Road Life Cooking - by Trail Gypsies

Recipes, travel stories, shopping tips and some of our favorite essential items.

Introduction: 

Hello, welcome to Trail Gypsies guide to "Road Life Cooking". This is my second trip on the road and I feel that this time I am finally figuring out the cooking gig. I’ve always loved cooking. I’ve helped my mom cook since I was little and always had a taste for good food. I love being able to create a dish from what seems like nothing to something that needs to be shared. My husband is amazed by what I create in our kitchen. We eat damn good, we feel good and each time (well most of the time) I amaze myself what I come up with. Ples kept telling me to write “that shit down” and I was like “Nah, I’ll remember it.” But I don’t. Now I know that what I am doing is good and something I would like to share with the travel community and friends. From shopping to cooking on the road, everything is different. The first time I went shopping I was saddened that I could only find things in large quantities. Now I’ve got it pretty figured out on how to shop for 3-5 breakfast, lunch and dinners. I’ve been wanting to write and share about our trip but could never figure out my niche, I think I found it. I am excited to share what I have learned and hopefully inspire more people to hit the road.

Our top favorite items to have while on the road (no specific order)

• Good cooking stove 
• Waterproof/bug proof shelter - Take it to Alaska or the PNW and truly find out if its waterproof and bug proof.  We continually tried to waterproof it but nothing seemed to work, finally settled on a big tarp to cover in steady heavy rains.
  
• Mapping devices - InReach, and Ipad with Hema Maps, GPS and paper maps.
• Good mattress/pillows and down comforter - we have a memory foam topper on top of our mattress
  
• Pressure cooker
• Coffee press
• Essential oils (tea tree is my favorite) - I make my own veggie wash, multipurpose cleaner, shampoo and conditioner. I have a small/portable battery operated diffuser I use in the front of truck. 
• She-wee/female urinal and bottle to pee in. 
• Bikes in good working condition
  
  
• SUP
  
• National Parks pass ($80 worth every cent if you are traveling in the states)
• Fruit basket
  
  
  
  
• Pull-out drawers
• Variety of spices
• Good sitting chairs
  
  
  
• Pooper
• Hand pump for water, able to cook and do dishes inside
• Iphone camera
• Hydro flask water bottle
• Yeti 32 oz soda cup and coffee cup and yeti cooler
• Mr. Buddy heater
• Mini broom
• Shower curtain
  
• Solar Pannel - Overland Solar
  
• Yoga Mat
  

Cooking supplies/kitchen set up:

We are able to cook inside. People always ask why we cook inside, first, we aren’t just camping, we are living in our truck. We want to have the option and ease to cook inside despite conditions outside. We set up the kitchen when we get to camp and it’s good to go, all my food, spices, and utensils at arms reach whenever I need it. I do have the option to cook outside if I want to, but have haven’t found that need yet. Also, when living with someone non-stop 24/7 it’s good to separate your living boundaries. I enjoy being inside, cleaning, cooking and organizing while Ples is outside doing what he does. 

• We have a stainless steel countertop that Ples bought me, basically because he knew how much I enjoy cooking and knew I needed to start off with a good cooking surface (approximately 72inches x 18 inches).
• Stove: Cook Partner 2 burner stove with an 11lb propane tank. Make sure you have a CO monitor, and check it at least 1x per year (like you do with fire alarms). An 11 lb propane tank lasts us about 1 1/2 to 2 months, cooking 2 x per day (sometimes 3). Cook Partner is good quality, we have had it for 4 years now with no issues. Easy to clean, good equal heat distribution and able to be tossed around in the back of the truck.
• National Luna 52 liter refrigerator - plugged into our 2nd deep cycle marine battery. Set-and-go refrigerator, all digital, light inside, 3 removable baskets.
• Tea pot - only room for one person at a time in the kitchen/living room. That means I get to sleep in bed while Ples makes me coffee (I have to let him play a little bit in the kitchen, and he can make a mean cup of coffee).
  
• Rocket hand pump from Camping world. We have a plastic tube that goes into a 5 gallon water tank, We have gone through a bunch of these hand pumps but can’t seem to find a better option. When it works it is great.
• 2 foldable buckets for wash and rinse (bought it at the Container Store) 
• drying mat for dishes
• dish scrubber
• tablespoon/teaspoon measuring spoons
• GSI Pressure cooker, Halulite 2.7 liter
• immersion hand held blender 
  
• silicon/“squishable” measuring cup
• 1 paring knife and 1 big sharp knife
• Plastic cutting board
• Strainer “squishable”
• Steamer basket
• Rubber maid containers - 2 for left overs or fruit/veggies
• Skillet - one large and one small
• Griddle
• Pot
• lighters - 2
• 3 plates and 2 bowls
• scissors
• 5 spons
• 4 forks
• 2 knives and 2 steak knives
• pot holder gripper thing
• Ladle, wooden spoon, spatula, garlic press
• kobob sticks

Important staples to have

• Fruit/veggie wash (I make my own with apple cider vinegar and essential oils)
• Multipurpose cleaner (I make my own with castle soap and essential oils)
• cocunut oil
• apple cider vinegar
• olive oil
• Peanut Butter
• honey
• coffee (I buy at local coffee roasters), tea and hot chocolate
• oats
• Pamela’s gluten free pancake mix
• dried fruits
• spaghetti
• noodles
• couscous/quinoa
• ramen noodles (emergency food)
• instant rice
• black beans
• diced tomatoes
• Cream of mushroom soup,
• boulion cubes or stock of some sort
• spices - salt, pepper, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, chili powder, cinammon, bbq rub, paprika, curry, tumeric, ginger, italian, thyme and cumin
• sugar
• vanilla

Grocery Shopping

At home I usually shop Safeway and I use the safeway app to help with coupons and discounts. We do find Safeway stores quite often. My favorite store is Trader Joe’s. I also love to find local grocery stores and local organic/health stores. This is where I can usually refill my bulk items. I use little plastic jars for my spices and I like to refill them without having to buy more than I need, saving weight and trash. I also refill my dried fruits, couscous or quinoa, oats and pasta shells. Sprouts or Vitamin cottage is another nice option. Our 52 liter refrigerator fits quite a bit of stuff and I have one pull out drawer for all for the dried foods. Our drinks go in our small Yeti cooler. If I take time to think about what I am going to make the next few days I will look up some recipes and make a list. I like to use the Yummly app for recipes or ideas. Sometimes I don’t come up with anything and just go with what’s on sale and come up with ideas as I go. I feel like my fancy meals happen with a little more prep. However my last week at Trader Joe’s I ended up going in and just buying some random stuff and ended up with some fabulous meals.

Recipes

I started writing down recipes 7 months while on the road. I feel like I put in some good time of experimenting and dabbling with what works and what doesn’t work. Most of the recipes will be breakfast and dinner with the majority dinners. Lunches are usually on the road, but I will talk about some options for lunch. Now I don’t always use exact measurements, I go with a tad of this and a tad of that. If you don’t like cooking like that then this might not be the best guide for you to follow. It depends on the taste and like of your guests who you are cooking for. I do some cooking in a pressure cooker. I suggest that you take time to learn your pressure cooker and each pressure cooker cooks differently so may require more or less liquid or more/less time. Know when your pressure cooker is pressurized and learn the safety devices and how to keep it clean and working. Also being a gypsy guide feel free to add or take away, and recipes that I make also depend on the amount of beer intake.

Breakfast:

Hard Boiled Eggs in the pressure cooker 
(This recipe did come from pinterest) When using the pressure cooker I still need guidance on timing and amounts of liquid. Hard boiled eggs work great for a rushed morning or afternoon snack.The best way I have found to crack the egg (boiled) (learned from Martha Stewart) is to crack the egg at both ends, then roll the egg lightly between your hands and the shell pretty much just falls off.

• 1 cup water
• 6 eggs

Add water and place pressure steamer/basket into pressure cooker, place the eggs into the basket. Once pressurized cook on low for 6 minutes, use natural release method and allow to cool, you may since under cold water, but allow to cool.

Trail Gypsy egg toast with bacon sandwich “toad in the hole”

• 4 pieces of toast (2 people) - make a small hole in the middle of the bread for the egg yolk
• 2 slices of cheese, one for each sandwich
• 4 slices of bacon
• veggies: spinach, avocado, tomato or whatever you like

I cook the bacon on the griddle first. When the bacon is done I get rid of the bacon fat and use the same griddle to cook the toast. I let the toast warm up for a little while and then I add the egg. Slowly pour the egg into each hole, trying to keep the egg whites on top of the bread. I then add some salt and pepper. Once the toasts starts browning I flip the toast, sometimes it takes a few flips before the egg is cooked (depends on how runny you like the egg yolk). After the egg is cooked I had a piece of cheese, let it melt, add the bacon, veggies and the other side of the egg toast.

