The Beginning of a Never Ending Adventure

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Oopslala said:
I'll be in te gunnison national forest.  Shoot me a PM when you're planning on being in the area and I'll give you exact location.  

I may not respond for 1-2 weeks if there's no service on top of the mountains.

Stopped in Des Moines for the night.

While driving through Illinois I believe, we went past the RV/MotorHome Hall of Fame.  Never had the slightest clue there was such a thing

I'll be over in the Pike Nat'l Forest area, near Woodland Park. Will try and meet up, but spending time with my family (only second time in 21 years!!) takes precedence as they are on their way to Germany in July. I have to be in SD sometime in AUgust and get the legalities of life organized. Wish I could just be a citizen of the world instead, would make life easier. :D
 
Not to drag this off topic, but as an addition/correction only; there is another RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana right off the toll road.
 
Ah you're right it was Elkhart. I couldn't remember exactly where, seemed like we were already through Indiana.
 
I hope you stopped there !
To me actually seeing all those cool places instead of having to just pass by was part of the dream of my future travels. I don't miss much anymore , no hurry here ANYMORE !
No , scratch that , "NEVERMORE" (in my best raven voice)
 
Stopped for the night, dad wanted to get a nights sleep in a hotel and 'didn't think it would be a good idea for me to sleep in it' even though I'll be doing that every night after tonight. Parked it in a semi/RV parking area in a very high traffic area so I'm not too worried about something happening
 
60 miles from gunnison and wheel bearing went out which blew a brake line. Got lucky that it wasn't in the mountains when it blew. They can't get to it until tomorrow morning, this ones gonna hurt the wallet.
 
Oopslala said:
60 miles from gunnison and wheel bearing went out which blew a brake line.  Got lucky that it wasn't in the mountains when it blew.  They can't get to it until tomorrow morning, this ones gonna hurt the wallet.

Oh man, that's too bad, but I am glad you are okay! So close, to Gunnison, but no brakes in the mountains would have been really scary. Aren't you pulling a trailer Oops? Glad you are in an area that can get it fixed and you still got your home on wheels. Is your dad still with you? Take care you. :) I'll be checking back on your thread.
 
Well I'm almost w couple weeks in. Got everything taken care of and been at my site for a while now
 
Loving it so far. I go shed hunting/hiking pretty much every day and I've been killing it finding sheds. The horns I've found in the last week have more value than what I make in a month at this job. The only complaint I have is the time they 'require' me to be there (Thursday-Sunday all day) but I knew this heading into it. If the sheds keep comin I may just do that all year next year instead of a host job. I guess that's a long ways away though.
 
Glad you're enjoying it there !
What kind of antlers are you finding?
 
Mostly elk, haven't gone low enough for mule deer but elk are bigger so more $$$$
 
Oopslala said:
Mostly elk, haven't gone low enough for mule deer but elk are bigger so more $$$$

Most of the time they are bigger. Last year I found a matched set that I thought were a nice set of deer antlers at first. They were actually on the ground about 10 feet or so apart. When I picked them up I realized they were a set of 5x5 Elk with brow tines. Small enough to fit completely in an average size day pack. I would love to see that Elk running around - he may have just had small antlers, but I have a picture in my mind of a drawf Elk that the other Elk make fun of!
 
Well I guess I'll start updating this now that I've got service consistently.

Ended up hunting in Silt Colorado 2nd rifle season and we all got skunked, didn't see anything until the last night, and didn't see a bull in the group of 8.

Went to the east side of Moab and camped down a dirt road, peace officer trail or something if I remember correctly. I was going to follow bobs itenerary but a family member thought I was already in AZ and booked a flight, getting here in 2 days and I wanted to get early to be sure I'm here. Stopped for the night up the first national forest access road, pretty bummed there are too many trees in my spot to get dishs. Guess I'll watch the rest of the World Series and not tonight.

Me and the pooch are going to go site hunting tomorrow to find a more suitable place to stay for a couple weeks, it was getting dark and I just wanted a spot to sleep tonight.
 
Oopslala said:
 Guess I'll watch the rest of the World Series and not tonight.


I tried to watch some but dozed off. Baseball is often a lot like watching grass grow, except with people that occasionally get in the way...

:)
 
Flagstaff can turn cold real suddenly this time of the year. If you can you might be happier in Sedona and it's only about an hour south of there on 89A. One of the most beautiful places on the planet!
 
Is there lots of BLM land there? I attempted to stop near tuba city and everywhere I asked said there wasn't any BLM dirt roads that you can camp on so I had to keep going to the national forest.

I wanted to do a little shed (antler) hunting before I headed out of the forest. Gotta itch that scratch one more time before I have to wait until spring.
 
Went for a hike in flagstaff and didn't make it a mile before I saw orange in the distance so I turned around. Didn't wanna be the guy that ruined someone's hunt that took 10+ years to draw.

Packed up and drove down to Sedona, it's a bit hotter than I'd like but I'm sure it'll get better in a couple weeks. Moab was the same way the first few days. Now let's talk about that drive.

I loved the pine trees being everywhere once you get into flagstaff, you really feel like you're in the middle of wilderness and you might pull into McDonald and see and elk. Beautiful drive. Then came the descent, that was a lot more than I gambled for. When I saw the sign that 50ft+ rigs weren't allowed it got me a little curious but didn't think much of it until I got to the hair pin turns. That was an absolutely beautiful drive and I'd recommend that to anyone. If you're pulling a camper though, bring an extra pair of underwear because it's a thriller.

But the dog and I made it, all set up airing out the camper trying to bring the temp down into the high 70's. A little sad my Spartans lost today, but a great day nonetheless. Sometimes I forget how fortunate I am to be able to do this at such a young age.
 
I've driven the same route from CO to AZ before. Tuba City is on the Reservation, hence the reason for no BLM land nearby. Enjoy your time there and I hope to meet you at RTR in January.
 
Ah, that explains all the food/gift stands everywhere you look on the side of the highway.

I'll definitely be there, so I'm sure I'll see you sometime.
 
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