Multi Shots from the trail.

[Scrappapotamus]

As the sun begins to fall behind the western clouds, Imma sitting here reveling in my choice of hobbies - View attachment 446979 And for whatever side of my heritage gave me such an intense love of the desert - life is good - 😍
View attachment 446978

God, messin' with my late afternoon solar top-off - 🥲
View attachment 446986

And capitalism messin' up my mojo -
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Skies are lookin' angry, winds are pickin' up - I think there's an Oldsmobile Toronado movin' in ... maybe I shouldn'ta called God out for blockin' my sunset -
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I'll say this about the weather, it's been damn near perfect, a little warm but that would be my preference. 🥶

The thing is - it's the desert and the wind blows here - A LOT ... but it hasn't ... so far View attachment 446984 ... until this evening. It's started picking up. Thankfully, I wear ATGATT, even in the Talon. Once I put my helmet on, the winds could blow 100 mph (I'd rather they didn't) and I'd hardly notice, hell, I don't even have any windows.

I was here in the van with the WR250 and the wind blew for all 3 weeks that I was here. It blew so hard that I had to tie the TentCot to the van wheels to keep it from blowing away.

Tue, Wed and Thu should be perfect at upper 70's, but crap hits the fan on Fri - Sun, rain and clouds, icky, even in ATGATT. I think I 'could' have gotten 4 more days out of this area but the weather Gods might cut me short.

Cra[ - I relocate the solar panel after sunset so it can get its ass to work at first light. Well, it's after sunset, the wind is 'almost' howling and I just relocated the panel. The thing is ~18" x 45", flat and weights next to nothing; the perfect wind sail. It's surprising how much 'load' a brisk wind can exert on a light, flat panel; even when you know to hang on.

What's the temperature?

 

[Admin]

 

[CID]

What's the temperature?

It's 9* colder right now at 59* than it was at sunrise this morning - 67*. Send help ...

 

[Scrappapotamus]

I figured it would be colder considering the cloud cover. I spent several days at Willow Springs Raceway underdressed. Overcast windy day. It was bone chilling frigid. Have you been riding in the winds with no windscreen?

 

[Prntckt]

Has your solar panel setup been useful for your extended off grid trips? Do you use a generator much?

 

[CID]

I figured it would be colder considering the cloud cover. I spent several days at Willow Springs Raceway underdressed. Overcast windy day. It was bone chilling frigid. Have you been riding in the winds with no windscreen?

About that - with the snorkel behind the passenger's seat ... I can't put the windscreen down or the backdraft will suffocate the snorkel filter with dust. I can't run a back window for the same reason. If it isn't raining, the flip-up SATV window is up, 99% of the time.

For that reason, and being a retired dirt bike rider, I'm always wearing a full coverage street helmet. It's warmer, quieter, dryer and safer. I still wear earplugs inside the helmet to protect my hearing from wind noise damage. I also find the Talon's mechanical noise painful, if I forget the ear plugs, I'll be stopping within a 100 yards to put them in. Yeah, ok, so Imma sissy.

Hearing loss is permanent and progressive; since it doesn't hurt, and men are stupid, we ignore it until we have severe hearing loss and then whine about the cost of hearing aids.

 

[CID]

Has your solar panel setup been useful for your extended off grid trips? Do you use a generator much?

Useful would be a massive understatement, that one 100 watt panel makes me completely self sufficient. Just a couple of years ago, I wondered if it would be worth the expense, YES, times 10. I almost never use the onboard generator.

My coach/house batteries just crapped the bed, with almost no warning. A friend had just bought an Anker Solix C1000 power bank, he did all the homework/research so I followed his lead. That thing, plus the 100 watt panel has been providing all the electricity I need since I left home a couple of weeks ago. To be fair, I'm a low maintenance kinda guy, no microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer, etc; just the bare minimum - LED dome lights and water pump.

The cool thing about the Solix is its 120v outlets, I plug the Starlink in and it has run it almost continuously without issue. I bought a lot of 'stuff' to run the Starlink on 12 volts because that's what the RV has readily available, and haven't needed any of it.

When I get home (well, I'll wait til spring), I'll replace the house batteries (two 6V golf cart batteries) and buy another 100 watt solar panel and I'll be good forever. Fwiw: I won't go with lithium - 1. My onboard charger/inverter would need to be replaced. 2. Lithium doesn't play well with stock vehicle alternators and I'm not willing to figure that out.

 

[DG Rider]

Enjoyed fall colors while doing some local riding in Rusk and Chippewa Counties in Wisconsin this week. View attachment 446890View attachment 446891View attachment 446892View attachment 446893View attachment 446894View attachment 446895View attachment 446896View attachment 446897View attachment 446898View attachment 446899View attachment 446900

Beautiful.
I'll admit it's not the 1st place I think about when I think outdoors, but You guys up in Michigan and Wisconsin sure have some beautiful scenery.

 

[Scrappapotamus]

About that - with the snorkel behind the passenger's seat ... I can't put the windscreen down or the backdraft will suffocate the snorkel filter with dust. I can't run a back window for the same reason. If it isn't raining, the flip-up SATV window is up, 99% of the time.

For that reason, and being a retired dirt bike rider, I'm always wearing a full coverage street helmet. It's warmer, quieter, dryer and safer. I still wear earplugs inside the helmet to protect my hearing from wind noise damage. I also find the Talon's mechanical noise painful, if I forget the ear plugs, I'll be stopping within a 100 yards to put them in. Yeah, ok, so Imma sissy.

Hearing loss is permanent and progressive; since it doesn't hurt, and men are stupid, we ignore it until we have severe hearing loss and then whine about the cost of hearing aids.

What? You're one tough Hombre

 

[Prntckt]

Beautiful.
I'll admit it's not the 1st place I think about when I think outdoors, but You guys up in Michigan and Wisconsin sure have some beautiful scenery.

We are definitely blessed.
I also envy the desert beauty you ride in. Love the pictures and videos.

 

[DG Rider]

I went out Saturday. Only took 2 actual pics...one of the AZ trail signage and the railroad bridge over Camp Grant wash.

The latter is my first visit. I've been thinking that area south of Freeman road and over towards the San Pedro river should have a lot of stuff, but had never found much of it until this day. An unassuming two track lead off the main road and up a wash, then branches out for MILES in the distance. Never skip a trail.
There was also remains of a pit mine, but I figured out how to get to it a little too late...as the sun was setting. Strange area I've never been to, probably 30 miles from the trailer, in the dark. Luckily, I know that last 20 of that so well I could drive it blindfolded.

Sometimes I wonder if I trust the old 700 too much. It'd be a hell of a walk out of there, not to mention coordinating a meetup with the wife somewhere. Strange thing is I NEVER think about that while I'm out in it. Only when I lay in bed at night. Like the 1st one, it's never given me much reason to think it won't bring me home. Now at a bit over 6200 miles and ready for a service and to bend the skid plate back out. Put 112 miles on it this day. Didn't think I'd gone that far. I can rack up some miles when I get out of bed early.

I will go back...

Camp Grant, Arizona - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Prntckt]

Sometimes I wonder if I trust the old 700 too much. It'd be a hell of a walk out of there, not to mention coordinating a meetup with the wife somewhere. Strange thing is I NEVER think about that while I'm out in it. Only when I lay in bed at night. Like the 1st one, it's never given me much reason to think it won't bring me home.

I ride solo from time to time in remote areas without cell service. I carry a Garmin InReach as a backup. Fortunately my Hondas have never failed me. My Pioneer 1000-3 had 10,000 miles on it when I sold it, and my Talon just rolled past 10,000 last week. Do you carry a sat phone/text device in the remote areas that you ride?

 

[DG Rider]

I ride solo from time to time in remote areas without cell service. I carry a Garmin InReach as a backup. Fortunately my Hondas have never failed me. My Pioneer 1000-3 had 10,000 miles on it when I sold it, and my Talon just rolled past 10,000 last week. Do you carry a sat phone/text device in the remote areas that you ride?

Yes. Spot X.

 

[CID]

What? You're one tough Hombre

Not tough, I'm a cold weather wimp and my cutoff temp is ~40*, below that and I'm home ... pouting cuz it's winter.

 

[CID]

It's 9* colder right now at 59* than it was at sunrise this morning - 67*. Send help ...

41* this morning. 🥶

 

[CID]

Basic bachelor livin' in the dez. Men are easy to please.

 

[CID]

I-70 overlook, 35 miles south of camp.

The trail continues to that ridge but I've already been there a few hundred yards to the left and I'm running out of time with 35 miles back to camp -

 

[Prntckt]

41* this morning. 🥶

Right at the ragged edge of heading back to Colorado until it warms up?😄

 

[Prntckt]

Basic bachelor livin' in the dez. Men are easy to please.
View attachment 447419

(Most) all the conveniences of home.....

 

[CID]

Right at the ragged edge of heading back to Colorado until it warms up?😄

As long as it doesn't get below the upper 20's at night, I'm good. I have 'stuff' on the trailer that can't freeze so I keep an eye on the forecast, a hard freeze warning has chased me home before I was ready, the last 2 years.

About Thanksgiving seems to be when I run out of wanderlust and am ready for the winter wind down. Getting east over Vail and Loveland passes (both are ~11k elevation), adds an element of surprise to that run for home. It doesn't help that Colorado has a $600 fine if I cause traffic problems without tire chains, which I don't have, so I have to be aware of icy conditions too.

I can retreat even further south but Quartzsite eats tires (and I'm having unusual wear problems on the LF which I haven't had before ). There's also St. George/Sand Hollow but those choices are two days from home, not the one day from the Green River area.

Yeah, nope; the photo doesn't show that you can't straddle the rut and the off camber, plus the steepness, is more than I've got the stones for -

Laid my phone on the hood, got distracted, forgot it, thought I lost it but it followed me to the next overlook - 😍

 

[DG Rider]

And I am back, on a cool and rainy day in AZ...