Tag: Beas Lewis Flat Road

Camp Days at Beas Lewis Flat – October 2018

Carol Carnicom1 Comment

is Wednesday October 10: A very windy and rather chilly day here at Beas Lewis Flat west of Capitol Reef National Park. Too chilly for this early in October, in my opinion. Big hurricane, Michael, is in the gulf and hitting Florida, so guess I don’t have much call to complain.

Beautiful first light renders the landscape to the west an awesome rich golden color, but soon the moment passes and usual daytime color returns. I make my French press coffee and then go over to my brother Rollie’s rig where it is warmer while Clifford is still sleeping.

Rich color at first light of day
Normal daytime color

Later, Clifford and I go to the nearby town of Torrey for errands and the laundromat. Back at camp, I do some editing before starting dinner. After winning a game of cribbage with Rollie, I do dishes and then play viola for a bit. Start putting away clean clothes until I reach our pj’s, and then off to bed. The rest of the clean clothes can wait until tomorrow.

Thursday October 11: There was some rain in the night and this morning is overcast and calm. After breakfast, Rollie gets out his fire pit and we have a little campfire, but being outdoors is still kind of chilly. Some sun broke through for a bit, followed by more clouds and a little rain. Definitely a fall-ish kind of day.

A little fire in the fire pit
A rain storm approaches
Rainbow as the storm passes
Light on the mesa to the west near sunset

In the afternoon we all go to Red Cliff Cafe in Torrey and have pizza, a fun thing to do on a chilly day. Back at camp, I continue with a reorganizing project that I started this morning. Rollie and I play music at his rig in the later afternoon before having a light dinner, since we had a big lunch today. Cribbage, dishes, and journal writing finish out the day for me.

Visit to Capitol Reef National Park – October 2018

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Tuesday October 9: It is 32 degrees this morning here at Beas Lewis Flat Road outside Capitol Reef National Park, but it is not snowing and the blue sky shows off yesterday’s snow on the mesas. I make coffee and then go visit my brother Rollie for a few minutes.

Snow on the mesa
Snow in the mountains

After breakfast, Clifford and I make a trip to the nearby town of Torrey to pick up our mail. We stop at the market; it doesn’t have much, even for a small town, but there is a bakery in the back, so the bread is good and fresh. We get water and propane, and then we stop at the Visitor Center to use their wifi to check email and post photos on FB.

Back at camp, I make tuna sandwiches for a picnic and clear a seat in the Suburban for Rollie and Ninja, and then off we go to Capitol Reef National Park.

Heading to Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef Visitor Center
Iconic formation at the Visitor Center

After a stop at the Capitol Reef Visitor Center, we drive through the campground, reminiscing about camping here in December of 1997. The scenic drive takes us to several view points…

Rollie takes photos along the scenic drive in Capitol Reef National Park

and then we rush back for the ranger program at the Fremont Petroglyph Site. We learn about the Fremonts, the Native Americans of the area who began incorporating farming into their hunter and gatherer lifestyles about 1,300 years ago.

We then drive to the east side of the park to explore BLM dispersed camping outside the park boundaries. Although we find several places that could be used, we like our spot on the west side of the park the best.

Driving to the east side of Capitol Reef Park
Formations on the east side of Capitol Reef

Back at camp, I make “breakfast” for dinner, play cribbage with Rollie, do the dishes, and then tidy up. Keeping tiny homes (RV’s) neat and organized makes living in a small space comfortable, especially when being full-time or nearly full-time nomads as we are.

The end of a jam-packed day

Boondocking near Capitol Reef – October 2018

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Thursday October 4: Today is a settling in day. I take a few photos even though it is cloudy and windy. Clifford gets his ham radio antennas up.

View from our front door
A moment of light on the mesa

In the afternoon I do some editing for Ang and make applesauce with the wild apples before Rollie and I play bluegrass music at his rig.

Rollie and Ninja at his rig

After dinner, I get skunked playing cribbage with Rollie and get a blog written before heading to bed.

Friday October 5: I am up in time for photos at sunrise, which is always a delight to me.

Sunrise near Capitol Reef National Park
View from the window
Same mesa, but different day, different camera, and a different effect

We go to Torrey today to pick up mail sent General Delivery only to find that the post office is already closed. The market in Torrey is very small, but has a good bakery. Editing and blog writing are my main activities of the day, and this evening I win at cribbage.

