What a trip! 5/1/22

On Wednesday morning we packed up the bus and got ready to hit the road! To round out the story, we were headed to Rocky Ridge Outpost with our dear friend, Konnie! She had found the job a couple months back and had let the owners know that we were interested, too, but they were all booked up for summer help. Last minute, the other couple they had secured for the summer had to back out and the owners were scrambling to find help on such short notice. They thought of us and called Konnie to see if we were still interested. While we had several promising options that we were considering,  we dropped them and readily said YES to this position!

Our trip here started slowly Wednesday morning as there always seems to be more projects than expected before we head out on a big trip. When we got the bus all packed up, I took the opportunity to oil our live-edge pieces throughout the kitchen. It’s best to give the oil several hours to soak in, so I try to do it before we drive and can’t use the counters anyway!

We first tested out our cb radios, then took all the vehicles to get fuel, dump some trash, and grab some last minute items at the auto parts store. When we got fuel, Konnie’s bus was leaking oil really badly so we patched that up and hit the road, officially. It was so hot that our bus was overheating because our radiator fan doesn’t always kick in. We had to go really slowly over the hills near Lake Pleasant, so Konnie got a head start. A couple hours in, she called us and said she was pulled over on the side of the road because her bus had some issues. It ended up needing a tow, so we pulled off a couple miles down the road at a lovely place to spend the night.

Long story short, Konnie’s bus was going to need some work and tough decisions, so we waved goodbye to her and headed on north to try to make it to our job on time. We will see Konnie again when everything gets worked out. For now, we will cover her shifts while we wait to see how her story unfolds!

The bus was very slow 🐌 throughout the entirety of the trip, but especially while in Arizona, Nevada, and for the few minutes we were in California. Once we got high enough in elevation in Utah, the temperature guage literally jumped down and I thought the sensor had failed, but no – the bus was just happy to be breathing cooler air again! It was mostly smooth sailing from there. We were leaking a bit of coolant from the heater hose that needed to get deleted, so we made good use of the Lowe’s across the street from the Cracker Barrel we stayed the night at and just deleted it once and for all. Woohoo!

Finally, after four long days, we made it to our destination. And what a GORGEOUS  destination it is!

Rocky Ridge Outpost has several cabins, a tipi, and a yurt for rent in the middle of nowhere a mile and a half down a dirt road in Utah. The owners live over the irrigation pond, across their cattle ranch, and up the hill overlooking the camp property. There are chickens, horses, Prarie dogs, muskrat, badgers, and countless other animals we have yet to meet here! In the corner of the property, there are two full hook-up rv sites for the summer help to park at. That’s where we will be spending the next 6 months! Our job includes things like flipping the cabins, tipi, and yurt between guests; renting out the paddle boats, paddle boards, and equipment; keeping the grounds, stalls, and barnyard clean and welcoming; and some other general upkeep that we will learn about when we get our tour of the place this afternoon. Jeff is excited to get some ranch experience in, too, as the owner is in need of an extra pair of hands and a younger back.

We are all (including the cats!) so thrilled to be here in this gorgeous country and can hardly wait to see what adventures we will have this summer!

SOOO much more to come…! Stay tuned!

This post wouldn’t be complete without a special Thank You to Phil and Linda Ealy for sponsoring our fuel for the trip here. We are so thankful!