Joshua Tree National Park: YAY!!! Finally Went Someplace.

The opportunity has finally arrived allowing the Road Toad to go on its first expedition of sorts. The moon and the stars literally aligned up for this momentous occasion. Let me elucidate:


With all prior commitments fulfilled, I was free to plan the first trip. Attending a camera seminar recently, the speaker touched upon shooting the Milky Way and that the next optimal window to photograph it will take place:

• the night of September 12th; the best local place being Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP)
• September for its position in the northern hemisphere's sky
• the 12th for the new moon (absence of lunar light intrusion)
• Joshua Tree because of minimal man made light pollution in the SoCal area

I've wanted to do this for some time now, but never got around to it. The speaker piqued my interest. Back home, I hunkered down for some serious face time with a computer, gleaning as much information as possible as to how to go about it. Two different reputable weather sites forcasted clear skies for the 12th. I commandeered my youngest daughter Anna to be my photographer's assistant, loaded up the Road Toad, and we were on our way.

YAY!!!

Well, when we arrived in JT, clouds were forming. Hmmmmmm... not good. Only got thicker as the day progressed. By night, they dissipated somewhat, but still created an obstructed view towards the southern skies where the Milky Way would show up. We ended up exploring different areas of the park and did some light painting that night instead.

¿Donde esta?

The Road Toad rig parked at Hidden Valley Day Use Area, Joshua Tree.

My lovely assistant Anna, skillfully guiding the viewer's eye to the Road Toad.

"Popsquatch and The Bananagator"

Back in 2007 I took a selfie posed beneath a humongous Joshua tree. I had one foot perched on its trunk in a rakish manner. We found the same tree and attempted to mimic that pose from the original.

2007

Did some light painting!

We enjoyed a fun father/daughter adventure together, enabling us to reconnect, as Anna lives in El Paso and happened to be out visiting for a bit. When will the Road Toad be shredding pavement next? Hard to say, as mumsie just got back from visiting an orthopedic surgeon regarding knee replacement. She'll be scheduling surgery soon, so that will put a kibosh on anymore plans before the holiday season.

WEEBLY IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!

Hi. Road Toad here.

I want to like The Weebly blogging platform very much, as it has a lot going for it, but trying to incorporate and activate some of its features is a lesson in frustration and seeming futility. I've pulled my hair out in bunches (What's left of it. Believe me, those "bunches" ain't very big.) I'm going back over to Google's Blogger, as I know it well with all of its peccadilloes included.

From now on, posts will be created in Blogger. I'll have a link back to the Weebly Road Toad blog for archival purposes for those who are interested. For those not interested, you too, will get an archival link:

http://roadtoad.weebly.com/

There will be a permanent Weebly link on the sidebar to the right.

Coming up, my first excursion with the Road Toad!

(Originally posted 3/6/2015 on Weebly.)

Travels with the Road Toad: An Introduction


Well, I did it. I purchased a little teardrop trailer.
 

-Photograph used with permission from Little Guy Worldwide, LLC

INTRODUCTION: (Rather long-winded, but it does set the stage.)I loved tent camping and immensely enjoyed all of the regalia that accompany it: lacing up a comfy and sturdy pair of favorite Vibram-soled hiking boots and buttoning up a flannel plaid shirt expressly dedicated to outdoor adventures; homemade gorp (old 60's and 70's term for trail mix); Coleman stoves and lanterns; a good axe, and a stone fire ring to name a few. Yes, I am rather old school when it comes to camping, as one can surmise. One could look at it as going retro depending upon personal generational proclivities.

Only one thing: as time passed, the lower back began to resent sleeping on a tent floor. As such, it coaxed me into retiring from tent camping about fifteen years ago after the kids flew the coop.

Setting up a tent, having to kneel down on a hard tent floor and crawling into a sleeping bag only to roll around on poorly designed inflatable camp mattresses don't float my boat. Fancy fill 'em up with air, not so instant beds have a nasty habit of losing said precious gas at the most inopportune moments... as in the middle of the night. Brisk mountain air temperatures add to the experience of crawling out from a warm, cozy sleeping bag and breaking out the pump to shore up a sagging air mattress.

Sadly, I gave up tent camping and gave my kids all of the camping gear that was stashed in the garage, relegating these experiences to fading memories, and in between the pages of family photo albums.

Enter the teardrop trailer.

Upon retirement almost two years ago, thoughts of camping and fishing kept popping up, but poo-pooed the idea due to lower back problems. Large RV's and campers don't entice me with their siren songs of plush, mini motel-like accommodations on wheels, high maintenance costs, and exorbitant fuel bills. A-HA! Teardrops! Fabricated by the Amish of Ohio, I settled on a Little Guy Silver Shadow 5x10 custom trailer. Amish craftsmanship is nonpareil; reviews for Little Guy trailers were beaming.

Fortunately, there is a Little Guy dealer close to me in San Diego. I drove down there and was greeted by sales rep Eric Krag. Eric was very helpful in showing me the various trailer models they offer, finally settling on the Silver Shadow 5x10.

Being something that I was going to live out of for periods of time -- some may be extended periods -- Eric helped me to configure a custom trailer that addressed all my perceived needs and concerns. If anyone in the San Diego, CA. area is interested in a teardrop, I highly recommend contacting Eric. There is no way I could have put together a comprehensive custom package without Eric's extensive knowledge of teardrop camping, coupled with his infinite patience with the niggling I did over customizations and accessories. For those not near to the S.D. area, Little Guy offers a dealer finder on their home page.

Due to the teardrop's resurgence in popularity and a backlog in Little Guy manufacturing output on account of their reputation for exquisite Amish craftsmanship, it won't be delivered until sometime towards the middle to end of March, after having placed an order near the end of September.

I've already started collecting items to stock it with such as cookware, dinnerware, bedding, tools, camping gear, etc.

I felt a little sheepish taking back some of the fishing gear I gave to my son. I didn't think I'd do much more fishing since the kids grew up, got married, and started their own families, plus my free time and vacation days were relegated to my new photography adventures. Rekindled thoughts of camping by a pristine alpine lake or near a tumbling brook resurrected dreams and memories once experienced long ago. Hopefully, "I still got it." when it comes to fishing; we rarely got skunked when dad led the fishing expeditions.

UPDATE: My fishing luck has expired. Recently got skunked the last several times I went to my local lakes.

Very soon the Road Toad will be delivered, I'll deck her out with all of the goodies I bought her, and then go on a few shakeout runs out to the Anza Borrego desert, Joshua Tree, and some of the local mountains. So far as the plan goes, the maiden voyage will initially involve traveling up Hwy. 395 (My favorite route!), making stops at many of the locations me and the kids camped, hiked, and fished at when they were young.

Meanwhile, enjoy these two videos explaining some of the history of teardrop trailers and their growing popularity: