While I’d committed to a month of camphosting in Moab, I only made it to three weeks because I had a better offer. When my friend Jen messaged me in late October inviting me to Bend, Oregon, to spend Thanksgiving with them, I said I couldn’t go because of my commitment. When I woke up the next day, I had a moment of pure clarity. My home is a van. It has wheels. Of course I was going to Bend to be with my Aussie-American family. I texted Jen right back and said, “Let me try that again… I’ll be there!”
Typical Utah
We took the scenic highway 128 out of Moab and followed the Colorado River as it flowed past yellowing trees, numerous campgrounds and red canyons.
As always, I resolved not to drive too far without an activity so not long after we left the river behind us, we drove a mile down a dirt road to Fisher Towers. What a great test road, the washboards really shook the van up! It made me realize I’d forgotten to install the holding screws for the fridge drawer latches so they both came open in unison. A bit of paper towel shoved in the latch gave me a quick fix. The rest of the interior held up alright!
The carpark wasn’t busy and seeing the numerous tents at the campgrounds, I knew there were climbing bums nearby. I was sad to not be one of them. These towers were just aching to be climbed.
We set out on the winding trail and I was discouraged by how stiff my knee was, but I was determined to walk properly so gave it my best. Cleo enjoyed herself traipsing along the trail off-leash and she wasn’t the only one. Nearly every other group we came across had a pup.
The towers were spectacular in the color, shape and height. They were so heavily featured, it was hard to imagine a climb being above a 5.10 grade.
We walked in and out of their shade and the temperature difference was astounding. I went from t-shirt weather in the sun to looking for my puffy vest in the canyon.
We were turned around half a mile from the end of the trail thanks to an 8-ft ladder. I’d been warned about it on the trailhead sign and was happy just to have come this far. I gave the area a good look and while I had every confidence that Cleo could have made the jump to get across, she wouldn’t have made the jump back.
We walked back a ways and sat in the sun to watch a pair of climbers high above us topping out at the tip of a tower. Cleo enjoyed being on watch while I had a muffin.
Having had to wrestle Cleo away from another dog on the way back, I’d twisted my knee a bit so it was properly sore by the time we got back to the car. It was midday but I was getting into the habit of late lunches so we hit the road.
Fisher Towers was the last point of interest in the Moab area. Once we were on highway 80 heading west, it was typical Utah – never-ending plains in washed out colors with a cow or two dotted along the way.
Not wanting to spend too much time on a major highway, I turned north on highway 191 and stopped shortly after at a rest stop. Just before I pulled in the check engine light came on and I lost power. But no drama! This had happened before and a quick clear of the code brought Berta right back. It was too cold to be outside so I had a stand-up lunch in the kitchen while Cleo had a snooze on the front seats.
Once we got to Huntington, the views turned more scenic. The north-west bound highway 31 was a recommendation from my Scenic Drives book and it had a pretty start.
We drove past a huge energy station that actually turned out to be a mining operation, then followed a babbling river as we climbed steadily from 6,200 feet.
I got my first glimpses of snow and ice, seeing it gathered at the edges of the river with some properly formed icicle waterfalls in places!
It was nearing sunset and therefore camp time and while there were plenty of options, all of the official ones were closed for the season. I waited until the very last to find my perfect spot. Right before the summit was a huge carpark with bathrooms. While not normally a priority for me, I was unable to bend my knee and squat down so it was important now. I was surprised to find the bathrooms open, but I was tempted by another dirt road right at the peak. Here I found my perfect camp. If I needed the bathroom that badly, I could drive back down to it.
Of course the wind was strong up this high but it wasn’t crazy. Cleo and I explored our new spot and walked in the patches of dry snow that were around.
We both enjoyed our favorite winter pastimes, Cleo running like a maniac through the snow and me throwing rocks at frozen bodies of water. I even spotted a few tadpoles under the thick layer of ice!
Then the sun started to set.
Wow, wow, wow. We climbed to the hill a ways and I just kept looking around me to see the colors changing. It was a glorious view with the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the twinkling lights of a town coming on down below and the sky painting itself in a myriad of colors.
The pink bands off to the east only lasted a few minutes, but the orange stayed for nearly an hour. My cheeks were properly cold by the time we hunkered back down in the van.
I had planned to leave the window coverings off to sit and watch the last of the color fade from the sky but Cleo was onto something outside, whining and carrying on, so I shut up shop and put her to bed.
