Starlink Where Art Thou?

Hey there, internet! This blog has been slumbering for years but with the advent of our new internet connectivity solution called Starlink I finally have something to say!

I thought I would create a running list of locations where we’ve used Starlink and what our experience was like so others may benefit from our journeys. Enjoy!

Mammoth Lakes, California (aka Starlink-apocalypse)

Our final destination of the year was Old Shady Rest Campground in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Mammoth lakes is one of our favorite places owing to its versatility. There’s an abundance of mountain biking, hikes and many scenic drives. There’s just enough civilization to keep us in good restaurants, plus well apportioned grocery shopping, pharmacy, and an above average bike shop.

I knew when we came to Old Shady Rest Campground that Starlink would have trouble. We’ve been here before and the campground is awash in old growth pine many stories tall. Still, I thought it would be interesting to set up the rig anyway and see what happened. To this end, I can report two things.

First, when Starlink is blocked it’s really a horrific experience. The app is unreliable and errors out in unexpected ways that don’t always make it clear the dish is simply obstructed. For example, the app was having so much trouble on our departure day I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get the dish stowed.

Second, I was surprised how well Starlink did perform. The app notified us there would be interruptions roughly once a minute and that’s about what we saw. Incredibly though, several streaming apps including Netflix and YouTube were able to ride over these interruptions fairly well. Max and Discovery+ on the other hand melted down into goo.

A truism I’ve discovered about RV life is things go wrong. That’s flippant, but usually these things start out as irritants. Over the course of the season they can escalate but I typically hold these issues in reserve and address them over the winter break when we’re back home. For example our generator developed a bad fuel pump in Silverton but we were able to carefully control how hard we worked her and she got us through 8 more weeks of travel.

This year though we had an event that broke the rules. It was bad immediately, and then went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. The event was this: After about two weeks in Mammoth I went to exit the Airstream in the wee hours of the morning and the Airstream door handle broke off in my hand.

Realizing we were properly trapped I tried to disassemble the lock but two of the screws were eclipsed by the screen door. My spouse suggested calling non-emergency police, which I should have done, but I thought I could solve this on my own. I made my way to the rear of the Airstream and opened the emergency window.

The window would only open about 12″ because it was hitting our bikes, which were on the bike rack. I tried to shimmy through the window anyway and it shattered in a powerful explosion that blew glass as far as six feet away from the trailer outside and all over the bed inside. In a crazy twist of fate our brand new Shark cordless vacuum was dead and would not charge. I borrowed another hand vacuum from a neighbor but that unit was too weak to pick up the glass bits. The campground hosts didn’t have a vacuum either so with time hemorrhaging away, we decided to drive home.

Sighing in disgust I taped up the back window, said my thanks that at least the door would stay closed and drove home. I’ve mentioned I hate death marches and that drive from Mammoth Lakes to Phoenix was a death march. It took us over 12 hours, much of it in the dark.

Finally, if you are wondering I called Airstream corporate to tell them what had happened. I felt like the handle breaking off was a shocking failure that solidly entered the territory of safety. I was sure they would be interested in this story but they gave me, nearly as close as possible, the middle finger. They said that the door handle is, get this, not to be used for closing the door as it can lead to this very fatigue. They said if my trailer was under warrantee they would have declined the claim under the category of misuse.

Are we clear on this? Airstream says you are not to use the door handle to close…the door. Below is a picture of the inner lock working I took at the service center. They explained that the entire door, which must weigh at least 70 pound or more, leverages on that tiny nub in the bottom left corner.

So, Airstream, how is one supposed to close the door on their trailer? Surely not using the screen door, which latches to the outer door with a piece of plastic not much thicker than a plastic spoon?

Ely KOA Journey, Ely Nevada

Ely? Really?

Yes, really!

As the crow flies Ely, pronounced “Eeee leee”, was directly between Silverton, CO and our final destination of the year, Mammoth Lakes, CA. It made a near perfect stop-over point since I didn’t want to drive more than 6 hours a day and Ely has grocery stores, fuel, a ton of mountain biking, Great Basin National Park, superb Mexican restaurants and most importantly, trains!

Ely is home to the Nevada Northern Railway. This railways hosts a 50 acre+ “museum” that was gifted to the state of Nevada by the Kennecott Copper company in the early 80’s. I place the word “museum” in quotes because the entire site is open to exploration. Nothing off limits! You can wander in the machine shop, the foundry, the rail yard – all of it. And I did…. oh I did!

The museum operates an maintains a range of original 1920’s steam locomotives and some vintage diesels. I spent hours exploring the entire facility and it was utterly immersive and satisfying. The staff and volunteers were also engaged, enthusiastic and happy to answer questions. I finished off the day with the train ride up Robinson Canyon, which is about a 1 1/2 hour round trip. That trip scenic and relaxing; well worth the money!

Now this article is allegedly about Starlink so let’s touch on that. We stayed at the Ely KOA Journey for one week so we could soak up all the activities. This KOA is easily the largest KOA we’ve visited and, presumably for the same reasons we stayed there, it’s very busy with RVs making their way along the US-50 – a gorgeous though often lonely ribbon of highway between Utah and California.

Though we thought the Santa Fe KOA was the nicest KOA we’ve stayed at thus far, the Ely KOA now takes that prize. They had a stunning set of bath facilities that were modern and, well, beautiful. The Airstream was located more or less in the central grounds, which were heavily draped in foliage. The spacing of the sites is just right though, and we had a nice view of the northern sky granting us excellent satellite service for the duration of our stay.

