The trip begins......
In the month leading up to the trip it was a frenzy of activity. Sakshi was trying to figure out how to put months worth of food into the small space allotted, (she did an admirable job), and I was checking the most important modifications off the 60 line item list of repairs and changes that we wanted to do on the truck. Windows, check, seal roof, check, roof vents, check, get water system up and running, check, test water heater, check etc...... I don't think Fido will ever be done, but it is getting closer
I grew up camping and exploring the backcountry of the Washington and Utah and am quite adept at reading a paper map. Sakshi is from a Military family and she likes traditional maps too. We don't really go in for electronic devices too much when it comes to navigation.(although we will whip out the iPhone periodically to get our gps coordinates to compare with the paper map and confirm our location-but that is about the extent of it.) I have yet to have a failure of a paper map or run out of batteries!!! That having been said, our planned route included a lot of new areas and we were sorely lacking in the map department. Amazon is our friend!!
Some of these turned out to be incredibly useful and some not so much. I can't say enough positive about the BackRoads Mapbooks if you are traveling in Canada. They have lovely contours and nice descriptions of the canoeing, hiking, camping, and biking opportunities in their covered areas. The book 8000 miles of dirt roads in Wyoming was also awesome. We have some further exploring to do up there and it is so close to home! We could have done without the Camp Free in BC book however. We are used to the open camping on BLM lands here in the states and had friends tell us that there were no areas like that in Canada(poppycock!) so we were concerned about finding places. As it turns out, there are tons of open lands with range camping and we never really needed help in that regard.
About a month prior to our departure I read on the forums that there was a Fuso camper from Alabama in town at the local Mechanic having some repairs done. I stopped by to have a look at the camper. It was a good looking rig.
We reached out to it's owner to come by for some home cooked Indian food when the truck was done. They said they would love to when they flew back from their trip to New York.
I love hosting travellers at our place. It is almost as though you were traveling yourself. David and Reagan came by for dinner and brought some other locals Chris and Lana with an Earthcruiser EXP who we hadn't met. While they were there I got my first ride in an Earthcruiser. They are so nice. It sure would have been easier to buy one of those instead of building my own, but where is the fun in that? Three Fusos in our driveway at once. Super cool!!!
I guess David and Reagan liked the food as they ended up staying in our driveway for nearly a week. It was so helpful to have them around while I was doing final preparations for our departure. David ended up helping me add additional structure to the bed frame (when it had been upholstered they used cardboard as a mattress support-before my ownership-needless to say it didn't last. He also brought an air powered caulking gun which came in extremely handy for all those tubes of Sikaflex I used installing the new windows. I don't know how I got along without one of those. It was so interesting to look at another homebuilt camper. Each camper is built to the owners tastes and requirements. David ended up using a professionally built Morgan truck body(those are so nice) which will turn out to be bulletproof. He is a carpenter by trade and did a lovely job outfitting the interior. The custom tubular bumpers are sweet as is the raising and lowering rear rack with the bikes and spare tire. He has a gigantic storage locker under the bed which was nearly full. They were realizing that they may have overpacked and wanted to spend their time with us sorting and shipping extra stuff home. I am afraid of adding too much storage on Fido for the same reason-you will always fill it up!
A friend of mine is the head brewer at a large local brewery here in Salt Lake and he was having a surprise birthday party at the brewery which we decided to attend. It turns out that he had jokingly commented a couple of years back when his daughter had a princess party that he never got one. Sakshi, Reagan and I stopped by and this was the result:
Good times! By the time David and Reagan left the friendship was sealed. We hugged our goodbyes and looked forward to seeing them again at the Overland Expo in a few weeks.
We finally got all packed up and ready to go on our day of departure. It was a little later in the day than we had hoped and we were exhausted from all of our preparations when I came up with a brilliant idea. We decided to camp the first night of the trip in our driveway which would make the trip home to pick up forgotten items much shorter. We had a good nights rest, loaded up a few more items, and hit the road the next morning.
The first day on the road was a three hour drive down to a remote area just outside the ghost town of Woodside Utah. Woodside is on highway six about halfway between Price and Green River. It was an old roadside attraction as it used to have a large geyser which would erupt with great regularity. Water is a rare thing in such an arid region. Unfortunately one too many beer cans and rocks were thrown into the hole and it ceased to flow many years ago. All that is left now is an old gas station and a bunch of decrepit RV's. I knew of a dirt road taking off to the east from there which led to the North Fork of the Price river. Just a few miles up the road we entered a lovely canyon on a rugged dirt road. Just the way we like it.
We found a beautiful place to park for the night, and we were the only people for miles. We prefer to take the road less traveled, and often camp well off the beaten track. One of my inspirations in my youth was my Grandfather. He had this fifth wheel trailer and truck that he would take south seasonally and we would often meet up with him when I was a kid. We would joke that he would always pick a camp spot between the highway and the railroad tracks. This is an interesting point. You see, he always felt more secure if he was surrounded by other people and close to infrastructure. We are exactly the opposite. We feel best when there isn't another vehicle for a hundred miles and we are completely alone. Generational thing I guess. Anyways I guess this spot would do:
The rock strata in this area was at about thirty degrees and it was tough to find a level place to park for the night. I found a big hole to put the front tires in and got it right where I wanted it. I pointed out to Sakshi later that I had parked in a crack where the entire point of the bluff was separating toward the cliff to the river below. I figured it would stay put for one more night. We both slept well and are here to tell the tale so I guess it worked out ok!
That evening we went for a walk to admire the canyon and the lovely wildflowers before heading to bed. It felt so good to be on the road!!
