ASHFORD SPINNING WHEEL INSTRUCTIONS

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Nothing like getting off a well traveled paved road (Utah highway 89) and slowing down, rolling down the windows, and proceeding at a slow comfortable pace along 50 miles of dirt road. Drive as slow as you like, stop where you want, enjoy the sights, the fragrance of sage, and “no schedule”.

The “Cottonwood Canyon Road” is a gem. Last year when I drove it, floods had washed rocks and debris onto the road from side canyons, making it messy driving in places, requiring four wheel drive. On this drive, it was passenger car smooth, with no tricky spots at all.

0 ACTIVITIES DAY TEN OF TWELVE 0

If there was one day to “live again” on this road trip then day TEN was it. It was outstanding from start to finish. The weather was A1 perfect. We had a little dirt road travel with the windows of the Jeep rolled down and a lot of good photo ops at the many different places we traveled. Oh yes, a great meal at the Escalante Outfitters to end the day properly.

We left Page, Arizona before dawn. We watched the sun come up over Navajo Mountain and Lake Powell. Then on to “The Toadstools” off highway 89 for a short hike and some great early morning light on those formations. We then backtracked 1.6 miles fto the Cottonwood road (a road I had driven recently in my pickup truck, only from north to south), and enjoyed a clear warm blue sky day drive up to Butler (Grosvenor) arch.

From Butler arch, we went on to Kodachrome Basin, where we took a short three mile loop hike. I loved the campground at Kodachrome and have promised my wife that we will camp there together and take some of the longer hikes available in that pretty little state park (Oh yes, the campground has HOT showers).


from Kodachrome Basin state park, we drove up to Bryce National Park. LOTS of snow, but beautiful on a sunny day (few other people). We ate at the Subway just outside Ruby Inn - then drove on to Rainbow Point, which at 9,100 feet, had plenty of snow (about three feet worth along the lookout path).

Then we worked our way back out Bryce, stopping to photograph at each and every lookout point that had been plowed, enjoying Bryce as the sun dropped down low and the light changed by the minute.

After Bryce we backtracked again and drove on to Escalante, Utah (one of my often visited and favorite “base camps”), where we had reserved rooms by phone at the rustic but friendly: Circle “D” motel (ask for Robert and tell him Oldmantravels with the old red Toyota pickup truck sent you).

After checking in at the Circle “D”, we headed over to the Escalante Outfitters ( hiking supply, books, free internet use, excellent food, really friendly people cafe) - - for a big dinner a cold beer, pizza, and a “toast” to the best road trip day we had enjoyed thus far.

We had LOTS of dirt road destinations in mind for day 11 of the road trip (the next day) BUT we were in for quite a surprise the next morning at Escalante. So like on all good road trips, you stay flexible, make the best of what comes your way, and go for it and that is exactly what we did.

0 3,875 MILE/12 DAY ~ 4 CORNERS ROAD TRIP OVERVIEW 0

At the start of year 2011, I made tentative plans to take a two week solo “road trip” through the Four Corners area (The Colorado Plateau), during the last half of March. Then, if my wife could get the time needed off from her part time job, I also planned a “road trip” vacation to the Southwest, in April with her.

When I put the plan together for the March trip, I decided to see if an old friend of mine, Ed (Flickr’s: OldWrangler), might be interested in joining me. I volunteered to take my old four wheel drive pickup truck and split the gasoline expense with him. We would each get an inexpensive motel room on the road to serve as “base camps” to hike, photograph, and explore back roads in the Four Corners area.

Not only did Ed accept but he also proposed that we take his brand new 4-door Jeep Wrangler instead of my old pickup truck. That didn’t take any thinking on my part. I LOVE Jeeps and Ed and I have always got along well (decades ago, I worked for him and we had taken a fun road trip together back in 2008, along with my friend John and my youngest son). The deal was sealed.

We left my house in Central Washington early Monday morning on the 14th of March. We returned 12 days and 3,875 miles later on Friday evening March 25th. We spent a lot of time drinking Diet Pepsi from the ice chest and keeping the hits of the 60s (and occasionally the 70s), cranked up high on the Jeep’s Sirius satellite radio sound system. Sing along music! “Road trip” tunes.

Weather often dictated changes to our proposed route and activities. We stayed flexible, and in the end we visited the large majority of places we had hoped to see, when the road trip began. We had sun and clear skies, snow, dust storms, and high winds at times. Ed’s Jeep had an outside temperature display. We drove in everything from18 degree weather to temperatures in the 7

Some of these lost souls will donate parts to give a second life to other vehicles, while others are just waiting to be hauled off and scrapped.