29-MAR-2011
The road down this side seems like it will easy, . . . that is until we get some distance on it. Being that we are on the Mex border, and cross traffic is heavy, the Patrol Agents are thick like flies. They run this road, less steep and lacking the switchbacks, at speeds that are a "bit" high. That is what turns dirt roads into washboards.
We are rolling slower here than we were climbing the other side.
30-MAR-2011
Roadside Camp
Last night we spent about a mile up a side track.
Found a place that would let me back the trailer into the space that the "She Beast" was in, after she pulled out . . . I was pretty sure that I could make the turn from there back across the cattle guard.
It was a nice place to spend the morning.
30-MAR-2011
Bad Water Creek
Not far from where we camped was this little water way. The down side was that it was in open range. Most things that were worth eating had been, and the rest was just trampled.
30-MAR-2011
Their Elders
Once out of the mountains, we come upon some "Road Crew" mechs.
These two are the Elders of our rigs, especially the one on the right. It's a `58 with a gas engine.
The other is a `63 5 ton dump truck that came with the winch installed. Still working they are.
30-MAR-2011
Our last mountain pass
After a quick run up the valley northward, with a mid-day stop to add some fuel to the tanks (ours', and the mechs) and a quick connect on the wireless, we find the the dirt road headed into the next range that we're planning to cross.
It wasn't the first road that we took, but it didn't take me long to decide that that one did not seem right. Some more map & satellite checking got us back on track.
Finding the road we were after, we wound our way past some farms and then into the mountains.
The road worked it's way into a canyon and then clung to the side of the slope above the dry river bed.
30-MAR-2011
Dry Waterfall
Coming upon this wet weather waterfall definitely makes us want to wander back through here during the monsoon.
30-MAR-2011
Powerline Road
Coming out of the canyon we hit pavement. Thinking that we had just rolled over our last bit of dirt track, we headed down hill. We were now going to jump on the "I" for the next 20 miles. The Gathering that we were moving towards was off the "I" south of us, we were pretty sure that there wasn't any back track in.
At full pavement cruising speed I caught a glimpse of a cattleguard and a dirt track as we passed . . . HA!
Took another couple miles before we could find somewhere to turn the Mechs around.
As we approached, this time much slower, it seems I was right . . . a powerline road! About 30 miles from the gathering site and we were about to jump on a service road, that in the rankings of service roads, rated as about as extreme as it gets . . . we might not get there today.
30-MAR-2011
The track quickly turned into climbs into and out of narrow wash valleys.