Apple, Mango, Blueberry, Gluten Free Pancakes 

• serves 2
• Pamela’s GF pancake mix (1 cup mix, 3/4 water, 1 egg, 1 tbs oil)
• I used 1 apple/mango crusher sauce from Trader joes (it is a puree that comes in a “squeezy” pouch, horrible on its own unless you like baby food).
• cinammon and vanilla. 

Warm up the griddle, add mix and add blueberries to the batter while on griddle. The apple/mango sauce made the pancakes fluffy

Other breakfast ideas: Scrambled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, sausage, quick rolled oats with dried fruit, instant grits and sometimes cereal and milk.

Lunch/Snacks - Lunches are usually on the go, so something easy or just snacks.

1. Sandwiches - peanut butter and jelly; deli meat, cheese, spinach, mustard and mayo. 
2. Sometimes I make my own Chicken salad. One night we bought a rotisserie chicken for dinner and the left overs I used for the chicken salad. Other times I buy it from the deli. 
3. Left overs from the night before are always good options, especially if they are soups and can be warmed in the jet boil
4. popcorn - 1/4 cup kernels and 1 tbs oil (add salt or any combination of spices) The last time I used cloves and garlic salt - yummy!
5. Hard boiled eggs, salami and cheese. I usually cut up a cucumber to munch on while we drive. Noosa yogurt is a great snack.
6. If we are at camp for a few days and I could make something hot for lunch sometimes I make tortilla and cheese, or some kind of quesadilla. Macaroni and cheese, salad or a toasted sandwich with warmed up deli meat. 
7. Chicken noodle potato soup -  11/27 we are at Lake Mead National Rec area again waiting to take our truck to get some work done on Monday. We spent the week in Death Valley, every day a new place, taking down and putting up our home and driving all day. We love it but after a few days we need to stay put to just chill and do nothing. For lunch I had slim options to choose from, the last time I went shopping was a week ago (I did some really good shopping last week to make it a whole week). I had a package of knor chicken noodle soup (emergency) that I mixed with a few fingerling potatoes I had left from thanksgiving, canned chicken and some wide egg noodles that I have had for a while. The soup was pretty good and now we have lunch for tomorrow.
   

Dinner

Roasted potatoes in pressure cooker. This is one of my favorite roasted potato recipes. I love cooking with the pressure cooker. This is one of Ples’ favorite.

• Small bag of fingerling or small red potatoes (if I am making potatoes for breakfast I usually use about 6 potatoes)
• 5 tbs of oil (I use 3 if I am only using half the bag of potatoes)
• rosemary or herbs
• salt and pepper (per liking)
• 3 cloves of garlic with skin on 
• 1/2 cup broth (I use a bouillon cube or stock paste)

Heat oil, then add potatoes, garlic (with the skin on) and herbs, salt and pepper. Roast potatoes golden brown for 8-10 minutes then add the broth, once pressure cooker is pressurized cook for 5 minutes. Let cook the natural release method.

Chicken, Radish and Leek Orzo - 10/29, Lake Mohave in the Lake Mead National Rec area. This was my first recipe that I actually wrote down and the day I decided to start writing this guide. Lake Mead National Rec area has amazing places to camp, we were out there for over a week, so close to Vegas but we hardly saw anyone. Great spots to stand up paddle board. This week I did my shopping at Trader Joe’s (I love Trader Joe’s and would choose them every time, but you can’t always find them). I have never cooked with Leeks before and didn’t have a recipe in mind. The night before I cooked a green been and leek dinner from the Yummly app so I knew how to cook the leek. Usually I shop with recipes in mind but sometimes it’s fun to just buy a bunch of different things and see what happens when you put them together.

• Serving size 3, approximate cooking time - 40 minutes
• 2 chicken breasts (This week I bought the organic pre-cooked/seasoned chicken - 4 breasts for about $8.00) Boil for 10 minutes in package and let rest for 3 minutes
• 1 leek (pre packaged and cut per TJ)
• 4 radishes
• 6 oz whole wheat orzo (bought at vitamin cottage)
• spices - salt, pepper, garlic salt, red pepper flakes

Slice leek in 1/8 pieces, add to frying pan with olive oil and butter, single layer, at low temperature for approximately 25 minutes. Add radishes to the leeks the last 6 minutes of cooking time. Cook orzo per package instructions and chicken. By using the precooked chicken I boiled the water then cooked for 10 minutes while the leeks were cooking. When the chicken was done I used the same water to cook the orzo in for about 9 minutes. At this time the leeks are almost done. Cut up the chicken in bite size pieces and mix everything together. Add spices to liking. 