I was so engrossed with my PTO in Ely I actually forgot to run a speed test but we did not experience any interruptions and service was more than good enough for streaming and a smidge of work. I also forgot to grab a snapshot of the rig setup so instead you can enjoy some pictures from the Ely mountain bike trail system, including Ice Plant and Total BS (a superb downhill).

A final word about Ely. We find the following statement to be true all the time in our RV adventures and Ely just proves it again: The small out of the way places in America are often the best places in America.

Ely slumbers in the stunning geological terrain of the Great Basin, making for arresting vistas and a deeply enriching center from which to explore. We had a lovely afternoon at Cave Lake State Park and I had many good mountain bike rides out at the Ice Plant trail system. We didn’t make it to Great Basin National Park itself but there’s a friggen glacier at Wheeler Peak. A glacier – in Nevada!

My spouse found the road bike riding satisfying and we both found the people pleasant and genuine. The night skies were to die for so we recommend you pop your head out if you have a chance. I already mentioned the trains but there’s more to do here next time we stop by like Garnet Hill so this is adding up to a must visit again in the future.

See you soon, Ely!

An Interregnum – Utah 21

When you map out how to get from Silverton, CO to Mammoth Lakes, CA you’ll discover the I-70 runs slap-bang into some mountains. Really, it just ends unceremoniously in the Utah high desert with nary a gas station or habitation to be found.

The two most obvious alternatives are to jog north on the I-15 to the US-50, or follow the I-15 south to UT-21.

We’ve taken the 50 a number of times and while it is beautiful in sections, we’ve found the eastern portion lets say … uninspired. So we took this opportunity to explore UT-21 instead.

As we made our way on the UT-21, or “Ely Highway” as it’s called, I couldn’t help but immerse in the experience. The vistas were stunning, the road surface was superb and the terrain stretched away into a living panorama. We sailed over repeating mountain ranges punctuated by sprawling salt flats, meadows and mineralized plateaus. It was just us, the Airstream and nature. So much better than the 50.

So for one who espouses the virtue of isolation, RVing and the zen of mountain biking, this should be my thing. I was, therefore, a little surprised at a mild sense of unease. Why am I feeling this way? I think in retrospect it was the magnitude of the isolation. In three hours I counted 12 vehicles. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if we broke down out here in literally the most isolated place I think we’ve ever driven.

But as time went on the splendor of the locale pushed that angst to the back of my mind and I was able to enjoy the ride. I mean really enjoy it – like disassociate and forget you’re driving enjoy it. For most of the drive there are no fences, and the road is dainty to say the least – bordering on a path with no shoulder. Honestly this drive is the closest I think you could get in the lower 48 and still get a sense of what it was like in this country before fences. I could imagine in my head native Americans laying out under the stars a millennia ago seeing the exact same wonder I was seeing.

To punctuate the majesty of the drive we were also chased, but never caught by, a rather cinematic set of thunder storms. The atmosphere cast the entire landscape into this lovely glow that made those three hours some of the most magic in my life.

Castle Rock Campground, Sevier, Utah

Our time on the road for 2023 is coming to a close so our eye is drifting towards our final destination in Mammoth Lakes, CA. To get there from Silverton, CO we’re breaking our trip into three days and two nights; I just don’t have the appetite for death-march drives anymore.

I learned about the Freemont Indian State Park area from Catherine Gregory’s YouTube channel and realized that the Castle Rock Campground would make an idea stopping point. While I would not describe this campground as a destination, at least not for us, it was ideal for an overnight. We snagged spot #31, which has an unobstructed view of the north sky. Located at 6,200′ the campground is 1 mile off the interstate off a civilized dirt road. We observed some vehicle length warnings, but our combined vehicle length is 50′ and we were able to make it around the loop and back in with no trouble.

The campground was dead quiet with virtually no noise from the I-70 nor other campers. There’s a charming stream running right though the facility and of course, there’s the castle rocks – geological formations created by clever bits of erosion over the millennia. Owing to our excellent view of the sky we had 143 Mbps download speed and 4.4 Mbps upload.

Kendall Campground, Silverton Colorado

Kendall Campground is a unicorn for the intrepid traveler offering free camping, gob smacking riverside/mountain/forest/sky views, no rigidly established spots and a vault toilet. Trash must be packed out and there is no potable water. This campground is located three miles west of Silverton, Colorado at an elevation of 9,490′ and is most definitely first come first served. As with all national campgrounds stays are limited to 14 days.

Awesome sauceness about this campground is location location location. I have blogged about this spot in the past because there’s nothing quite like Silverton in existence. Why? 19th century steam locomotives play their way here daily, horse-drawn carriages offer tours of the city. Mine tours are available, there’s a deeply enjoyable museum and of course this is all on the threshold of some of the most dramatic mountains in the entire state of Colorado, the San Juans. These mountains have a deep history of mining and now offer a massive network of 4×4 trails, hiking and mountain biking. Silverton also offers some delicious restaurants and a handful of awesome breakfast cafes. It is a physical impossibility to become bored here.

Not so awesome features of Kendall Campground include is its reliance on decent human nature to keep the peace, as there are virtually no rules. Exceptionally loud generators are commonplace and the bathroom is treated miserably. I’ve done my part, taking the bathroom trash to the free Silverton Transfer Station but some folks are not so considerate. Please my friends, do better – we want this gem to stay open!

Our Starlink connection here has averaged 114Mbps down and 25Mbps up. We were able to select a site with no obstructions to the north, though not all sites are this fortunate. We enjoyed excellent service for the duration of our stay.

Tall Texan RV Park & Cabins, Gunnison Colorado

Tall Texan RV Park & Cabins is a lovely park located only a few minutes north of Gunnison, Colorado. We’ve stayed here in the past and our most recent stay reminds us what a lovely community they’ve created.

