Utah got a little selfish with her weather system this week. I’d been eyeballing the regional weather for the last two weeks. Already had in my head that Hanksville might be rained out and it did. Toyed with Capital Reef but the rain never stopped. The rain started in Moab for us the first night we camp. I did my best to place us in a site that wasn’t too far away from the gravel roads the red mud out here is slick as oil and sticky as cement. We had to rinse the mud off our gear when we stopped for gas. One pair of my shoes are still covered

It’s part of the adventure.

Crawled over a wintry pass into Escalante that welcomed us with 60° and partly cloudy skies. Stopped in my favorite place to get coffee at Blue Crow and we headed back up the road to Hole in the Rock Road to camp. We drove over washboard gravel for 20 miles and pulled off to camp next to little overlook. Ate some street tacos over a campfire and chatted about our families. It was our first solid night of the trip. No rain no wind blowing our gear into a yard sale. I slept great the camper so far has been everything I expected it to be. Radica knocked it out of the park. The weather for our initial path was getting chilly. 19° is doable but lying in an ice box for two days with an avid snorer sounds terrible. We had just barely dried off from Moab.

Checked my gps and saw we were 7 hours from Sedona and said screw it and hit the road. 89A all the way to Sedona is an amazing road to drive to experience. We arrived in Sedona around 4pm to 72° and sunny skies and warm fuzzies. Tried a dispersed camping area but it looked like an offroad parking lot. Multiple vehicles crammed on top of each other into dirt plots. Wife reserved a Hipcamp spot in Clarksdale with some shade and a creek running along the side. Small farm right outside of Main Street. No mud, no 19°.

I’ve gotten accustomed to bumps on my trips. I once drove to the Tetons just to be drenched in rain so hard you couldn’t see them.

Huddled in my aluminum camper during a severe thunderstorm in SD

Busted trailer tire in Helen, GA

Bike and rack stolen in Houston, Texas.

Hell I could go on and on.

Sucks at the time but adds flavor to your story.

I’m hiking my ass off here. I’m going to enjoy a Sedonuts donut and may get another shirt from there. I’m in my zone it just took a minute. Most of my trips never start out smooth I have to find my groove. Yesterday while walking an unmarked trail in Escalante I found my groove. Sunrise hit my face while I listened to the morning chirp.

Now I’m good for the week. I’m in my flow state.

Will need to find a power source soon my ecoflow batteries are fizzling out. Good time to find a coffee spot post hike and power up.

Lunch in Jerome? Perhaps or tomorrow.

Time to lace up my hikers. Later gators.