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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Moody Blues (a wench with a winch)



It's seven AM and still pitch black out Goldie's windows. Her furnace runs continuously, causing panes to sweat like Mike Tyson in the 14th round—39 degrees on one side 80 on the other. It's been raining for a while now, not a deluge, not a pitter patter, just enough to turn your Lazy Daze RV in to a prison cell. You see, dampness lowers chill factors, thus it's been cold enough that any sane person would have traded shorts for long pants days ago. But I resist, persist, and insist, like a child refusing vegetables. We're in the desert for crying out loud, but it's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas!



Not only are women smarter than men, they're tougher, too. Bobbie bundles up every morning, braves the cold and goo of BLM roads behind our park, and goes for a long walk. Me? I can't face it. I sit and pout in private, surfing dozens of weather websites in search of a rainbow, sketching plans for the ark we will need if this shit doesn't letup. It's as if a bullseye hangs over southwest Utah, centered over Virgintown, epicentered over me. These, of course, are symptoms of advanced RV Fever, and it's not yet Thanksgiving. 

Yesterday, our new boondocking RVino friends bailed like a Boonie, or at least tried to. But it was too late; mud mired their exit...a rig too heavy goeth not far, not to mention tires too bald, desert too saturated. They were gummed balled in gumbo…glued and screwed. A tow truck with a wench (ok, it could have been a wench with a winch) came to John and Susan's rescue...put them on solid enough ground to get the hell out of Dodge. They took a "rain check" on the Outdoor Group's Happy Hour that evening (their idea), and departed without so much as leaving a bottle of Merlot for us to salute/curse them. 

The antidote for endless grey skies and rain and cold and wind is to pretend it's not happening, just get out there and brave that shit like a post-MAN. After all, we are the Outdoor Gang; what kind of message does it send to quit and bail when the going gets tough? For heavens sake, our CEO sits in Yuma...what's that all about? Fraud!

But the hardcore remnants of the O. G. are still here; a little moody, but still here! We piled in Sue Bee and headed into the clenched, drooling Jaws of Zion, wipers like machetes, hacking a way through the fog of a jungle monsoon. It felt good to be hiking again, weather and all. The trail up to Echo Canyon is steep and we warmed up pretty fast...all except our hands, that is, and my bare legs. Hey, in some cultures "stubbornness" is a trait that's revered and honored. 

On a sodden cloudy day, one might as well leave cameras behind in the car. But what the hell; we could always delete photos deemed too poor to share. Besides, it gave Jim and I something to do to keep our minds off how cold we were.  




































Happy Hour, RVinos…and not a bottle of wine to be found :(.

24 comments:

  1. Way to get out there despite the weather. Here in Oregon, we're used to rainy hikes. (In the winter/spring, if you don't hike in the rain you don't get to hike!)

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  2. I feel your pain! It's 48 and raining hard in Tucson. Inside I am wearing socks, quelle horreur! It's interesting how rocks look better when they're wet. It brings out more color. Like you, we are looking forward to this system moving east and raining on someone else's parade. Stout heart, OG.

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  3. Hey, we did all get in the picture! It was a fun day despite the rain and the just so-so bumbleberry pie.

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  4. Kind of amazing how interesting photos can be when you don't have to contend with all that high contrast stuff in the canyons. My first walk in Capitol Reef was on a day like this one in February of 1988. I was hooked forever. Although I really really hate being cold. Hence the trip to the southern US right after Christmas. It is something around 14 F here in Oregon on my side of the Cascades.

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  5. Some of the bestus photos are taken when all the colors are saturated, and you got your quota here. Stay dry and remember, at least it's not 110 degrees, eh?

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  6. Laverne here:

    Oh how I love your postcards Mark...these are really good today....loved the turkey's. Was wondering how cold you all got....we are cold here in Austin...in the thirties this morning! and!!! that is cold! Your scenery is much better...to get to our pretty places, you have to fight traffic, and I feel the same way you do about that....Happy Thanksgiving!

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  7. Just you and the turkey's out there running around....even the deer are hunkered down, as am I. Seems to be dreary and cold all over but interesting to see the desert swell from soaking up all this moisture. Stay warm!

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  8. Love, love your humor. Here we sit in humid and rainy Louisiana not venturing out the RV, because it is too cold. What is wrong with this picture? We have skied in short-sleeve shirts! Being from Colorado, I prefer the dry air!

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  9. I got rid of my propane furnace (it sounded like a jet engine) and use an Eden Pure radiant heater. I had read that the propane from the stove top and furnace are what causes the condensation. I had my heater on all night (it was 34 to 40 in San Antonio) and there is no condensation in the RV. The heater may not work on a solar system but it is supposed to use very little energy.

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  10. I think those "Hazy Shade of Winter" photos are just as evocative as the cobalt blue skies of Lovely Ouray.

    That Bobbie puts the "Outdoor" in the "Outdoor Club!" An inspiration to us female outdoor enthusiasts everywhere!

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  11. Perfect day to go inside Zion and avoid the crowds!

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  12. Like Linda I enjoy a hike in the drizzle, especially in the spring. Neat to see the desert wet, not so neat to be stuck in the mud. Weird weather all over this week, wind chill of 8 degrees here today! I left the house to buy groceries and scurried back inside.

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  13. Beautiful pictures....I'm glad you went and really glad I enjoyed your hike in the comforts of my little home on wheels!

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  14. No small electric space heater to use when you have hookups? Saves listening to that noisy propane furnace. I've really enjoyed your photos from this area.

    Chris H

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  15. "A tow truck with a wench came to John and Susan's rescue..." Wow, what did she look like? Was she beautiful or just your average scullery drudge? :)

    Great pictures!

    (What do you expect from a lurker?!)

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  16. We've got the "wet" here too. Gray skies making me think I'm still back in WV! But it will dry out soon, I'm sure. The weather gives me a reason to stay inside and work. The Granite Dells are right behind my rig, and first weather break the work will stop and the walks will start, not to mention the climbing too!

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  17. There is no bad weather, only bad clothing?

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  18. From Donna in Sacramento:

    I'm so glad you braved the conditions and gave us such fabulous photos to view. The conditions were perfect to make all the colors pop. I have to confess to being addicted to your blog as well as Jim and Gayle's...I get grumpy when there isn't a post for the day. It's wonderful to live vicariously through you bold RVers.

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  19. I would say the rain didn't hurt your photographs at all--stunning! One of my favorite places on earth!

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  20. "Not only are women smarter than men, they're tougher, too" ..... Well I totally agree with that one. It's a fact for sure but most male Ego's will not admit it. Cold & wet doesn't work for either Kelly or I & like Boonie & the others we would have been long gone out of that even we had needed a winch with a Wench. By a sheer stroke of unusual luck we happen to be in one of the few good weather areas at the moment here in Borrego Springs.. Prices might be a bit higher for things here in southern California but what price sunshine & warm air................................ .

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  21. It seems like every blog is posting similar weather on both sides of the country. We pulled out of Atlanta after an early Thanksgiving with a 31 degee temp and wind this morning.

    Even with the clouds and rain, the scenery is beautiful. Love the wildlife!

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  22. She was quite the saucey wench with the winch (should have taken a picture). Don't despair. There will be plenty of wine waiting for you when you return to the Southwest early next year!

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  23. Just looking at these picture is refreshing. I am setting out for a hike too in a day. Wish me luck. LOL

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