Moving on

I've been hunkered down here at McPhee Reservoir for several days.  The weather system which kept me here for a few of those days has moved on, and so will I.  This morning I'll go down to Cortez, dump the holding tanks at the free municipal facility, stock up on groceries, and drive up to Canyonlands country.  So as I go about the routines of breakfast, I'm also stowing things for travel. It should be a short travel day.

The weather is a factor in my planning, of course, and I'm realizing how accustomed I am to the rhythms of weather in the Sonoran desert where I live.  Up here, things change more quickly.  The 10-day forecast which showed "sunny" for 5 days now shows "chance of thunderstorms" and "partly cloudy."

Weather has a bigger impact living this way.  The places I want to go for a few days will be "dry camps."   No electricity,  no water.  No "hookups."  And so, if there's no sun, or not much, my solar panels won't be able to keep the batteries topped off, and that means increased attention to all things electrical.  I'll go in with all device batteries fully charged, and the coach batteries will be full from the driving.  But the predictions on the Weather Underground about "cloud cover" become more crucial to my planning.

This is a nuisance, of course, just as the cold rainy weather of the last couple days was a nuisance. Of course I'm not out here seeking discomfort.  But it's a small price to pay for the sunsets, and the silence, and the solitude.  It's what you pay to ride the ride.

So far so good!  Not sure about cell service in Canyonlands.  It may be a while before the next posts, all you worriers.