FreedomWagen: Canyonlands

Canyonlands

We parted ways with dad and drove south to Canyonlands. The beautiful thing about this region is the National Parks are surrounded by BLM ground, which makes off-road camping opportunities a dream. Unfortunately the pups couldn't join us on our hike to the canyon, but quite frankly their tender paws couldn't hang anyway. We spent the eve in one of the best camp locales we have ever found in the bus. The turn-off was designated as a camp location, but we found an isolated off-shoot that the bus could navigate. We cracked some homemade wine and dawgs, then Ben busted out some ukelele while I struggled to strum my travel guitar warped by the cold. This time of year is crawling with climbers and campsites are few. Two blokes from Germany struggled late to find a spot, so we shared our campfire and exchanged stories.

The morning greeted us with a downpour of rain. Watching the storm roll in across the desert was profound. With the weight the bus carries, managing dirt roads is tricky; managing mud is impossible. We tried to wait it out, but in the afternoon rain turned to hail. So, the day was spent reading, listening to Duncan Trussell podcasts, and watching to the weather. There were worse places to be stuck.