Looks like a beautiful area to ride in.
The desert - either you get it or you don't. I have red sandstone in my DNA Helix. 😍 I got introduced to southern Utah in 1972 and have been back almost every year since, this is my 51st year.
@CID
When you drive your motorhome out to your riding areas do you spend several days in the area?
Do you see other off-road riders or are you generally alone in the wilderness?
Hi Harvey, hope things are going well for you.
I look for jeep roads in the GAIA topo, the more roads showing, the harder I try to get there. I also use Google Earth (also free) to find the desert 'color' and home in on those areas. It's my preference to stay put, secure the one 100 watt solar panel (enough for my conservative uses) and kick back, riding 'some' every day in whatever direction calls to me.
Initially, I just leaned the panel in the direction of the sun. But the wind came up one night and sounded like an all night tornado. It ripped the panel off this location, breaking one bungee cord and straightening the hooks on another, flinging the panel 40 feet.
Luckily, I don't latch the MC4 solar connectors so it was able to unplug itself and landed face up, doing very little damage. 😍
Now I secure it to the trailer, after drilling strap holes around the perimeter. To answer the question, why not mount the panel on the RV roof - maybe someday but, aimed at the sun, one panel is enough, mounted flat and I'll need at least two. That and I don't really want to drill holes in a roof that doesn't leak and I don't know where the trusses(?) are located to screw into.
GAIA Basic is free and supports my iPad, Windows desktop and Android phone. If you have any computer skills (I
HATED the damn things except for GPS tracking, photography (free pictures
) and forums), download GAIA GPS and have a look at it. (gaiagps.com)
On this recent 4 day 'sprint', I was connecting some loose ends that I had missed previously, so I moved daily. I rode this new loop clockwise, starting in the upper right (camp just off screen), the sections are numbered. 4 and 7 were new connects, I'd ridden the other tracks before.
Section 7 was longer and twistier than I had thought and much of it was dried mud, which can wash away with any heavy rain. If I do this again, I'll ride it CCW so I get the muddy (possible) section behind me. If it has washed out, there will be a LOT less backtracking. Section 7 is much of this potentially unstable mud -
One of my favorite screen shots, tracks I rode in one ~3 week visit - 1500 miles, 60+ gallons of fuel; had to run to town 50 miles away to refill the trailer (47 gallons). When I find an area covered with jeep roads in the topo, I know it's going to be good. 😍
If you ever need to take a few days off from your responsibilities, please let me know. Would love to have a ride, with views like that.
Mid Florida to the desert is quite a bit further for you than myself @ ~450 miles. I have friends in northern Arkansas that would love to have me in the neighborhood but it's too damn far from the desert (and I don't do humid).