Everything is Closed
I was up at sunrise wanting to make the most of the day and I enjoyed a glowing sky as I steadily descended from the summit.
Once I’d driven through the valley a while, I started up on the scenic road that would take me by Mount Nebo. On the way up the winding tarmac, I passed some people parked at a bend with a scope and couldn’t quite figure out what they were doing. Maybe they were sniper rifle hunting or spotting for hunters on the ground?
At the Devil’s Kitchen, I found a gate telling me the road was closed. Well, a sign at the bottom of the hill would have been handy but I didn’t mind, it was breakfast time. I got my chair out and had breakfast sitting in the sun and warmed up nicely.
Cleo and I took the short walk to see the Devil’s Kitchen and though the signs claimed to it to be so, a Bryce Canyon it is not.
On the main highway north, I was looking for an excuse to take a break from driving so we stopped in the town of Provo. After driving past the huge Brigham Young University campus, we stopped in at Bridal Veil falls. The trail was closed and despite the dozens of people using the space to take a stroll, the bathrooms were also closed. We walked around a bit and the falls were pretty cool, but the construction site around the base detracted from the experience.
On our way back into town, I stopped at a park. The bathrooms here was closed too! The sun had come over the canyon so I figured we’d stay a while. I grabbed a muffin, my laptop and my Kindle and we posted up near the river. I booked my flights for Rhode Island while Cleo stretched out in the sun.
I found a dog toy nearby and was surprised when she went after it again and again! It was nice she was enjoying a run-around since her vet appointment was tomorrow and she’d be feeling rubbish after it. Once she was puffed out, she drank from the river and took up her position in the sun again. I watched a pair of fly fishers stepping delicately along the river and one of them informed me they’d already caught a two-footer that morning.
With most of the day to kill, I figured I’d do the errands I had originally planned for tomorrow. On the way back through Provo, I stopped at two shops looking for winter boots. Still no luck but Ross did have some nice warm in-van clothes for me.
Once we were on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, I hit a Home Depot for the pieces I needed to install a proper shower curtain, then Walmart got me a dog food container. My day started to go to shit here because they wouldn’t let me return the winter boots I’d bought. I got appalling service, not worth describing and left with a bad taste in my mouth. I was ready for camp.
As I drove up to the KOA, I saw a construction site and thought, “Of course! The place has been demolished!” considering how my day had gone. It wasn’t the case, there was only construction happening next door so I parked and went into reception. They were open for business and the campsite was empty apart from the permanent residents. I tried not to choke/gasp/laugh when they said it would be $70/night. I knew it would be expensive, but come on, that’s just ridiculous. I handed over my credit card. The things I do for my dog. When I parked in my assigned site, I found it wasn’t even level!
They’d put me right next to a permanent resident so after Cleo and I walked around, I went back to reception and requested a different site in the middle of the area saved for those traveling through. The girl that had helped me with my original booking couldn’t understand why I’d want to move and told me it couldn’t be done but her supervisor quickly interjected before my mouth could say what my eyes were communicating.
Once we’d moved, I felt better. This was the Rivendell of KOAs. There was a gentle breeze pushing leaves from the trees and while the sunset was pretty, it wasn’t quite as good as last nights having to look over a fence.
I Give Up
The price tag was worth it to me because the KOA was within walking distance of Cleo’s regular vet. We left camp at 7:00am there was a LOT of homeless people about. I knew there would be and I did my best to keep my eyes forward.
We got to the vet right at 8am and found it closed up. We must have just beaten them to it. We walked up and down the street a bit and circled back at 8:15am. Still empty. Hmmm. Maybe they open at 8:30am? We walked another block and I was starting to feel the cold now. 8:35am and still no sign of life. I called their number, not knowing what else to do and expecting to hear the phone ring on the other side of the door but it didn’t. It went straight to voicemail but I didn’t leave one. What’s the point?
A few minutes later, I got a text. They were closed today. Fuck! When I told them I had an appointment, it took them twenty minutes (more walking in the cold) to tell me they’d tried to reach me at the number they had on file, which was obviously Dan’s. The silver lining was that they could see Cleo tomorrow.
