although I have done it with the trailer out of necessity, it remains my least favorite drive.

Thank you for your insights, Alan. You've confirmed for me some of the reasons I chose the Casper route, the biggest one being to avoid Denver.

We've been as far as Casper in the past and I don't recall any real high country or mountains. Will the rest of that route to Grand Junction and onward involve mountains?

 

[iamunique127]

May is a great month to visit Gooseneck and Monument Valley. The temperature is mild during the day and not that cool at night. Blanding has a nice RV Park if you are interested, just pick a site away from the road. You will run into "Goat Heads" in this area, just know what they look like and keep your dog from walking on the plants & you'll be fine. Moki Dugway is a fun drive when you are in the area. Enjoy.

Thanks, Buzz. I may have to look into thorn-proof boots for the dog like I saw ppl using in Tucson. We like her to be off-leash as much as possible on walks, which is one reason we prefer secluded and unregulated spots, so keeping her off cacti would be tricky. I have seen another photo here on the forum of someone's two poodles running free in the VOTG area and they didn't appear to be wearing boots.

I've also seen photos of the Moki Dugway and it really appeals to me personally but my wife is not as comfortable in sheer drop off situations so we tend to avoid them.

 

[iamunique127]

To be sure the drive down will be of great concern, no matter which way, that time of year. All high elevation roads will be of concern. Mountainous roads will be icy in spots, at least.

I have found I can get a good sunburn in early to mid March in Utah, even up North by Dutch John if I pick the right week. Once you get South, off of I-70, the drive is not quite as high and usually in good shape about then. You will have storms blowing through from week to week so you will want to stay in one place for them. But once you get South of Moab, you should be able to do what you want. All of the dirt roads turn into quick sand when it rains. We usually wait till they dry out, however, I have been caught on them and had to drive through muddy roads. You can easily get stuck. Matts Towing Service (Youtube them for fun).

All of the mountain roads will be snowy. You need to stay in the desert and the lower the better. Avoid Colorado and definitely Denver at all costs. Watch out for all Winter storms coming across the West. Stay away from them, even if you have to leave early or late. Just avoid all storms or plan on sitting in one place till it blows over and the Sun returns.

That time of year can definitely be worth the struggle to get there. Just be smart with roads.

This is very helpful information, Tim, so thank you. I'll have to consider whether to leave the winter tires on the truck for the trip. We made a trip to Osoyoos, BC one beautiful October and I decided to put the winter tires on despite the little extra wear they would take. The weather held for the majority of the trip but we certainly were happy to have them in two of the mountain passes.

We won't be on any hard and fast schedule so we can easily sit out any storms. I presume if one gets caught on dirt roads when it rains it's possible to sit it out there too.

 

[GinoandLinda]

Speaking for myself only: I would prefer the Casper to Grand Junction option for two reasons. 1. Weather in the high country of Colorado in late April to late May can be snowy - and sometimes measured in feet at a time. The good news is that the intense sunshine can dry the road surface in a day or two after the storm is over. 2. The traffic on Interstate 25 southbound from Cheyenne to Denver and from Denver to Glenwood Springs varies from miserable to atrocious, and although I have done it with the trailer out of necessity, it remains my least favorite drive.

I second this suggestion. I can only speak for the Colorado/Utah leg of the trip but I have seen feet of snow in mid-May in Colorado and Utah. You could also experience heat, buy not too intense. Spring in the Southwest can be fickle.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. If possible, check out Natural Bridges National Monument. There is a campground there. No hook ups that I am aware of but peaceful and serene.

 

[iamunique127]

I second this suggestion. I can only speak for the Colorado/Utah leg of the trip but I have seen feet of snow in mid-May in Colorado and Utah. You could also experience heat, buy not too intense. Spring in the Southwest can be fickle.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. If possible, check out Natural Bridges National Monument. There is a campground there. No hook ups that I am aware of but peaceful and serene.

Thanks SageRpod. That pretty well clinches the decision to leave on the winter tires.

I’ve heard of Natural Bridges but now I’ll put it on the list. Peaceful and serene is big for us.

 

[alanmalk]

...
That brings up another subject for consideration: cellular data.
...
Any recommendations here for which cell provider you've been most happy with in the situations I've described for our trip?

A couple of options to consider:
1 Cell amplifier. I am looking on Amazon at super-cheap (my middle name) directional, single provider amplifiers. They might take some fiddling to work in a trailer but it seems possible.
2 Starlink. Just give Elon Musk a big chunk of $$ each month and you are connected everywhere at anytime. (Does defeat the purpose of camping however.)

We use Consumer Cellular. With this service we have no internet and minimal connectivity in large swaths of the American South West. (See #1 above) ;D

 

[alanmalk]

Thanks SageRpod. That pretty well clinches the decision to leave on the winter tires.
...

Speaking for myself. I would worry about a false sense of security. Would you be tempted to drive in a snowstorm pulling a trailer?

Perhaps consider the summer tires and plan to always *always* respect the weather forecast?

 

[brroberts]

I can’t speak for all of the southwest US, but Barb has ATT, & I have Verizon. Often, she has better service than I in that part of the world.

 

[iamunique127]

A couple of options to consider:
1 Cell amplifier. I am looking on Amazon at super-cheap (my middle name) directional, single provider amplifiers. They might take some fiddling to work in a trailer but it seems possible.
2 Starlink. Just give Elon Musk a big chunk of $$ each month and you are connected everywhere at anytime. (Does defeat the purpose of camping however.)

We use Consumer Cellular. With this service we have no internet and minimal connectivity in large swaths of the American South West. (See #1 above) ;D

Thanks for the ideas, Alan, I appreciate your input. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk already have enough money in my opinion. They don’t need any of mine. We’re interested in cell and data plans.

 

[iamunique127]

I can’t speak for all of the southwest US, but Barb has ATT, & I have Verizon. Often, she has better service than I in that part of the world.

Thank you

 

[iamunique127]

I can’t speak for all of the southwest US, but Barb has ATT, & I have Verizon. Often, she has better service than I in that part of the world.

Thank you, much appreciated. AT&T 30-day prepaid SIM cards are available and on my list.

 

[iamunique127]

Thank you for your insights, Alan. You've confirmed for me some of the reasons I chose the Casper route, the biggest one being to avoid Denver.

We've been as far as Casper in the past and I don't recall any real high country or mountains. Will the rest of that route to Grand Junction and onward involve mountains?

Simple roads maps do not tell the whole story. I looked up a topographical map and see what you guys are talking about regarding the elevation.

No wonder we hadn't come across high country on our earlier travels- the increase in elevation begins south of Casper, WY. And there are some pretty high spots to cross on the way to Grand Junction.

Caution will definately be the name of the game.