Joan and I have found ourselves busy the past couple of weeks and engaged in a very positive way. But busy nonetheless.
It takes away from the timebank funds. And on a Thurs or Friday, we don’t camp somewhere remote but stay home in the evening instead. As it is still winter with the short, if ever-lengthening, days, that’s OK.
We leave early at the start of the weekend and take advantage of the places quiet this time of the year.
We’ll take a quick trip to check up on one of the sites we steward and continue to find places to see and enjoy there.
And it makes an enjoyable time to winter camp. When the mercury drops, and with the long nights, copious amounts of hot drinks, layers of clothes, and the coziness of a truck camp make for an enjoyable weekend.
Joan thought a 12F, 8 AM, and pre-coffee selfie made sense. I disagreed! PCO Joan.
And it gives us a chance to continue to enjoy the beauty and solitude of The Needles in winter.
PCO Joan.
A mix of maps and old archaeological reports serves as our “guidebook,” and we roam around some more obscure areas of the park.
Winter’s not the time to crush mile or similar metric-like goals. It’s a time to wander, savor, and enjoy. You don’t think of miles out there.
You think of what you see, enjoy the warmth radiating from the red rock, and relish in the beauty of this part of the world.
It’s one of our favorite places and favorite times to enjoy this park. And reminds Joan and me why we changed up our lives to have these opportunities available.
You can keep the $2000 a night lodging with its green-washing pretensions.
We’ll take our simple truck camp, some warm sleeping bags, and our tailgate view anytime. And hope to transition back to our backpacking tent soon.
Nice, thanks for letting me shadow your walk out there. I used to live in Moab but never spent much time in Needles, but a lot of time in Island in the Sky and one awesome trip to the Maze. It all just scratches the surface!
We could live out here twenty years and not see everything!