It's almost time....

jkjenn

I am now counting down the days before I leave for the west. Colorado is destination #1. I may/may not make a side trip up to WY, depending on weather and government shutdowns. I see that a large portion of the Rocky Mountains received snow overnight. I also see that temps may hit the lower 20's, so I might be winterizing while I am out there. Don't feel sorry for me, though. I absolutely love cold and snow. 

I have a weekend's worth of prep to do!

Looking forward to meeting a few folks while I am out west!

kccate

Jenn, stop by Kansas City on your way! My 2007 Dutchman would love to meet one of the "new kids".

Nomad

How long ya gonna be out west?

jkjenn

kccate said:

Jenn, stop by Kansas City on your way! My 2007 Dutchman would love to meet one of the "new kids".

I would love to, but I am going the northern route.

PXLated said:

How long ya gonna be out west?

Not long enough....I think total time out west is about 2 weeks.

DurangoTaB

Happy Trails!!

2canoe

You will have a great time!  We just returned home from 12 days roaming through Colorado and Wyoming.  There was ice on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. National Park this morning.  We stopped for a while to let it melt off before continuing.  Many of the forest service and park campgrounds are closing and/or reducing services.  Be sure to check if you are using those.  Don't miss Thermopolis, Wyoming.  Use the free State Park hot springs and visit the Dinosauer Center.  You will be impressed.  We stayed at Eagle RV-- our only full service stop.  We had the prime location, #19.  Safe travels.

judymac

Enjoy and be safe.

jkjenn

Thanks, gang.

2canoe said:

You will have a great time!  We just returned home from 12 days roaming through Colorado and Wyoming.  There was ice on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. National Park this morning.  We stopped for a while to let it melt off before continuing.  Many of the forest service and park campgrounds are closing and/or reducing services.  Be sure to check if you are using those.  Don't miss Thermopolis, Wyoming.  Use the free State Park hot springs and visit the Dinosauer Center.  You will be impressed.  We stayed at Eagle RV-- our only full service stop.  We had the prime location, #19.  Safe travels.

Yeah, if I go to Wyoming, I will be boondocking, for the most part. This will be my first round with extended boondocking (have done weekend boondocking) so we will see how it goes. I probably won't make it to Thermopolis this trip. My friends have gone and loved it, but my main objective is photographing the fall foliage, with hopefully, nicely snow covered mountains into he background. Weather can be tricky up there. If it is a little cloudy, it can completely obscure the Tetons. I might spend a day up in Yellowstone if we get one with a clear cloudless sky. Some of the features really need the bright sun to draw out the vibrancy and my last trip did not have any of those days.

Well, off to bang out today's "to do" list!

jkjenn

Spent the weekend getting things done to prepare:

• Laundry (still doing itm, actually)
• Wash the T@b and apply Rainx to all windows on T@b and TV
• Cleaned out cupboards, and consolidated to make more room for food and clothing. I mostly removed small things or duplicates, nothing major.
• Charged extra Goal Zero battery packs (Escape 150, Yeti 150, Sherpa 50)
• Mounted 50 watt solar panel to roof rack of TV to charge when 7 pin not connected while traveling (before/after I depart for the day, stopping along the way)
• Cleaned and add fresh grease to the threaded screw for the BAL Leveler
• Sanitized fresh and city water tanks and extra water containers
• Took the puppy to the groomers, got supplies for the puppy sitter (family)
• Did some grocery shopping
• Set about 20+ Cortana reminders to unplug the 7 pin connectors, turn propane on/off during the trip, pack things, set trip odometer, etc...
• Put winter clothing gear in the T@b
• Removed mesh from under the back seat - prevented bed from laying flush - flat

Left to do:

• Finish packing clothes in the T@b
• Fill propane
• Check air pressure
• Finish packing and loading (clothes, off-road gear, photo stuff)
• Grease the stabilizer jacks

I will have the chance to give everything another "once over" when I arrive and spend the night at my brother's house, about 2.5 hrs from home.

mash2

Is this the do list for after the done list?  (sorry couldn't help myself).

2canoe

Double checking that you have paper maps of the areas you are visiting.  

jkjenn

2canoe said:

Double checking that you have paper maps of the areas you are visiting.  

I have every type of map imaginable, but probably could do this trip without a map or GPS.

DurangoTaB

Fall colors await!

2canoe

Have you done this route before or  just been through it in your mind so many times that you could wing it?  You seem really, really prepared.  Have a great time.

jkjenn

2canoe said:

Have you done this route before or  just been through it in your mind so many times that you could wing it?  You seem really, really prepared.  Have a great time.

I have done a lot of the route before and been through it on Bing maps/earth numerous times. I like to use streetside to get a good visual of Walmarts I might stay at as well as other portions of the route. This isn't my first trip to any of the destinations where I am planning on going. I love looking at maps...especially with the 3-D rendering of terrain that we have now. It is a big help in planning my photography shoots. When I was at Monument Valley and had to retool my trip once, and didn't have cell (data) service, I pulled up my off-line maps. Always good to have offline maps, one way or the other. I am a little OCD about planning, plus, I am a worst case scenario person. I should have gone into emergency management, as a profession, lol.

DurangoTaB said:

Fall colors await!

I cannot wait!!

moniraq

Safe travels!

Photomom

@jkjenn, do you have a flickr/500px site where we might see your photos?

Nomad

I know you have your own site Jenn but can't find my bookmark - thinks it's on the computer rather then here. Do you post elsewhere?

jkjenn

Thanks for asking! (Three places to follow:

• Instagram: http://instagram.com/jenn_grover (mostly cell phone shots) (jenn_grover)
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/jenngroverphotography
• Website: http://jenngrover.com

Another busy day today. Filled the gas tank and hooked to the T@b. Also filled the propane tank, checked tire pressures and filled the one that was low, charging the last of the batteries, and getting ready to start bringing done clothes to the T@b.

I drive about 2.5 hrs tomorrow after work to drop Rocky off and then I will leave after work on Wed and get 3-4 hours under my belt. In Denver by Friday night, where I will spend the night at a friend's house.

Wish me luck on my first couple of Walmart boondocking stays this week!

Nomad

Walmart isn't' boondocking - Dry camping maybe :-)
Come on Jenn, you're set up to do real outback - go for it.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

Walmart isn't' boondocking - Dry camping maybe :-)
Come on Jenn, you're set up to do real outback - go for it.

I will be doing real boondocking one I hit Colorado, but hard to do real boondocking in Indiana and other parts east of the front range.

Nomad

Been boondocking all summer east of the front range. KS, NE, MN, SD, ND - not east of the Mississippi though. So never in Indianna :-)

jkjenn

PXLated said:

Been boondocking all summer east of the front range. KS, NE, MN, SD, ND - not east of the Mississippi though. So never in Indianna :-)

It gets pretty tough to do so, legally, the further east you get. I could probably look for somewhere once I hit the plains, but it isn't worth the effort for one night when the objective is to make time and catch some rest.

Nomad

Agree - If you're making a run to a destination, campgrounds are the way to go. Never stayed in a Walmart. Probably never will, too busy/noisey for my taste. Can usually find a nice little municipal or county campsite along my route. Don't know your route but a bunch of nice COEs not far off the freeway across Kansas. All kinds of munis and counties across Nebraska. I'll be heading through those in a couple weeks.

aphillips

@2canoe We are planning a Colorado trip this summer. Did you have trouble taking your Tab across Trail Ridge Road? Anyone else accomplish it without too much stress or is it definitely not recommended? Thanks.