Mother Nature Calls the Shots - Valley of the Gods Boondocking Chaos

have you ever been camping in a beautiful place where the weather was just perfect only to have it get progressively worse well that's exactly what happened to us on our recent trip to Valley of the Gods Utah we arrived on a sunny day with clear skies and by the end we were stuck in a raging Sandstorm with 85 mile per hour winds it was an experience we'll never forget and were anxious to share it with you in this video campsite at gooseneck State Park and drove just a few miles north of U.S 163 to arrive at the BLM administered Valley of the Gods the drive up us-163 Was A Feast for the eyes with its stunning Red Rocks and deep blue skies note the left turn into Valley of the Gods comes up quite abruptly and is only indicated by a rather small sign ific Creek Crossing greets you near the entrance and we were concerned due to all the recent weather but it ended up not being a problem the road in gets a bit bumpy at times but almost any rig can make it provided you drive the appropriate speed note our video here is sped up a bit in the interest of time it wasn't long before we found the perfect spot right behind Battleship Rock [Music] we were aware of some predicted high winds in the coming days so we carefully oriented our trailer facing Southwest into the forecasted wind direction [Music] this was an absolutely stunning Camp spot and we were so happy it was available we settled down for the evening with a simple meal of burgers and grilled veggies thank you we were greeted by stunning scenery the next morning and by some free-range cattle [Music] and driving on the roads here because there are free-range cattle everywhere later we made our way up to the famous mokey dugway it is three mile long road ascends the cliff on Cedar Mesa connecting Utah 261 with U.S 163 built back in the 50s this road was used to haul uranium ore from the Happy Jack mine to the mill in halchita near Mexican hat foreign [Music] it has no fewer than 21 switchbacks on an 11 grade and it is not recommended for vehicles longer than 28 feet or more than 10 000 pounds the in other words leave your rig in the valley below and if you're not a fan of steep Mountain Roads you might want to give this one a pass [Music] thank you the few times we have made this drive we always see pickup trucks bringing firewood down from the Mesa which is pretty heavily wooded that seems like a tough way to get firewood once you get to the top you can check out the Mesa or turn around and go back down like we did on this trip I guess it's famous to leave your sticker on the road signs here drive down are even more stunning with overlooks of the Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley [Music] I can't imagine the amount of work it was carving this road into the Cliff face [Music] on our way back we saw a Class C making its way down that must have been an interesting ride we made our way back to Camp to settle in for the day [Music] the weather had changed it was overcast and considerably cooler decided to drive around the loop and check out some of the other Camp spots [Music] the sunny weather from the day before gave way to light snow [Music] part of bears years National Monument Valley of the Gods dates back millions of years to the Permian period when it was covered by a shallow sea over time the water receded and the iron in the Rocks mixed with oxygen to form rust which gives the Rocks their distinctive red and purple colors [Music] this area has been inhabited by Native Americans for hundreds of years when the ancient Pueblo people lived here the Navajo who later occupied this area still considered this land to be sacred and their mythology holds that these boots and spiers contain the spirits of Navajo Warriors [Applause] thank you in the early 1900s the Valley of the Gods became a popular destination for artists and photographers [Music] foreign Valley of the Gods Road stretches 17 miles between its two entrances the Western entrance attaches to Utah 261 and the one we came in on the Eastern entrance to U.S 163. we prefer the Eastern entrance as it seems to have more big rig friendly campsites with better views [Music] thank you the further you go back into the canyon the more stunning the scenery becomes however be aware that the road at the back of the Canyon is more challenging and is not recommended for large vehicles [Music] there are many activities available here and some of the favorites include hiking bicycling rock climbing and of course photography [Music] foreign [Music] it does get pretty hot here in the summertime even though the elevation is 4 500 feet average temperatures in summertime are 95 degrees so plan accordingly [Music] also keep in mind there is no service here at all no water no electric no trash and no internet none of our carriers picked up any signal at all [Music] however starlink worked quite well just make sure you don't back up to a steep Cliff that might block your view of the northern sky hey that car has four different types of wheels on it dinner that night was a simple salad and pasta with a hearty Ragu [Music] foreign this is one of if not the most picturesque views we have stayed at the next morning the clouds held an ominous message [Music] the day of predicted high winds and the forecast had been revised with wind gusts above 85 miles per hour about as fast as they get here we keep some sandbags in the truck and they came in handy for the starlink dish which surprisingly worked okay during the storm [Music] although we thought we had aimed the trailer into the wind the forecast was off and so were we by about 40 degrees thank you as a result the trailer was balancing around considerably each time the wind gusted making for a harrowing stay foreign at one point the wind gusted so hard it blew the trailer towards the slide side D waiting the campsite and then it blew the 4x6 block I had under the rear scissor jack about 30 feet away wish I had got that on film [Music] watch this bush Flying high in the sky that's about five feet in diameter it's not a small weed [Music] not knowing if the winds were going to get worse or not we made the decision to hook up and repoint the trailer into the wind we felt there was risk moving the trailer but also risking leaving it as is we managed to move it without unhooking the starlink amazingly enough [Music] once we got the trailer headed directly into the wind it was a lot more comfortable inside we can honestly say we have never been in wins like this before and hope to never be in them again tell us about your worst wind experience in the comments please the next morning it was still again the storm had blown through we used the Drone to do a quick roof inspection for the most part things were okay I manually tested the solar panels and they were all still well attached foreign there was of course Red Dust everywhere outside the trailer and inside it blew through every little crack and crevice you could imagine [Music] after we convinced ourselves that no critical damage had been suffered we broke camp and headed back to us-163 [Music] we'll drop the coordinates for this Campsite in the description it was great despite the Windstorm and could easily house a few rigs this site is pretty far back however and there is one wash Crossing that if you have a low clearance you might not want to pass we encountered a number of other campers on the way back some were just arriving maybe they knew what they missed the previous day or maybe they were just lucky [Music] these guys have brought all sorts of toys with them keep in mind off-road riding may be limited to certain areas here good we couldn't believe it when we passed this tent I cannot imagine they were there the previous day it was tough enough in an RV [Music] [Applause] [Music] we came across this large group of campers who were still licking their wounds from the prior day's events [Music] While most of the road has plenty of room to pass there are few spots that will be tight if two big rigs meet despite the horrific Sandstorm we love this area and will return it's truly a special place [Music] we have a full hookup spot and laundry service waiting for us in Blanding which is going to be super welcome after this long stretch of boondocking we thank you for joining us on this trip and hope you will give us a like And subscribe to our channel for more content like this see you in Capitol Reef National Park [Music]

Channel: Bob and Dang's Journey

Views: 6,846

Keywords: valley of the gods utah, utah, moki dugway, mexican hat, monument valley, rv life, free camping in utah, valley of the gods, utah road trip, moki dugway utah, rv lifestyle, utah camping, southern utah, dispersed camping, free camping, boondocking, mexican hat rock, moki dugway switchbacks

Id: NLgaf9QXMYM

Length: 14min 31sec (871 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 17 2023