Southwest 2021: On the Road Again!...A Year-Plus into the Pandemic

  

Our 2019 Promaster van waiting in the driveway to get on the road!

    On the road again! In late February 2021, both of us having received our second Covid-19 vaccine two-plus weeks before, we headed out for our first trip in our Dodge Promaster Van since purchasing it and having it converted in fall 2019. We continue to take precautions, wearing masks and social distancing.

    But we didn’t know what we would find out on the road. Turns out it depends. Some campgrounds are crowded and showers are closed completely with restrooms open on alternating days. At others restrooms are entirely closed, and at still others they are entirely open. Stopping for coffee is also interesting. In some places, we can use our own coffee mug, while at others you must use their paper cups. From town to town in the same state, some interpret the law to mean coffee makers and cream dispensers cannot be used and others interpret it to mean the opposite. Masks and social distancing are required everywhere we’ve traveled, and for the most part, folks comply. The country is gradually reopening, yet much remains closed, often permanently, due to unsustainable economic losses caused by the shutdown.

    This is a quick rundown of our trip to date, with individual blogs to follow. 
    Sunday, 2/21/21: Where else to start but the East Side of our own Sierra Nevada Mountains: the Alabama Hills out of Lone Pine, where many a western has been filmed.
   Monday, 2/22: Unfortunately, Marilyn forgot some of her meds, so what the heck, let’s drive back home and enjoy a shower. This brought out all our neighbors to see what was wrong—we live in a great neighborhood. We assured them all we were fine, showered, got the meds, regrouped, and drove back to the Alabama Hills—taking a different route—and found the same campsite. It was a mere 500-mile day.
    Tuesday, 2/23: Benton Hot Springs, where we had our own private hot tub for the next 18 hours. Doug seemed to jump in about ever 3 hours, even when the temps were below freezing.
    Wednesday-Saturday, 2/24-27: We left the hot springs for a run to Tonopah, Nevada and nice run to Death Valley National Park on highway 95, a drive Doug has always wanted to do. Death Valley is a favorite place to enjoy the contrasts of the desert. It was windy as all get out the first and last nights, felt like we were sleeping in a sailboat, but otherwise perfect.

    Sunday, 2/28: Mojave National Preserve, south of Death Valley, another favorite spot. Doug again conquered the Ring Trail.
    Monday-Tuesday, 3/1-2: Continuing south, Joshua Tree National Park, Marilyn’s favorite place. A great campsite and a wonderful chance encounter with a French family.
    Wednesday, 3/3: A horrifically windy drive to Quartzsite, Arizona, and on to Gila Bend. We’ve called this our Southwest 2021 trip, and after ten days, we were there!
    Thursday-Saturday, 3/4-6: More of Southern Arizona: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; the villages of Ajo, Arivaca, Patagonia, and Bisbee; an oil change in Tucson; and lots of Border Control check points.
    Sunday-Monday, 3/7-8: Turning back north, Silver City, New Mexico.
    Tuesday, 3/9: Valley of Fires, Carizozo, New Mexico.
    Wednesday, 3/10: The Pueblo Missions and a night in Raton (Rat), New Mexico.
    Thursday-Monday, 3/11-15: Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont, Colorado—and a major snow storm.

    Tuesday-Saturday, 3/16-20: We headed back west over the Rocky Mountains, relieved to not need to put cables on the tires. We spent four glorious days in Moab, Utah camped on the Colorado River, with the added bonus of friends being there, too.

    Sunday-Monday, 3/21-22: We were amazed to get a campsite at Natural Bridges National Monument. Then was a drive down a favorite road, the Moki Dugway, and a night camped on the edge of the Goosenecks of the San Juan River with the van slammed by wind all night long.

    Tuesday-Friday, 3/23-26: We found ourselves driving through rain, snow, hail, and sleet to Kanab, Utah. The next day we were again amazed to get a site, this time at Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas. We spent our last night where we'd spent our first: the Alabama Hills on the East Side of the Sierras. Then it was back across the Sierras to our home near Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks.