9.4.15 putting some miles behind us.

We woke up still in the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area and had a plan in place to get across the border into Idaho by nightfall.

Leaving our lovely camp spot behind.

We couldn't help but pull over when we saw signs for a kayak park in Green River, Wyoming.

Some lovely scenery near Green River, Wyoming.

Our favorite part of road trips without much of a schedule is being able to stop every time we find something of interest to see. We ended up on a wonderfully winding road through Utah that took us past some beautiful lakes and a spring.

Christian is becoming quite the photographer. He often steals my camera to snap photos and I don't mind one bit...it's nice knowing there's documentation of both of us on the trips we take!

My little shutterbug.

He's so photogenic.

We crossed into Idaho right on schedule and stopped off at a tiny grocery store in Malta for a few food items before seeking out our free campsite for the night.

The dispersed camp sites were about 10 miles down a gravel road. The drive was beautiful in the late afternoon sun.

There were quite a few cows to be found along the way.

Found an ideal spot along a creek and took an evening hike up to check out the view.

Beautiful sunset.

The best dinner seating around.

What a lovely perfect night to be camping.

dinosaur national monument to flaming gorge national recreation area. 9.3.14

After waking up in Dinosaur, we enjoyed some coffee and breakfast while studying our surroundings that we'd precariously driven through in the dark the night before.

Lots of muddy rutted out road.

In daylight, we realized what an iffy trek it'd been to get into our camping spot.

Getting out was a balancing act.

En route to Ashley National Forest.

The drive was winding and gorgeous.

Utah is truly a very colorful area.

And out of nowhere, a mine.

He told me to do something for the photo.

Loulou slacking on the job as navigator.

Ashley National Forest.

First view of the reservoir.

Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Flaming Gorge Dam.

The Campbulance looks good anywhere she's parked.

A dumpster near the Green River put-in. 

This day was so jam-packed with adventure that we have to split it into two posts so we don't totally inundate you with photos. Next post…paddling the Green River!

finally hitting the road. 9.2.14

Because we'd worked well into the darkness the night before we intended to leave, after arriving back at my apartment to load up all our stuff and Loulou, we decided it'd be a lot smarter to leave a day later than intended to give us more time to prep and not rush.

Loulou wasn't exactly stoked when we first hit the road.

Loulou finally got settled right where she likes it…in the driver's seat.

Main streets don't have to be paved.

Christian consults Loulou the Navigator.

We headed north from Edwards, Colorado to Steamboat Springs and eventually found ourselves driving alongside their local stretch of the Yampah River. Readily equipped with our river gear and a Hyside shredder we'd borrowed from some of our good friends, we scouted the takeout, left our bike chained up to run shuttle and headed up to the put-in to pump up the boat and start paddling.

Our Campbulance quickly attracted a local's interest when we had parked and were prepping to get on the river.

Pumping up the shredder with our hand K-pump. Thankfully, it's a small boat.

The river was barely high enough to get through some spots, but luckily, a shredder handles shallow water extremely well and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and chilly water on the four mile stretch we paddled.

The weather couldn't be more perfect and as we rounded a bend, we noticed some natural hot spring pools so we pulled over to jump in and take our first river dip of the trip.

"This counts as a bath, right?"

My brand spanking new PFD made the hot spring experience even more relaxing.

They had some fun play waves along the way and a friendly sunbather offered take snap some photos of us attempting to surf.

After we dried off and got back on the road, we aimed toward Dinosaur National Monument for the night. We'd read about some BLM campsites just outside the boundaries of the monument on a Free Campsites website so we followed the directions to a beautiful secluded spot under the stars and made our first dinner on the road.

Our outside kitchen space makes cooking around a campfire pretty darn easy. Just pull up, open the hatch and get started!

Our first camp spot couldn't have been a more perfect start to the trip. Next update...onto Utah and another river adventure!

last minute preparations before the fall road trip - 8.31.14

On the day before our intended departure, we worked long and hard to finish a handful of important projects necessary to us before we hit the road.

Below are photos of Christian working on a few framing projects to complete the kitchen (or at least get it a little more completed).

Working in a boat house means there's always someone around to spectate. 

One of our favorite tools we got for the project is a Pocket Hole Jig I found while doing some research on rv conversions. It makes nice clean inlaid screw holes for wood working. Christian bought some prefab wood pins that fill the holes and we're currently undecided on whether or not we'll use them. For now at least the holes look clean and professional.

We'd ripped the door padding off of the interior doors to replace the foam covering. Sadly, the inner part of the door padding that I'd hope to salvage were rotted beyond saving, so I had to cut new pieces using press board. 

Cutting window holes in the new door padding backboard.

Cutting foam-backed vinyl upholstery for the new door pads.

We were literally so elbow-deep in our projects this day that we didn't revisit the camera until we'd finally hit the road, so photos of the projects will come in the form of photos of the Campbulance on the road over the course of the next few days.

everything but the kitchen sink...oh, and that too!

Two nights before the big Gore Canyon Race (a race down a Class IV-V stretch of whitewater on the upper Colorado River), Christian was planning his lines with his R2 buddy Shawn (you'll also recall he was the one that convinced us to rip up the subflooring) and then to distract from his fear, helping me install the new Rocket Pump we'd bought for our almost finished kitchen.

Shawn and Christian getting to know their race boat and talking about their lines. 

Christian wanted to make sure that I mentioned that he and Shawn won gold in the R2 division. They're unsure of their time, but they were definitely first (...because they were the only boat in their division to finish).

This is Shawn and Christian about to huck a 12-foot waterfall rapid called Tunnel Falls. (I was lucky enough to get taken into a the canyon by a railroad truck to photograph this spot for the race.)

Kitchen counter in the foreground, Campbulance in the background.

A very big drill bit.

Making the hole for the Rocket Pump.

Prior to ordering the Rocket Pump, Christian had done some Googling to see what kind of instructions, etc he could find on the subject. There were none. Turns out, it's because you don't need any. The pump is literally installed with two screws (included) and you simply jam the water hose up onto the bottom and boom, installation complete.

Installing a Rocket Pump = drilling a hole and screwing in the two screws it comes with.

Getting ready to test the pump for the first time.

I think I was a teeny bit annoyed that the one photo taken of me during this project was of me vacuuming up the aftermath. I promise I did more than just take photos! (I think...it's been a few months...I could be wrong.)