I was fuming. We’d walked around in the freezing cold and I’d paid $70 to camp for fucking nothing. We got back to camp at 9:30am and Cleo had a huge drink and breakfast because I hadn’t fed or watered her in prep for her anesthetic. Poor thing. Did I mention I was pissed off?
I tried to put it behind me, made some breakfast and got to work. Surprisingly, work made me feel better, things were going well and I was happy to be doing something productive in my expensive office space.
In the afternoon, I got the road bike out to see if I could ride to my errands. Nope. My knee was still hurting at the top of the pedal stroke. Fine. I drove into town to do my errands. First I stopped at a FedEx store to return the Walmart boots. Terrible service again! Two people were sat in the back sitting on their arses while the desk guy was on the phone AND they couldn’t accept the return.
Next was Wholefoods for a pick-up of two pairs of boots (I was hedging my bets). One pair fit which was good. When I returned the other pair through the Walmart app, the Wholefoods location where I just picked them up was not available as a return location. For fuck’s sake. That was the whole point! Thankfully there was a UPS across the road and they took the Amazon boots and the Walmart pair dressed up as the other set of Amazon boots. The UPS staff had excellent service and I now had one pair of winter boots that fit me. I was done. Back to camp.
Once we were parked, I thought a nice soak in the KOA hot tub would help me to wind down. I took Cleo out for a pre-soak walk and during it, we heard gunshots or fireworks so she was scared and shivering. She’s scratch around in the van trying to get out if I left her in there. Fine. No hot tub. I had a quick hot shower instead. That would do.
I spoke to Deb and she’d had a tough first day out of a week of looking after the kids. It seemed we were both feeling rundown. Before I went to bed, I messaged her, “I’m gonna have a good sleep and have a GREAT day tomorrow. So are you.”
Cleo’s Day at the Doctor
Right. Let’s try this again. We showed up to the vet at 8:15am and were straight in, no worries. I walked back to camp and worked until check-out time (11am). I had one last hot shower, filled the water tanks, picked up my leveling blocks and drove out. Sorry Cleo, I couldn’t live with myself if I paid $210 for three nights accommodation in my own van.
I drove to a nearby library for a change of scenery and to try something different for my work day. It was a lovely place and not full of homeless as I suspected it might be though you had to get a code to use the bathroom. Mid-afternoon I got a call from the vet and Cleo was doing well. She’d had no teeth pulled and was waking up from the anesthetic ok.
I ditched the end of my afternoon training session to go get my friend. Cleo was happy to see me but was straight to the door. I hung around a bit talking to the vet and receptionist and didn’t mind one bit paying the $700 bill.
The poor girl was drunk, walking around in a total daze with her tail tucked and her ears low. Once she went to the bathroom I got her into the van and just wanted to get her to a camp as soon as possible. She tripped over sitting on her platform before I even started the car so I thought about it a while, then got my table and a blanket installed on the passenger seat for a good platform. That seemed to work for her so we drove off.
Unfortunately we got stuck in rush hour traffic and the first camp spot I’d picked out was horrific. Full of homeless vans and rubbish. No way. It was dark, but we kept going another twenty minutes. No more traffic thankfully and we pulled into a northbound rest area just as Cleo was starting to paw at me.
I put Cleo straight to be and she was happy for a while but started moaning. She was starving. Not wanting to make her do the trip down to floor level, I gave her dinner in bed. That put her to sleep for a good hour, then she got up for a second dinner. She was satisfied then and stayed asleep for the night.
Good Timing in Idaho
I was up early for a 6am meeting. It was the first one I took in my pajamas so a line had been crossed. Cleo was happy to stay in bed most of the morning and her appetite was good. We took many tours around the rest stop just to make sure she was comfortable.
We hit the road around 11am. It was definitely the longest “rest” I’ve ever had.
Cleo’s coordination had improved so she was back on her perch as normal but I still didn’t want to drive too far. Off the main highway, we stopped at some smelly trashy hot springs. If I was a local, I’d build a nice timber framework around it. The water was warm, but not hot enough to tempt me so we gave it a miss.
We drove along highway 83 north west and it was beautifully quiet. I saw maybe one other car the entire way. I didn’t fall into the trap of the Golden Spike historic area (where the last spike joining two railroads together was installed) – it must have been the most signed attraction I’d ever seen. There must have been a dozen signs advertising it since joining the highway. Instead, I found rockets!
