2009
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Pony Up! I take these trips when time allows and even with the "Highway Robbery" fuel increases, I'm going anyway to maintain my sanity. |
Route changed due to other obligations which will make the trip about a week and a half long.
National and State Parks open all roads available on May 20th.
I will be at Gouldings Monument Valley Museum on Oljeto Rd west of SR163,
on...(date added later) but will be in May.
New route as follows:
No extreme rock climbing. (or any at all if I can avoid it)
Monument Valley to Painted Desert to Tombstone to Death Valley.
Exploring canyons, mesas, ghost and outlaw towns, cliff dwellings, mines, National and State Parks along the route.
And as a bonus, I'm going to take some side trips to top secret test aircraft crash sites and maybe an abandoned missile silo complex,
(the latter of which is against federal law to trespass).
Oh well...!
General Description:
Mapping: I will be taking a laptop with Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006/with GPS tracking.
My vehicle will be continuously tracked with reverse route automatically enabled.
Secondary handheld GPS for backup. I also have a Personal Locator Beacon w/GPS, 12gauge flares and smoke signals.
The latest BLM maps and current satellite photos and conditions of areas we will be exploring.
Also, latest information from Park Rangers on roads available.
Plus cell phone and 2-way handhelds FRS frequencies 426.5625 to 467.7125Mhz.
(I have 3) for use in vehicles and trails.
Photos of My Pony. click to enlarge.
I'll have a shell on this truck by the time the trip starts.
Got the shell. Also a 9500lbs Warn winch.
Recommended to have National Park Pass ($80, good for a year from date of purchase) as we will be
passing through some and it can get expensive if you have to pay for driving through a corner of the Park.
We also will want to explore some of the National and State Parks we go through.
Route: Starting from Monument Valley, exploring all it's mesas and canyons using 2 and 4wd roads.
Then south thru Painted Desert and the Hopi Valley (which is similar to Monument Valley only larger in land area).
Continuing south zigzagging through the state to points of interest such as Sunset Crater (Volcano),
Meteor Crater (Impact), ghost, mining and outlaw towns, down to the Tombstone area which has numerous towns to visit.
Some of the areas we pass through may be on private property, so permission may be required.
Continuing west and north to the Nellis Test Range area (outside the installation boundaries) to visit crash locations.
We will be heading to Death Valley and Racetrack Playa near the last leg of the trip.
And last, south to an area I know about around China Lake where we just might be able to visit an abandoned silo.
(Again, it is a federal crime to trespass on federal property without permission, abandoned or not.)
Abandoned silos can also be very dangerous due to condition of complex, air quality, asbestos and other factors.
However, I have done this before without incident just by taking precautions.
Detailed map and road descriptions already made but may have to be revised at some locations,
depending if roads are still open or passable. Fully documented, photographed and digital video of journey.
Highly possible to produce documentary of trip.
Length of Trip:
I would like to make it about 10 days.
If you have Streets and Trips (any version) you can download the map file here. (right click, save target as)
Anyone wanting to join the caravan is welcome and can stay with our schedule and route or go off
on your own at anytime.
If you do want to join us, remember safety comes first, and supply yourself accordingly.
We will be driving through country that is remote, has no water, sometimes very hot,
no gas stations, no food etc. A good first aid kit with a snake-bite kit is recommended.
Make sure your vehicle is sound, 4wd and you know it will endure the trip.
Overnight stays (depending on where we are) will be either at Park campsites mainly for showers,
in the open or in vehicle (at remote locations) or even a roadside motel if wanted and available, again for showers.
I'm looking forward to the scenic journey following historic trails and hope more can make the trip.
If interested, email me at jarneson@comcast.net.