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September 2, 2010, a Thursday
near Sedona to near Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
— Moved to higher elevation to escape the heat
We took it easy this morning then I had my usual breakfast. I left around 8:25 to go for a walk, and it was 70°F (21°C) already.
I took a different path than yesterday, and the steeper and longer hills helped get my heart rate up. :) J also left to go for a walk.
I returned to the RV around 9:00, and it was 80°F (27°C). There wasn't a cloud in the sky and they were no longer predicting some clouds later today. Because the weather conditions weren't very good, both for general living (too hot) and also for photography (clear skies), we decided to leave as soon as we could pick up our mail. I worked on a blog entry, showered, then finished the blog entry. I put away the rest of my laundry then worked on a newsletter. J checked the tracking for our mail, and saw that it had arrived this morning in Sedona. :) We prepped the RV to move, hooked up the Jeep to tow, and left around 11:40.
We went to the McDonald's in Sedona so J could get takeaway. I dropped her off near the entrance then parked in the lot near Safeway next door. I made my usual lunch and J brought out a Fillet-O-Fish and fries. I checked some things online then dealt with a bloody nose. It was a gusher and took a long time for it to stop bleeding. We left around 12:40.
We went to the main Post Office in Sedona and picked up our mail. We got underway around 12:55 and headed north on AZ-89A.
We went to a Giant (gas station) in Flagstaff around 1:50 to dump, take on fresh water, and fill up with gas at $2.659/gal. We went to the Safeway across the street to pick up a few things then left around 3:40.
We headed north on US-180 then turned onto Snow Bowl Road, aka FR-516.
We pulled onto FR-522, the access road for the Freidlein Prairie Dispersed Camping Area in the Coconino National Forest around 4:05. Because the road quickly turned to a rough-looking dirt road and disappeared behind some evergreens, we stopped almost immediately to unhook the Jeep so we could explore with that instead of getting the RV stuck. As I was unhooking the Jeep, two people in an ATV came down the road towards us and wondered if we were going to take the RV up the road. They had gotten their RV stuck up there, and thought it was a good idea for us to explore in the Jeep.
I left in the Jeep to explore, and the road looked rather tame. I think I saw the "stuck RV" parked right next to the road. Camping is only permitted in designated areas, and they were really scattered. I only checked five sites (Sites 2 through 6), and we could use four of them if we had to, but two were more level than the others. All of the sites that I looked at were well shaded. While most people would probably enjoy it, we'd much rather have no shade so we can get good solar electricity.
We were level in one of the sites by 4:55. It was much cooler there than at our site near Sedona. We were now at about 8000 ft (2438m) and had been at about 4000 ft (1219m) near Sedona. As you might recall, the Environmental Lapse Rate, the rate at which temperature drops with altitude, is about 3.5°F/1000 ft (6.5°C/1000m), so the 4000 ft (1219m) elevation gain should give us a 14°F (7.9°C) temperature reduction — nice. We also had a fast Verizon Broadband Access signal. I went through some of my mail, and looked through an ad from REI for their Labor Day sale. They had some fleeces on sale, so I went online to learn more about the specs because I'm looking for a heavy fleece to layer with in the field. The Arc'teryx Atom LT Jacket doesn't have pit zips like I'm looking for, but it has breathable panels on the sides. I love the Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan Full-Zip Sweater (fleece) that I have — it fits well and it looks great!
We had dinner around 6:20 of steak fajitas and fresh guacamole, and both were the best we've had in a long time.
After dinner, I kept looking at fleeces and other heavy thermal layers. The Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Tech Jacket has pit zips which I'd like and the sleeve length on their Medium might be OK (I usually take a Medium Long, or Medium Tall). The Cabela's Polartec Classic 300 ECWCS Specification Jacket, Tall also has pit zips, but I tried one on (don't think it was a Tall) in a store, and didn't like the fit — it was big and bulky. It's currently on sale and is much cheaper, plus the guy at HardcoreOutdoor.com likes it. The genuine USMC Fleece Jacket has pit zips but doesn't come in Long/Tall and the sleeves would be too short. :( The genuine Army RFI Gen III ECWCS Level 3 Fleece Jacket is available in Long sizes, but it doesn't have pit zips and has lighter-weight breathable panels on the side — hmm. As I was researching, the Verizon Wireless signal dropped to a slow National Access. :(
I took a different path than yesterday, and the steeper and longer hills helped get my heart rate up. :) J also left to go for a walk.
