Van-Tramp adventures 2014 (part 1)

[Van-Tramp]

Yes! I am back on the road after 6 weeks of hanging out with my Ex and Son in Colorado over the holidays.

It took some time, but Moose and I did make it out of Colorado finally. 300 miles may not sound like much, but that is almost a weeks drive for me any other time, and I’m only half way to the ‘safe zone’ in terms of overnight temperatures.

The drive itself was uneventful. I stopped every 60-90 minutes so Moose and I could stretch our legs, finally ending the drive at a truck stop in New Mexico just after sunset. There we watched a movie on the laptop, ate a simple meal, and fell asleep.

This morning I woke to a New Mexico sunrise which made everything A-OK. I had forgotten just how beautiful a desert sunrise is.

 

[caseyc]

Glad you're back on the road! Nice sunset shot! Didn't you used to tow a trailer, or is that no longer?

 

[exitinn]

We have been missing your post . Glad to see you are back .

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yes, over 2013 I had a small fiberglass trailer in tow which was my "guest room", as my Mother travels with me from time to time. In December I finally dropped it off at her place in California and left it there... so now I can get some proper 14-15 MPG

PS - It is the sunrise, cant you tell?

 

[Sameer]

I always look forward to seeing your remarkable photography!

 

[caseyc]

Mom travels with you sometimes? Wow, that's different! My mom still likes to cook for me sometimes, hopefully yours does the same, haha!

I've seen so many countless sunsets and sunrises that after awhile they all look alike to me, haha! I have a preference for sunsets over the ocean and beach.

 

[Van-Tramp]

I seemed to travel the same mile over and over in some Groundhog Day hell made specifically for me. I drove 100 miles this morning to arrive at what I thought would be my spot for the rest of the day. The casino I had chosen had no place (dirt of grass) for Moose to have any fun or do his ‘business’. The Walmart had one of those pesky “No overnight parking” signs. That place I spied right by the Rio Grande River turned out not to be a safe place to stay the night. So I finally I set out to drive through Albuquerque to Socorro where I knew I would find something before sunset. Luckily, I did not have to go that far thanks to the Sandia Resort & Casino just a few miles down the Interstate. Here Moose got a nice patch of soft sand (without the thorns) and I found a level patch of asphalt.


While Moose enjoyed the gusts coming from the West, I set myself to cooking a proper meal of Steak, mashed potatoes (yes the instant kind), and my favorite veggies. Moose got to share in the feast, getting his own portion of the steak before it was cooked… he has since fallen fast asleep, plump with content.


Total cost of the meal? About $1.60
($1 for the meat, $0.34 in veggies, and $0.25 in potatoes)

 

[my_vantasy]

A little off topic, but Moose is sooooo cute!

Have fun and stay safe!

 

[jeepbri]

Can't wait to see part 2!

 

[Ladywolfe]

Gorgeous sunrise picture - fantastic photography. Your Moose is adorable, what a great traveling companion

Welcome back and happy trails!

 

[Van-Tramp]

I have been inching my way south through New Mexico at my normal pace of 50 miles per day. Since I have traveled this road many times prior I have not been looking for 'adventures' to blog about. Instead I have been adventuring with food (and eating).
Van Essential: Dutch Oven
A trying day, but ends with steak!
Potatoes & yams in a bean kettle
Chicken Chilli


I have also been staying my nights at local Moose Lodges which is where I watched the Super Bowl in Truth or Consequences, complete with a potluck dinner and way too many beers.

If you are not a Moose member (or Women of the Moose) you may want to seriously consider it. For $70 a year you get access to more than 2500 Lodges around the country (and Canada). Each will welcome you in like you are family, and most will allow you to overnight in their lots (as a member). Some even have RV hookups which the norm is to donate $10 per night if you use the hookups. Below, I am camped with other Moose members in T-or-C New Mexico.

 

[hippiechk]

Hi there VT;

Nice to see your year is off to a good start

Dropping into a Moose Lodge is a bit like stopping by to visit family for sure. I find a similar welcome at the Legion Halls and have always been welcome to overnight there but they sure don't accommodate you like the Moose, and for sure no hook-ups.