I’ll get this out of the way up front, though – Starlink and DirecTV reception is nearly impossible here owing to the deep carpet of Cottonwood trees that engulf the entire facility. Still we pop by occasionally for a quick touch base with the world before heading back out into the wilderness.

Awesome features of this RV park start with location – Gunnison is only a few minutes to the south where you can find just the right amount of civilization including auto shops, a Walmart, a City Market plus a nice collection of delicious restaurants. A half hour to the north is Crested Butte with its world class mountain biking. I should point out that Gunnison is no slouch when it comes to mountain biking either – offering a nice trail system behind Western University along with Hartman Rocks to the south.

Tall Texan has all the amenities including spacious sites, full hookups, showers, laundry, propane refills and even cub-side trash pickup. The aforementioned Cottonwood trees give off a sweet aroma and the deep shade keeps the entire area cool even on hot days. The park is sprawling so there’s plenty of opportunity to give the pups a good walk, and the surrounding neighborhood make for delightful evening walks. The staff are also remarkably friendly, going so far as to help you back into your site.

And last but not least, Gunnison is the beneficiary of multiple perennial streams forming the Gunnison River, which has fostered a robust rafting community.

Not so awesome features of the park include the aforementioned Cottonwood trees, which this time of year (July/August) produce an unending rain of white cotton-like pod-bombs that land on everything and stick to the RV, the truck, shoes, dogs, air conditioner intakes….. everything. Cell service is also poor, though the park does offer WiFi, which we did not use.

Rivers End Campground, Taylor Park Colorado

Rivers End Campground occupies the liminal space between the Taylor River and Taylor Park Reservoir in the Gunnison National Forest. The campground is located about an hour north of Gunnison and an hour west of Buena Vista. Sitting at 9,270′ the campground offers two kinds of sites – 8 ultra long pull-through sites and 9 spurs. The nightly fee is $18 with the standard limit of 14 days. There is a central hand pump for delicious potable cold water as well as two vault toilets, one for each section of the campground. All sites are first come first served.

Awesome features of the campground include its immediate proximity to the Taylor River and Taylor Park Reservoir. Taylor Park is Mecca for the OHV crowd and there is a very rich network of 4×4 trails not only next to the campground but all over Taylor Park. The campground is situated on an alpine prairie making for perfect Starlink and DirectTV connectivity. The Taylor Park Trading Post is right down the road offering fuel, a restaurant and a modern RV park if you are so inclined. Despite access to some modern conveniences, this campground is still very remote. The nights are peaceful with glittery stars and crisp air. And it can’t be overstated, the views and ambience of the entire Taylor Park region are stunning, jaw dropping and humbling. For starters the drive down to Almont, the drive up to Tin Cup and the drive to Cottonwood Pass are all incredible. Not forgetting the water of course – swimming, fishing, etc. is allowed in the river and reservoir though there is an annoying barbed wire fence around the campground perimeter with only a few gates.

Not so awesome features of this campground include heavy overflow from nearby disbursed campers seeking water and bathroom access. The hosts are kept busy cleaning the potty for non guests, which doesn’t seem fair. If you aren’t into the OHV scene the massive number of triple towed rigs and constant buzzing of the vehicles (along with their dust) can be a real turn off. There is no dedicated mountain biking here though I was able to map out some satisfying rides on the OHV forest roads, especially the offshoots like 755.1D and 755.1E. The drivers were considerate so you can ride as long as you don’t mind exhaust and dust.

Our Starlink connection here has averaged 177Mbps down and 9Mbps up. As mentioned previously we were able to select a site with no obstructions and enjoyed excellent service for the duration of our stay. The wind is VERY strong here, often with gusts over 19mph so we kept the dish low.

Cottonwood Lake Campground, Buena Vista Colorado

Cottonwood Lake Campground is a modern and well-maintained retreat located about 30 minutes west of Buena Vista Colorado in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Tipping the scales at a healthy altitude of 9,650′ this campground offers 25 sites, many of which will accommodate larger trailers such as our 30′ Airstream. Nightly fee is $20 with the standard limit of 14 days.

Awesome features of the campground include its proximity to Cottonwood Lake, access to an extensive network of 4×4 trails and truly stunning views. Sites are compact gravel, level, generously long, and surrounded by gorgeous young aspen. The bathrooms are unusually clean and there is regular garbage service. Generator hours are utterly reasonable between 6AM – 10PM. The quick drive time to Buena Vista makes it a snap to pick up groceries and take care of that inevitable pesky laundry. It’s always fun to dip into the funky Colorado mountain town scene and there are many fine restaurants to explore in “BV”. Finally, a quick jaunt up state highway 306 offers a breathtaking view of Taylor Park from the top of Cottonwood Pass, considered by some to be the most iconic vista in Colorado.

Not so awesome features of this campground include a high amount of traffic on the very dusty FR 344, somewhat aggressive drivers and poor accessibility to any mentionable mountain biking. Water is also unavailable and we have found the campground and surrounding disbursed areas to very heavily used on the weekends. There is a curious dearth of immediate dedicated trails by the campground (with the exception of a wildlife viewing path), though with a little driving the Colorado Trail Segment 13, Mt. Yale, Ptarmigan Lake, Continental Divide Trail, and Lost Lake can be hiked.

Our Starlink connection here has averaged 133Mbps down and 6.9Mbps up. We were able to select a site with no obstructions and enjoyed excellent service for the duration of our stay. The wind can be very strong here in the afternoons and we did experience a few involuntary flagpole retractions.