Saturday October 6: I am up earlier than usual, making coffee as quietly as possible so as not to wake Clifford, going over to Rollie’s rig, as he is always up early and his rig is already warm. It is overcast this morning with a forecast for rain. A neighbor from further in stops by to tell us that when the rain comes, it will turn the ground to ankle-deep gumbo. He has been here for awhile and has seen it first-hand. Rigs trying to get out get stuck and tow trucks won’t even come in to rescue them. So, in preparation for the possibility, I find the biggest flattest rocks I can carry and put them under Cougar’s stabilizer jacks, make a rock pathway to the Suburban and a longer pathway from Cougar over to Rollie’s rig.

Preparing for rain. Rig on left is Cougar; rig to the far upper right is Rollie’s FR3

It does indeed rain in the afternoon and into the evening, so I am glad I did the work.

Sunday October 7: It is overcast this morning and I take photos of the mesa shrouded in mist.

Mesa in the mist

I carry on with the rock work since it appears that the rain is going to continue and the high is only 46 degrees. In the afternoon I do some editing. Cell service is very weak here, so no time is spent with cell or internet related activities. More time for editing (until the laptop battery goes dead) and music. I make spaghetti dinner tonight and play cribbage with Rollie before washing up the dishes. Clifford and I go to bed earlier tonight, as it is too chilly to stay up, and we are both tired.

Montana to Utah – October 2018

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Monday October 1: I am up by 7:30 and chat with the neighbors at their campfire before making tea for our thermoses. Today is a travel day and we plan to leave from our brief stay here at Divide Bridge Campground and make it as far as the Walmart in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Mist rising in the morning at Divide Bridge Campground
Traveling south through southwestern Montana
Foggy going over Monida Pass into Idaho

It is very windy and we are glad to pull off the highway when we reach Idaho Falls. We park along the grass on the back parking lot and then spend a few minutes picking up trash. It is too bad that some people abuse the privilege of overnight stays at Walmart, and because of that fewer Walmarts are allowing overnighters. There are many RV coming in this afternoon, perhaps because of the wind. We go to Panda for a late lunch and then pick up the groceries and sundries we will need for the next leg of the trip.

Tuesday October 2: We are on our way after making thermoses and tidying up. It is very windy, worse than yesterday, causing slower travel and poor gas mileage.

Many windy miles
Southern Idaho

We stop at the rest stop before the Utah border, the rest stop that I call the Apple Tree Stop. It is a relief to get off the highway for awhile and just walk about. I check out the apple tree, an untended giant of a tree, and see that it is bountiful this year. I poke among the apples that have fallen and gather a bagful that will be made into applesauce.

Wonderful wild apple tree

We reach the Perry, Utah, Walmart in late afternoon and park along the edge of the lot. We can see a huge storm to the west, and we learn from my brother Rollie that he is in the midst of it on his parallel route through Nevada. Eventually the storm moves over us and I’m glad we are parked and not trying to drive through the downpour.

Last sunlight on the hills at Perry, Utah
Last light of day at Perry, Utah

Wednesday October 3: We leave Perry and begin the journey through Salt Lake City, and even though part of it is on a bypass that we have discovered, the rest of it is the main I-15 corridor made worse by construction. I am ever so grateful when we come out on the south end of this huge city complex and stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Springfield.

Sky over Salt Lake City

After lunch, we continue south of I-15, new country for us, a day of clouds and rain storms. We leave the interstate at the junction to Utah State Hwy 50, then take Hwy 24 to the small town of Loa where we are meeting Rollie.

  • A day …
  • of clouds …
  • and …
  • rain storms…
  • and more clouds.

Rollie arrives before us and as soon as we get there, we all decide to head onto our intended destination outside Torrey, Utah, near Capitol Reef National Park. Arriving at the BLM road, Beas Lewis Flat, where we plan to stay, we park and scout on foot, finding a couple of pullouts that will accommodate both rigs. We will have lots of privacy here, as well as great views.

  • Scouting out places to park the rigs
  • End of day

After we get set up, I make chili for dinner for all of us, glad to have the driving over for awhile and happy to have found such a scenic place to call home for the next couple of weeks.