I pulled in at Northrop Grumman’s headquarters where they had a rocket garden out front. It was cool to wander through and read about the origins of all sorts of rockets, from the one that propelled the space shuttle into orbit and those attached to missiles designed to kill.
They were all shapes and sizes and their designs intricately different. I can only imagine the works that go on inside the building.
As we continued along the highway, we found that the facility was huge with bunkers and rocket sheds spread all over the landscape with roads joining them all. It would be a cool place to work, except that it was in the middle of nowhere and half the things they designed were intended to destroy things, but yay! Space stuff!
We continued through the quiet north-west corner of Utah on another quiet highway dotted with little towns then were into Idaho. There was the token tarmac change as we crossed into the potato-state.
We got onto a dirt road to find camp. Though it was supposed to be an established campground, as we drove I couldn’t really imagine where it would be because all there was around me was low bush along rolling hills. Then, a cluster of trees appeared and we drove into McClendon Springs.
Of course there was no one here. We parked in a sweet spot with a nice view of the mountains with a small town below and the main highway off in the distance.
We had enough time to walk around, inspect the shit pyramid that had formed in the toilet and level the van when someone else showed up! Cleo did great intimidation work from her spot leaning by the front tyre as I acted disinterested making lunch.
Paul approached us. He was here for the week for a bow hunting meet and asked how long I would be staying? He was obviously pissed that he’d missed out on the best spot on a Wednesday afternoon but he was gracious when I told him he’d missed it by about five minutes. I told him that I was sorry I’d beaten him to it and that I’d be gone in a couple of days so he pitched his tent around the corner amongst the trees.
I worked the rest of the afternoon then we took a walk up the hill to catch the sky changing color. The dry yellow landscape was pretty at this hour. Cleo did a very good job of navigating the cattle guard by dipping around the side.
Some firewood was left for me so how could I not? I talked to Deb while she was at the airplane park with the kids, then listened to a podcast interviewing Adrian newly. Cleo got down from bed every fifteen minutes or so to check that I was still ok.
Not wanting to use the shit pyramid toilet, I dug a hole and set up my toilet outside in preparation for the next morning.
Full Work Day
I was planning on having a lie-in but Cleo had me up at 6am. We were both outside to use the bathroom then she was happy to go back to bed (thank you very much) while I went to work.
I got a lot done and had a three-hour training session at the end. We enjoyed a nice morning walk where Cleo nearly got a desert mouse and I managed to have an outside shower later in the day when the sun came out briefly.
Cleo wasn’t sure what to do all day. She wants to play outside but when it gets too cold she comes in, then she gets bored and tries outside again.
She got terrified of something late in the day and shivered her skin until her fur was wrinkled. She was still spooked during our afternoon walk, stopping in place about a mile out determined to turn around. I wanted to scope out tomorrow’s drive from camp a little more but relented and followed her back.
I watched the Las Vegas Grand Prix opening ceremony and got amped for an exciting weekend of F1. What a show it is going to be.
John Edwards
Needing to do some driving and work today, I was up at 5am. It was a beautiful sunny day and it warmed up quickly with the sun shining through the open door.
Cleo was a much happy camper than yesterday with it being warm enough for her to be outside. Once I got four hours of my workday done, I started pack-up. I was getting into the habit of cleaning during pack-up and listening to the Hilltop Hoods helped get me amped up. I had a swing before I left. What a camp.
When I drove off my leveling blocks and packed them away, I called to Cleo. She looked at me and sat right in her place. She didn’t wanna go in the van. No worries! When I started driving off, her tail whipped around and she started running. Dan used to let her out and run a mile or so before camp to give her exercise and she’d obviously been missing the routine!
She was a happy dog. I followed her along the road as she switched between trotting, running and sniffing in the bushes. I face-timed Momo and Emmi so they could share the experience and Cleo had them laughing. She went for a good two miles before I called her in and we drove onto the tarmac.
We stayed on the major highway to the town of Twin Falls. We stopped in at Shoshone falls, which was more of a trickle this time of year and not the Niagara Falls of the west as advertised.
We stayed long enough for Cleo to have a run around in the grass and spot a black cat sprinting away in the distance.
Next stop was Walmart for a shopping pick-up. The novelty of walking through shops had worn off so I ordered ahead and got wonderful service. Cleo even got a dog treat from one of the workers! The groceries were loaded without bags straight onto the van floor while I put things away. It was a very streamlined way of shopping and one I will use as often as possible.