Pack Creek Campground, Moab Utah

Pack Creek Campground is a sleepy RV park in central Moab that we’ve been visiting for years. They offer fair rates and full hookups and it’s conveniently located for all things Moab, especially mountain biking. The park has pleasant trees and a meandering creek in the back that often draws deer and other wildlife.

Our Starlink connection here has been very good, averaging ~100Mbps down and ~9Mbps up. It’s early April at the time of this writing so the trees are bare and we’ve experienced no obstructions.

Sinkhole Campground, Payson Arizona

Sinkhole Campground is a small national forest campground located about two hours west of Phoenix and a half hour west of Payson. This campground is perched on the Mogollon Rim at 7,500′ and easily characterized by a gorgeous flow of tall ponderosa pine that carpet the mountains in all directions.

Awesome features of this campground include access to a wide range of recreation activities including kayaking on the nearby Willow Springs Lake, hiking in and around the titular sinkhole and, most importantly, its access to an extensive mountain bilking trail system. Sites are paved, level, and generously long. The bathrooms are clean and there is potable water at the entrance.

Not so awesome features of this campground include proximity to the AZ 260 highway, which is remarkably noisy. Additionally, some of the driveways immediately abut one another in doubles, leading to startlingly intimate camping with neighbors. It isn’t obvious to me on the booking site how to identify sites like this but fortunately for us we met some great people so the intimacy wasn’t a problem.

Our Starlink connection here has averaged 85Mbps down and 5Mbps up. For some reason our dish shows a bias to pointing north, which is fortunate because site 17 points north directly into a break in the trees. Starlink does not like obstructions but the system performed beautifully here.

Santa Fe KOA Journey, Santa Fe New Mexico

The Santa Fe KOA Journey is either the best or second best KOA I’ve ever stayed at, maybe only behind the Filmore KOA Journey in Utah. The entire campground is populated with low Juniper making for a clear unobstructed view of the sky while still offering shade and that invigorating Juniper aroma. Bathrooms are clean, the staff is friendly and the full hookups are well maintained.

Santa Fe proper is mere minutes away offering access to the culture, cuisine, and ambiance of the Southwest. And as always, there’s a nice mountain biking network here. Starlink operated unobstructed, and was especially appreciated since this is a Verizon dead zone. We saw an average of 70Mbps down 13Mbps up.

Portable Park – “Get Out” While Sheltering In Place

Emily

Hey, Peeps!

It’s been a pretty rough time for the country and the world during the Coronavirus pandemic. Airstream is affected just like everyone else, and sadly our Airstream Customer Council finale has been cancelled due to the personal exposure risks. This is of course terribly disappointing for me since the past year has been an awesome experience meeting with Airstream and telling them what I think of their products. Our final get-together was supposed to include face-to-face meetings with all the ACC members and a tour of the new factory. At least Airstream does suggests the Terra Port may be online later in the year.

In the meantime, Airstream is getting creative and they have released a nice shelter-in-place-helper called Portable Park. It’s a nice IMAX style page where you can look out your virtual Airstream widow and fantasize about your next adventure when the lock-down madness ends.

Peace out and enjoy Airstream’s Portable Park!

This is Arizona? Airstreaming the White Mountains!

Fred & Emily

Good morning, Peeps.

I mentioned in my last woefully old post that we were planning an adventure to the White Mountains in eastern Arizona. Why go there? Because the White Mountains is on my list of “special places”. In this post, we live up to that promise with a lovely diary of our adventures including Airstreaming, mountain biking and camping.

The Plan

I’m sure by now it’s come through I deeply miss traveling full-time in the silver tube, but there is one benefit to living in sticks & bricks – those brief opportunities to escape the bonds of careerdom are even sweeter when the diesel motor is roaring and the horizon is ahead.

And so it is.

As the kiddos head back to school, the sun sits lower in the sky and mother nature is about to release her triple-digit grip on the valley Fred and I embarked on a multi-day adventure to the high country.

We were equipped with a gaggle of new technology, including a GoPro Hero 6 and more suction cup camera mounts than an octopus. We made our way into the wilderness to do some serious dispersed camping and to review no less than three mountain bike trails.

To get there we pass through Payson, up the Mogollon Rim, though Show Low, then Pinetop and finally to Los Burros Campground.

See It! Live It! YouTube It!

For the visually oriented you can see part one of our adventure at our YouTube channel here! And then continue reading on below for a written account of how Fred almost got eaten by a bear.

Ok, Fred wasn’t almost eaten by a bear, but you will see some nice pictures and a dachshund in the woods, what could be better than that?

Phoenix to Payson

Our stop in Payson usually includes a quick bite at Sonic.

And a quick adjustment of the GoPro hanging off the back of the Doxi Bus.

The Mogollon Rim

Immediately outside Payson the drive then takes us up “the wall”, or more correctly the Mogollon Rim. This rift is a violent uplift that runs east to west splitting Arizona essentially in north and south halves. Any drive north in Arizona, therefore, ultimately climbs up this jaw-dropping terrain.

At the Mogollon Rim visitors center you can look out over the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. When I think of Arizona this is where my mind goes.

20180831_201627187_iOS — Safe Travels Senator John McCain

Booking Los Burros

After gorging ourselves on photos we moved on, passing through Show Low then Pinetop and ultimately into the far eastern arm of the national forest’s Los Burros Campground. As for booking reservations at Los Burros, I’m kidding. Where we’re going we don’t need reservations – Los Burros is free!

For amenities, this campground has a vault toilet.

That’s it.

Really.

In exchange for this sparsity, though, you get unbelievable views of flower filled meadows, giant trees and blue sky.