Love your pics...stay safe and if I ever manage to catch up to you I like my steak well done. *smile*

Hug,

 

[Van-Tramp]

Gila Ntnl Forest – Dragonfly Petroglyph Site

Moose and I camped at the Dragonfly Trailhead in search of a little adventure. Truth be told, this puppy needs to get out of the van and *do* something and having a target to shoot (photo) at the end of the trail spurred me into some activity as well.

Moose and I set out to hike the trail late in the afternoon, but after going only a half mile or so, I had realized the camera was still back in the van. Attempt #1 to photo the illusive dragonfly failed.

Since the sun was within an hour of setting I did not want to attempt hiking out again that night. Instead I unloaded the mountain bike and navigated the 4 miles in search of the petroglyph, but to no avail. The bike ride was enjoyable, although rough on me as it was my first mountain bike ride in a long time, but I somehow missed the dragonfly again.

After a night’s sleep, and a hearty breakfast, Moose and I set out for the final attempt on foot. I thought I had an idea where it was, by this pool in the stream, but even after searching the whole area I failed to spot it.

No harm though, Moose and I got in a great hike and for him it was the longest he has gone at 4 miles.

 

[Blue]

Really liking this, gonna head over to your blog....

 

[Van-Tramp]

South West of Silver City on highway 90 is another segment of the Gila National Forest. The highway crosses the Continental Divide Trail, complete with a nice area to pull off and hike a bit or camp. While there are no established camping areas, it is easy enough to spot where people regularly do camp either by the tire tracks or the fire pits made by previous campers.

I have stayed here once in the past and decided it would be a better place to camp the night away then in a Walmart parking lot. In the morning we woke to a small snow fall – just a dusting – which was nice. Moose and I even got to hike out a bit just for fun.

I made sure to add it to my list of boondocking spots

 

[Van-Tramp]

These past days have been spent boondocking in the desert not far out of Tombstone. Much of my time has been spent socializing again as I have company with the Aluminarium duo and the MaliMish family, both in their luxurious airstream getup’s. I parked Big Blue a distance away to prevent any cross contamination of Big Blue’s skin-cancer to their beautifully reflective machines, which can be spotted a mile (or more) away.

Leigh has been spoiling me with more home-cooked meals, leading to a 6-day long binge of eating dinners prepared by others (and I am so grateful). Leigh prepares such delightful food that even this carnivore gobbles down every single morsel of the vegan meals she has prepared.

Moose and I took some time to hike out to the nearby corrals, finding a small herd of cattle along the way. Although startled at first, Moose ended up standing his ground after the initial retreat and eventually advanced on the monsters. I had to intervene to prevent an all out catastrophe which would have likely ended in a flattened puppy.

Since I had the light in my favor, I snapped a few photos of surrounding ‘thangs’…

 

[AltTransBikes]

Good stuff VT, as always. Keep it real!

 

[Van-Tramp]

A short drive and hike from the boondocking location is an old prospector cabin ruins. Not much remains but holes in the ground and two small walls of what would have been a tiny cabin a few miles outside of Tombstone, Arizona.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Getting cleaned up and ready to haul out I sat on my bed only to be met with minor resistance. I happened to be the power cord for my Verizon MiFi Hotspot which when stretched to it’s limit tore the cord out of the Hotspot. Sounds simple enough, but combined with the way I had the Hotspot mounted the cord made sure to take a piece of the charging port with it. Knowing that Verizon would not replace my old Hotspot without signing me onto a new 2-year contract I had to take evasive actions, in the name of Millenicom which offers the exact same network but with four-times the bandwidth, including 4G, all for only $20 more than my 3 year old Verizon 3G setup.

 

[Lucky mike]

Sorry you had a Communications mishap!!!!!!........But you cant beat Millinicom's deal and its nice to get it without a contract!!!

Ive been using them for 2 years now , Great people to Deal with once everything is set up!!!