I stayed there to make lunch and do some stand-up working while Cleo got a nap in.
I was under a bit of pressure to get some miles in to make it to Bend for the Thanksgiving week and made it to Homedale by 3:30pm. I pulled in at the construction site just before John got up on his scissor lift.
John is the uncle of my friend Lizzy’s husband Geoff. I’d met Geoff’s Mum Elaine multiple times and she and her brother John had grown up in Idaho. When Lizzy found out I’d be driving near Homedale, she suggested I meet up with John Edwards, a nice touch that we shared the same name.
After keeping his dog from jumping into the van, we shook hands and he started telling me his story and the story of his grand man’s shed that he was building almost single-handedly. John and I are kindred spirits with a keen interest in machinery, building things and nature. The difference is that he does things on a larger scale than me.
His construction was well thought out and it was going to be a heavenly place for him to live. He keenly showed me every nook and cranny and I asked a bunch of questions about it all. It was fascinating and he seemed happy to be working towards his dream home. One where he could look out from the balcony of his loft apartment and see his huge machinery parked below.
He took a quick look inside Berta (my tour didn’t take as long as his) and we continued talking in the fading sun outside what would be his main roll-up door. In discussing our situations, we ended up talking about the end of marriages and it seemed we had a lot in common.
As a great bonus, John being a farmer could explain to me how those rotary and linear watering rigs work. I was getting annoyed constantly driving past them and not knowing how they could possible move around a field and now I understand it completely!
It was getting dark around 5:30pm so I had to be going and John wanted to get a little more work in before it was properly dark. We shook hands saying to each other how glad we were to have chatted, then I drove off as he drove up on his scissor lift.
I didn’t really have a camp plan and thought I might have a difficult time because I was surrounded by farm land. A few miles after crossing into Oregon, I saw a sign for a state park so turned off. The dirt road took us past a paddock FULL of sheep standing by piles of apples? No, they were onions which might explain why they weren’t being keenly eaten.
The road took me away from the farms in few miles and I found myself a nice flat spot to call home for the night. I parked up and had a hot indoor shower which worked well considering it was my first go. It was comfortable and water didn’t end up all over the floor.
The inaugural Vegas Grand Prix was entertaining from the get-go and not in the right way. I was happy to be on the phone with Dad when we saw Carlos Sainz’s car hit a loose drain and end the session after only eight minutes of running. Whoops.
It Rains in Oregon
I had a slow morning which was much needed after all my early starts. I went straight from bed to chair and watched Practice 3 before our morning walk.
I watched qualifying over breakfast but only made it through Q2 before I got restless to get on the road.
As if to signal that I was in Oregon, it started raining within ten minutes. As I pulled into a gas station in Vale to fill up (self serve is not allowed), I was pleasantly surprised by a call from Sheldan. I had been thinking I might visit him in Vancouver since I was heading north-west and his timely call sealed the deal.
Going against the advice of both Geoff and John, I took highway 26 to get across to Bend. My friends had suggested highway 20 because it is stunningly empty, but after driving through Utah, I didn’t really want empty so I opted for forest and mountains instead.
I was happy for my choice. When we weren’t driving by farmland, we were surrounded by pines. Cleo was beside herself with all the animals she had to look at and cry about. She worked herself into a stupor thinking if she could only get to them!
We stopped for a long lunch in the town of John Day at a lovely spot by the river. After taking a walk along it, I ate at a picnic table while Cleo lounged in the grass. The sun was fighting hard to get through the clouds but never really won the battle so Cleo didn’t get the sunny snooze she was after.
We were chasing daylight as we drove west and crossing a timezone didn’t help. The sun went down at 5pm just after we dropped into a beautiful valley full of cloud.
While I don’t usually drive in the dark, we were on the home stretch. It started raining properly when we approached Bend and Cleo as stressing out. It was not pleasant driving conditions and they were made worse by Cleo trying to get into my lap or under my legs.
I stopped at a Trader Joe’s then a Safeway to stock up. I’d asked Jen to send me a list of whatever they needed so that they didn’t have to worry about getting supplies after driving all day.
Still driving in the dark and the rain, we found the AirBnb. I parked Berta where she would remain for the next week and we let ourselves in to wait for the family to arrive.
11 – 18 Nov, 2023