Sites are first-come-first-served and there isn’t any running water or trash pickup. You pack everything in and pack everything out. It also happens Los Burros forms the trailhead for the Los Burros Loop, one of the best trails we rode up there.

Finding Los Burros completely full is uncommon but we arrived close to Labor Day and the campground was full, so we were forced (aka thrilled) to do some dispersed camping along one of the many fire roads in the area. We landed only a quarter mile away in a lovely aspen grove.

Does it get any better than this?

Ginger doesn’t think so.

Amenities & Activities

Stuff Not Mountain Biking

Close to Los Burros there are a number of small towns, a casino and an interesting watch tower used by the forest service during high risk months for spotting smoke.

You can even pop into New Mexico with a fairly short drive. But make no mistake, Fred and I were here to mountain bike so that’s what we did!

Mountain Biking

I’m going to come at you soon with more detailed reviews of each of these trails but Fred and I rode three different loops over three days and here’s a primer.

Los Burros Loop

The Los Burros Loop was the most aggressive ride of the trip topping out at 1,900′ (580m) climbing and 13 miles (21km) distance.

This trail consists of highly volcanic sharp single track…

Some mud…

And epic stretches of aspen and pine.

Land of the Pioneers

Land of the Pioneers was less aggressive at 688′ (209m) 9 miles (14.5km). There’s a story to tell about this ride but I shall hold that until my next post.

Lake Mountain Loop

The Lake Mountain Loop was a ‘make your own adventure’ ride as I call them but lets just say to get up there it involved some walking.

Ahem.

Anyhoo, how many time do you get to go into an old volcano caldera? Well that’s what the loop is, a trail around a volcano!

No smoke or lava here, though – just lush greenery.

Flowers

Ok, you knew it was coming. Flower time! With all the rain this season there were more flowers and greenery that I’ve ever seen here so I must share.

Ok not flowers, but mushroom can be kinda cute?

And … fern type things…

And berries…

What Could Go Wrong

It had to happen I suppose. After a pretty good run with the Airstream she decided to get a little grumpy. Maybe she’s telling me she doesn’t get to go out enough?

Furious Furnace

The first night at our sweet sweet location we discovered the furnace wasn’t working. This wasn’t entirely fatal as we did have the generator and the heat pumps worked fine, but that’s only when the generator was running which usually isn’t overnight. That made for a couple of mildly uncomfortable sleeps but not unbearable. The ultimate diagnosis? A failed limit switch.

Cost $400.

Bad Bed Mojo

The first night at our sweet sweet location I went to roll out the guest bed which cleverly lies under the front sofa and literally ripped the decorative fascia off with my hands. Examining the wreckage I could see the stupidity of the design: The panel is held on by three small wood screws that are a) too shallow so as to prevent poking though the decorative laminate and b) prone to self-releasing in the continuous shock and vibration environment the trailer offers.

The obvious solution was to draw three #8 machine screws through the front of the fascia and affix them to the aluminum bed frame with lock washers and nuts then cap the machine screw heads with the same white button covers as are used in ten thousand other places in the trailer.

Cost: $30

To Be Continued…

Fred and I kind of lost our mind on this trip, we have three more videos on the way as we review each trail we rode. It sure wore Ginger out.

In the meantime take this away with you, the White Mountains are awesome, and should you have the opportunity go there!

E1.8 Night Riding with NiteRider Pro Series Lights

Emily & Fred

Evening, Peeps.

Please join us for our 8th YouTube episode, E1.8 Night Riding with NiteRider Pro Series Lights. In this video we review a range of NiteRider lights as we make a circuit around McDowell Mountain Regional Park in the first of 2018’s summer Night Ride Series.

As always please subscribe to our YouTube channel if you like our adventures, we want to bring you more!

That is all.

E1.7 Summer Rides – Pemberton

Fred & Emily

Afternoon, Peeps.

Please join us in celebration as we release our 7th YouTube episode, E1.7 Summer Rides – Pemberton. In this episode we discuss summer riding and take you on an extensive tour of the Pemberton Loop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel if you like our adventures, we want to bring you more! We’ve listened to your comments, boosted our audio and offered better maps!

That is all.

Airstreaming Mammoth Lakes, CA

Emily & Silent Partner

Evening, Peeps.

In the late Spring of 2017 I was beginning to hear signals from my employer they would want all remote workers back in the office. We made a trip from Colorado down to Arizona so I could take a meeting and at the end of that fateful day we found ourselves with a sad decision to make. The die was cast – we would only have a few months left of precious freedom before going back to cube-land. Full timing was near its end.

So how best to spend the time?

California of course! We’d always meant to go there, it was close, and full of our favorite thing – mountains. While we were in town we driveway surfed at Fred’s house. That evening drinking beer and sitting by the pool Fred said, “Why not Mammoth Lakes?” We’d never heard of it. A quick trip to the Google revealed an alpine village chocked full of mountain biking and skiing. The destination was set!

Booking

For our stay in Mammoth Lakes we decided on New Shady Rest Campground. For reasons we don’t entirely understand, this campground seems to be first come first served for most of the summer. We arrived at the beginning of June so the sites had just opened up and we got a sweet spot at site #93. Later in the year, reservations can be made at the federal portal here.

Like any mountain destination that early in the year, Mammoth Lakes was beautiful one moment.

And brutal the next. That is snow.

By any measure this is an enormous campground, and that doesn’t even include Old Shady Rest Campground across the street. Sites are somewhat narrow but heavily forested and well groomed. All pads and roads are well maintained pavement, though the roads are nerve-wrackingly tight and we witnessed more than one 5th wheel scraping the trees. Traffic was moderate and noise was middling. Oddly we found campfire smoke from surrounding sites to be especially bad here, but we did stay on the east end – maybe prevailing winds take the smoke there.