I returned to the RV around 9:00, and it was 80°F (27°C). There wasn't a cloud in the sky and they were no longer predicting some clouds later today. Because the weather conditions weren't very good, both for general living (too hot) and also for photography (clear skies), we decided to leave as soon as we could pick up our mail. I worked on a blog entry, showered, then finished the blog entry. I put away the rest of my laundry then worked on a newsletter. J checked the tracking for our mail, and saw that it had arrived this morning in Sedona. :) We prepped the RV to move, hooked up the Jeep to tow, and left around 11:40.
We went to the McDonald's in Sedona so J could get takeaway. I dropped her off near the entrance then parked in the lot near Safeway next door. I made my usual lunch and J brought out a Fillet-O-Fish and fries. I checked some things online then dealt with a bloody nose. It was a gusher and took a long time for it to stop bleeding. We left around 12:40.
We went to the main Post Office in Sedona and picked up our mail. We got underway around 12:55 and headed north on AZ-89A.
We went to a Giant (gas station) in Flagstaff around 1:50 to dump, take on fresh water, and fill up with gas at $2.659/gal. We went to the Safeway across the street to pick up a few things then left around 3:40.
We headed north on US-180 then turned onto Snow Bowl Road, aka FR-516.
We pulled onto FR-522, the access road for the Freidlein Prairie Dispersed Camping Area in the Coconino National Forest around 4:05. Because the road quickly turned to a rough-looking dirt road and disappeared behind some evergreens, we stopped almost immediately to unhook the Jeep so we could explore with that instead of getting the RV stuck. As I was unhooking the Jeep, two people in an ATV came down the road towards us and wondered if we were going to take the RV up the road. They had gotten their RV stuck up there, and thought it was a good idea for us to explore in the Jeep.
I left in the Jeep to explore, and the road looked rather tame. I think I saw the "stuck RV" parked right next to the road. Camping is only permitted in designated areas, and they were really scattered. I only checked five sites (Sites 2 through 6), and we could use four of them if we had to, but two were more level than the others. All of the sites that I looked at were well shaded. While most people would probably enjoy it, we'd much rather have no shade so we can get good solar electricity.
We were level in one of the sites by 4:55. It was much cooler there than at our site near Sedona. We were now at about 8000 ft (2438m) and had been at about 4000 ft (1219m) near Sedona. As you might recall, the Environmental Lapse Rate, the rate at which temperature drops with altitude, is about 3.5°F/1000 ft (6.5°C/1000m), so the 4000 ft (1219m) elevation gain should give us a 14°F (7.9°C) temperature reduction — nice. We also had a fast Verizon Broadband Access signal. I went through some of my mail, and looked through an ad from REI for their Labor Day sale. They had some fleeces on sale, so I went online to learn more about the specs because I'm looking for a heavy fleece to layer with in the field. The Arc'teryx Atom LT Jacket doesn't have pit zips like I'm looking for, but it has breathable panels on the sides. I love the Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan Full-Zip Sweater (fleece) that I have — it fits well and it looks great!
We had dinner around 6:20 of steak fajitas and fresh guacamole, and both were the best we've had in a long time.
After dinner, I kept looking at fleeces and other heavy thermal layers. The Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Tech Jacket has pit zips which I'd like and the sleeve length on their Medium might be OK (I usually take a Medium Long, or Medium Tall). The Cabela's Polartec Classic 300 ECWCS Specification Jacket, Tall also has pit zips, but I tried one on (don't think it was a Tall) in a store, and didn't like the fit — it was big and bulky. It's currently on sale and is much cheaper, plus the guy at HardcoreOutdoor.com likes it. The genuine USMC Fleece Jacket has pit zips but doesn't come in Long/Tall and the sleeves would be too short. :( The genuine Army RFI Gen III ECWCS Level 3 Fleece Jacket is available in Long sizes, but it doesn't have pit zips and has lighter-weight breathable panels on the side — hmm. As I was researching, the Verizon Wireless signal dropped to a slow National Access. :(