Water is available in a number of locations along with an RV fill-up and dump station at the entrance to the campground. Bathroom facilities were old but well maintained and clean. While we were staying there the dump station was temporarily closed but a self-service station is available at the Mammoth Lakes Community Water District just down the street.

On the reservation front, I can only speculate, but I wonder if the no-reservation policy is to keep booking fair, since Mammoth Lakes is essentially between the two megalopolises of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Whatever the case, it worked to our advantage and we had a glorious two weeks there.

Choose Your Path Wisely

In all our time towing the trailer, I think we’ve really only had two genuine misfires. One time was getting ourselves stuck in a rural road in Moab, and the other was my fateful decision to follow the “scenic” route from Phoenix to Mammoth Lakes.

Little did I know that CA 168 was a curled up intestine of death worthy of only the most hardened RVers. I found out, of course, when we crossed from Nevada into California and I started to see signs like, “Vehicles over 30′ not recommended”. By then we were committed so we soldiered on.

Though obviously we lived, that drive was some of the most intense mountain driving I have ever done with the Airstream, even more intense than the Rocky Mountains. The road alternately shrank to one lane and offered up sharp corners and steep inclines. Thank god it was little traveled so I had plenty of room to maneuver. If I had to do it again, though, I would take the Los Angeles route, trading near death cliff-diving for horrible traffic.

Amenities & Activities

City of Mammoth Lakes

The City of Mammoth Lakes is a remarkable little Ski/Mountain Bike town characterized, for me, by the extremes. On our drive to Mammoth Lakes we drove through Bishop and it was 110° F (43° C) and entirely given over the cactus and desert.

In 20 minutes we were in pine trees and aspen groves at 72° F (22° C).

Once there, the entire town is surrounded by the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains and right at the back door to Yosemite National Park.

That June had also capped off a record setting snow season. So much so, Mammoth mountain was entirely off limits to bikes because of this stuff.

Incredibly, just a short way down the mountain the snow was gone and trails were open. This water was of course, going somewhere – look at this intense whitewater we saw when we left Mammoth Lakes.

Eats

Mammoth Lakes is a tourist town but it seems to get rather sleepy in the summer months. Still there are plenty of restaurants and shops waiting for customers. We found good pizza at Giovanni’s Pizza, even better at John’s Pizza Works and good coffee at the Looney Bean.

Shopping

Footloose Sports near the campground offered a very good selection of mountain biking gear and rental bikes. Directly next door you can find Rite Aid for your apothecary needs and a DIY Home Center for your hardware needs (ahem, rivets).

Laundry facilities were found at the Mammoth Lakes Laundromat and excellent grocery shopping at Vons. Keep in mind by California law you must buy plastic bags so it pays to get some reusable ones.

Fun Facts

Curiously Mammoth Lakes forms part of the Los Angeles water shed. I find that amazing because LA is hundreds of miles away. But anyone who’s lived out west knows Whisky’s for ‘Drinkin and Water’s for ‘Fightin.

Mountain Biking

Ah yes, mountain biking – my favorite topic. Owing to the strange snow season Mammoth Mountain and the surrounding trails were closed. Still we found plenty of options that made for a thoroughly rewarding set of rides.

Big Smokey Loop

The Big Smokey Loop is a 15 minute drive east of town and slightly lower elevation than Mammoth Lakes. We discovered one constants about riding the Sierra Nevadas is sand, lots of it. We struggled through unending piles of the stuff on this ride, which taught me a 29+ might be the better way to go next time (see Fred’s review of the Trek Stache 5).

The trail is all fire roads and is rated at blue-green. I would normally consider this is green ride but the loose sand, squirrely climbs and steep descent near the end pushed it into blue territory.

In retrospect it was an interesting ride but I would likely stick to the Knolls Loop area and explore more there next time. It was hardly a waste though, the view of the distant Ansel Adams Wilderness et al was second to none.

Mammoth Creek Trail

Mammoth Lakes has a splendid bike path circling the entire town and Mammoth Creek Trail forms the southern leg. The ride in total alternates from trail to bike path to streets and offers a great tour of the city. Though rated green I found the climbs totally satisfying as the altitude does make pedaling a little harder. It’s also fun to see how the other half lives as you climb through some exclusive neighborhoods and ski resorts.

Knolls Loop

Knolls Loop was our go-to trail while staying in Mammoth Lakes and we rode it easily a half dozen times. The trailhead is found just outside of camp and takes you on a 10 mile (16km) tour of the Inyo National Forest.

As with Big Smokey Loop the trail consists mainly of forest road and lots and lots of sand. When takes clockwise, however, we found most of the sand to be on the downhill sections making a ride on standard 29ers thoroughly enjoyable.

The eastern portion of the ride is somewhat of a lung-buster but rewards the intrepid rider with awesome views.

The roads back in this area are incredibly complex and it pays to take a mapping application such as MTB Project or a printed map. There’s also a serviceable map of this hairball here.

What Could Go Wrong

Strangely we discovered our satellite dish died at the beginning of the Mammoth Lakes stay. We talked it over and decided we did want it fixed before our return to Phoenix in three months so we called ahead to Bay Area Airstream Adventures. This led to an unplanned week-long stay in Vacaville and a couple trips to the dealer to get things sorted out.

Bay Area Airstream Adventures

Even though I was annoyed at being blown off course, this was pretty cool. Have you ever seen so many Airstreams?

Also I think I saw the second Airstream love of my life there.

I’ve always thought it would be awesome to get a 35′ Airstream and refurbish it. They’re relatively uncommon though. Speaking to one salesman I learned the long frames have a tendency to crack and the triple axles make them hard to park. The models with slides also had uneven tire wear due to the odd weight distribution.

Besides all that just look at it – gorgeous!

Also a quick shout out – these guys were so nice and accommodating. We waited in the lounge with our dogs all day and they kept checking on us and making sure we were ok. Very cool customer service.

Vineyard RV Park

While alternating between taking the Airstream in for repairs and waiting for parts we stayed at the Vineyard RV Park. In all ways this was a great park with friendly people, good staff, excellent sites and a nice pool.

Also, we met Nola the pig there!

Another kick about staying there was the wild turkeys and their babies.

We even made it into San Francisco for a day.

Alas the Airstream was eventually fixed and we went on our way to the Redwoods, but that’s a story for another blog.

Parting Thoughts

Mammoth Lakes was awesome. We’re even mulling going back there this September – we’ll see if the winds of change allow that to happen. But we thoroughly enjoyed the people, the campground and the riding. Mammoth Lakes definitely has “it” and we highly recommend it.

As for the satellite repairs – in retrospect, our temporary path through Sacramento/Vacaville was a hoot. We enjoyed the hell out of our stay and we got to meet Nola! So I guess it played out in the end.

2018 Trek Stache 5

Fred

Evening, Peeps.

Check out Fred’s review of the 2018 Trek Stache 5 here!

That is all.

Reflections on Airstreaming Moab, Utah

Emily & Silent Partner

Evening, Peeps.

My heart is heavy as we are now back in Phoenix….and therefore, not Moab. As I work my way back into my professional life, it occurs to me there are a few additional thoughts to share about Moab from previous trips, so enjoy some random musings.

What’s In a Name

I find it totally fitting that even the name Moab is somewhat mysterious. For me the Paiute origin story, referring to the word moapa, meaning “mosquito”, has the most resonance. Still if Moab was instead named Vina or Uvadalia I suspect it would have exactly the same energy and feel.

Arches National Park

Yes, Arches National Park is pretty amazing.

But keep in mind – all of Moab and surrounding area is amazing. Do you really need to pay for it, when everything is amazing? For example, drive up Utah 128 from Moab to Interstate 70 along the Colorado River, it’ll blow your mind. Or, Utah 313 to Dead Horse Point. I happen to find the drive through Canyonlands more rewarding, and the view at the point equal to the task (though yes you do have to pay for that too). Or for free you can ride the Zephyr trail (mentioned later) that crosses into the north end of the park.

Still, we stayed in Arches one time (see the featured image) because, well, everyone said it was the thing to do. The park has essentially one road that you can drive for an out-and-back, at the low low fee of $25, or, you can pay the low-low fee of $25, drag your trailer all the way to the end of the 28mi (45km) road and maybe get a camping spot.

A year ago we made a point to get to the park early and found the front gate can’t (or won’t) tell you whether the campground is full, so we paid the stupid fee and drove the 28mi (45km) and we discovered that almost no sites fit the Airstream, and ones that did were occupied. You can’t mountain bike the park, you can’t take your dogs out anywhere except on the streets & campground and cell coverage is terrible.

Despite these setbacks the campground host took pity on us and offered us a one-night stay in the host’s spot because they were staying in the ranger’s cabin. For this we are profoundly grateful, but my take on Arches National Park is that the park is pretty cool but the fee is outrageous for what you get.

Mountain Biking Pipe Dream

Pipe Dream is a blue/black trail that runs directly along the western edge of town. I found this trail more black than blue so I never got any zen here owing to the habitual dabbing and dismounts. I can still see it being a handy go-to trail if you lived in Moab as an excellent “work on your skills” destination.

Mountain Biking Zephyr

Zephyr is considered more of a connector than a destination trail, but nevertheless we rode it once to see what’s there.

The oddity about this trail is is crosses briefly into Arches National Park for free, and it offers some truly heart-stopping landscapes such as these. Though this looks like an undulating landscape of routine slickrock, look closer and you’ll notice the beginnings of a verdant canyon filled with water, green trees and birds. Though the trail itself was, for me, entirely forgettable the “Planet of the Apes” like scenery absolutely made it worthwhile.

La Sal Mountain Range

The La Sal mountains just blow my mind. I just can’t get over the juxtaposition of looking up at the mountains and seeing snow when it’s 100° F (38° C) in the canyons.

Also I don’t know why this amazes me, by the La Sals are considered part of the Rocky Mountains and a source of Uranium.

Fred and I rode The Whole Enchilada a couple years ago, which starts high up in a snowy aspen grove and bottoms out on the Colorado river. We caught a shuttle from the previously mentioned Poison Spider Bicycles, but honestly, the shuttle should go two hours earlier – it was hot as hell and I wound up with early signs of heat stroke at the end of the ride.

Overall we both found the ride a little too extreme for our sensibilities, and agreed that the Porcupine Rim portion of the ride was the most enjoyable and least deathy. The final segment down to the river, though, was way more than either of us would do again.

Still, it is pretty amazing to start a ride in snow and wind up over 100°!

Eats

I forgot to mention Milt’s Stop N’ Eat in our previous blogs. Milt’s is a kitschy actual 50’s era diner located on Moab’s former main drag. They serve exactly the right food for after mountain biking including delicious burgers and yummy salty fries. We highly recommend the experience, though sadly they’re closed Mondays.

Conclusion

But Emily, you didn’t mention the most Moab of all Moab mountain bike trails, Slickrock!

I’d have some pictures for you if my crappy Buffalo NAS hadn’t taken them to the briny deep, but I’ll commit heresy here: We didn’t like Slickrock.

Stone ● Cold ● Silence

Here’s why – the trail is blue/black. Fred and I tried Slickrock a few years ago really before we should have. Specifically, Slickrock is steep – like 100% grade steep. That requires massive fitness, and we found we just didn’t have it at the time. And fitness is important when you’re pumping your way up this massive incline with your eyeballs exploding out your face and there’s just no place to bail. If you stop your’re sliding to god knows where.

Someday we’ll do it again, especially now that we have the fitness and the skills. But I still remember it, and I suspect I’ll like Klondike Bluffs better (gasp). We’ll see!

And that, my friends, is what Moab is all about. There’s always more to come back for and great stories to tell (someday ask me about Magnificent 7 and almost dying in a Uranium tornado).

Cheers!

Airstreaming Moab, Utah – Day 6

Emily & Silent Partner

Morning, Peeps.

Yesterday was an early start with but one objective – mountain bike Klondike Bluffs. Even though temperatures this time of year hover in the 50’s (10C) in the morning and low 80’s (27C) in the afternoon something about slickrock reflects a lot of sunlight making it seem much hotter than it is. We wanted to eliminate any chance of dehydration and/or heat stroke since I’ve gotten myself into trouble here in the past.

Mountain Biking Klondike Bluffs

Reaching Klondike Bluffs in the AM we set off.

Klodike Bluffs is so named because of these.

The trail system is a brilliant arrangement of easy to hard trails where you can make your own adventure across amazing terrain. Crudely speaking the bluffs is a large rectangle with the long sides running north to south. The rectangle is bisected by multiple east/west downhill runs rated in the blue/black category.

My favorite make-your-own-adventure is:

Dino Flow

Dino Flow is a nice green/blue trail where you can get get warmed up.

The trail flirts with portions of slickrock but also follows plenty of hardpack and has a half-dozen features that make you work your skills so you can never quite get complacent.

Dino Flow is also undulated which gets your heart rate at just about the right level before diving into Mega Steps.

Mega Steps

Mega Steps is one of several blue/black trails that run east to west forming dramatic downhills (or climbs), depending on your direction of travel.

We find the Mega Steps climb to be lung-busting but the least lung-busting of all the options out there.

In Moab parlance a “step” is a natural slickrock feature resembling human steps. Mega Steps, as shown in the featured image, look like steps more suited to Godzilla. Personally I feel like climbing Mega Steps is what the bottom of an empty swimming pool would be like like to an ant.

At the top of the steps we took a breather.

Klondike Bluff Outer Loop

Mega Steps joins into the Klondike Bluff Outer loop before splitting onto Little Salty.

This is a blue connector that at times shares a 4×4 trail. Yes this is a jeep trail.

Little Salty

Time got away from me on the tie-in to little salty so I didn’t catch more pictures, but the Little Salty is a blue/black decent of about 50% hardpack then 50% fairly intense downhill slickrock like so.

For one reason or another this kind of slickrock descent puts me in a deep zen mode, picking lines and following the dots. By far Klondike Bluffs is my favorite ride out here. At least, until I ride more of the dozens of trails out here that I have yet to explore.

Conclusion

Sadly yesterday was our last day of riding, and tomorrow we prepare to go back home …and back to work. I’ve mentioned “it” as a recurring theme in this blog – and Moab has a thousand different kinds of “it”. Should you decide to visit, keep in mind everybody else knows Moab has “it” too – plan your lodging well, be prepare for crowds, but also be prepared for vistas and experiences so gorgeous they’ll break your hear.

Airstreaming Moab, Utah – Day 5

Emily & Silent Partner

Evening, Peeps.

Welcome to day 5 of our Moab musings! See what I did there? A little alliteration – pretty fancy right? Today was another mountain bike ride and lazing about and gazing wistfully into the Colorado while eating Doritos, drinking beer and reading my book.

And wondering why cell coverage is so bad…

But anyway, because of all that belly button gazing today’s blog is shorter but that’s ok, enjoy the pictures.

Mountain Biking the North 40

The North 40 is a short and fairly laid back blue/black trail north of town in what is referred to the as the “Bar M” trail system.

Adventure Machines

Before I tell you more about this trail, I should mention I love geeking out over how people build their “adventure machines”, some of which were in the parking lot.

I wonder how much difference that roof rack really makes in the scheme of things?

The Ride

The North 40 is kind of like when your own dog bites you. You’re thinking- but – you love me. You know me. Why would you bite me? North 40 seems so tame as it climbs some easy going slickrock and hardpack.

But then it starts throwing this kind of stuff at you.

Now that’s ok. I mean, I don’t want my dog biting me – but a trail like this keeps you honest. It makes you a better rider, and the risk is generally well constrained. I dismounted a half-dozen times, but I think laying down your Moab neural network would make internalizing those lines a snap if you were lucky enough to ride here all the time.

More Flowers

I’m not sure why, but flowers in the desert amaze me. I think it’s because of the contrast – in a terribly hostile place like the Utah desert where almost nothing lives you find this!

A Little Geology

Evidently Mighty Manganese is responsible for the black coloration on the rocks in Moab. We read that on a sign in canyon lands. Well – ok they didn’t say “mighty”, I added that part, probably from too much Sesame Street in the 70’s, but my statement is still accurate.

The distinctive green color in many of the hills around here is, according to the fine folks at the Utah Geological Survey, caused by chlorite or clay consisting of iron silicate.

To Be Continued…

Tomorrow we’re riding the Klondike Bluffs. Peace out my friends, one more day of riding to come.