Green Rock Mill Surprise - 10/30/16 Mohave Road Special

• Serves 2/3
• Time depends on how many IPAs you drink
• Pressure cooker roasted potato recipe - for the broth I use chicken stock (1/2 tsp for 1/2 cup water)
• 2 smoked apple chardonnay chicken sausage 
• Couscous - 1 cup couscous 1 1/2 cup water, boil for 1 minute, rest for 5 minutes
• 1 apple - chopped
• 5 or so miny sweet peppers

1. Cook potatoes in pressure cooker per recipe above. 2. chop up sausage and add to a pot with oil, garlic and onion. Add apple pieces and splash of your IPA that you are drinking for approximately 2 minutes. Cover and set aside in another bowl. 3. In same bowl cook the couscous. 4. open pressure cooker per natural cooking method and now add the couscous, just add as much as you want, and add the chicken apple mix with a little salt and pepper and WALA!

Kelso Chicken Polenta with Pineapple Salsa - 10/31 Mojave Preserve Kelso Dunes

• Serves 2
• Approximately 20 - 30 minute cooking time
• 1/2 roll of regular polenta sliced in 6 pieces
• 2 chicken breasts (I used the pre seasoned pre cooked, packaged chicken breasts from Trader Joes)
• Pineapple Salsa (Trader Joes)
• Broccoli (side dish)

Cook Chicken (TJ’s precooked chicken is awesome, just boil for 10 minutes), I steamed my broccoli on top of the chicken while it was cooking using my steamer basket for about 4 minutes. Fry polenta for 5 minutes on each side with olive oil, garlic, onion, season with turmeric, curry and lemon grass. Serve the chicken on top of the polenta with the pineapple salsa on top of the chicken and serve the broccoli as a side dish.

Baker, CA mashed potatoes gone bad - Sometimes you have limited resources for groceries. We just finished the Mojave Road and the next town with supplies was Baker. The Baker Market had limited supplies and at first I felt discouraged and thought that there was no way we would find anything. That is when my better half said “Come on, you can do this, it is like shopping in Baja.” He then started grabbing things and then I was able to complete the meal planning for a few days. So that night I thought I would make mashed potatoes. I used fingerling potatoes and my immersion blender and well I guess I learned that the combination of potatoes and the blender make “gummy” potatoes. Well, now I know, I might just stick with my roasted potatoes.

Eureka Cajon Orzo - 11/5 Eureka Dunes Death Valley National Park

• 2 smoked sausage
• 1 zucchini
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1/4 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 oz orzo

I use about 3/4 of the tomatoes and drain the liquid (depends on how “saucey and tomatoey” you like it. I used the baby zucchini from Trader Joes (so use as much as you would like). Add it all together with the cooked orzo with cajun seasoning for a few minutes until all mixed and warmed.

Saline Valley stuffed Anaheim Peppers - 11/7 Warm Springs Saline Valley. This place is absolutely amazing. A beautiful oasis in the desert. Being nude is definitely part of the experience and highly recommended.

• shredded cheese
• 2 large Anaheim Peppers
• 1 lb italian sausage
• 1 package of 10 minute instant rice

Boil water, cut peppers on both side, keeping near stem attached. I removed the seeds (depends on how hot you want it). When water boils add rice and cook 10 minutes. Cook sausage. When sausage is done put peppers on grill and cover with foil until they start searing or blacken. I added some water to the griddle to make some steam. Once peppers are done add the meat and top with cheese and let sit on grill until cheese is melted.

Penamint Chicken Taco Salad - 11/8 Election Day Penamint Springs DVNP

• Boneless trimmed chicken thighs (1lb)
• tortilla chips
• tomatoes
• lettuce
• shredded cheese
• corn
• salso
• taco seasoning
• green onions
• cilantro

Sear chicken in pressure cooker with olive oil for 2 minutes, add 1 cup water and cook for 8 minutes with natural release method. Then shred the chicken using 2 forks. Add taco seasoning (I added some chill powder because I only had 1/2 package of seasoning left) Drain most of water from chicken and add corn and toppings. I added green chili 505 salsa.

Sequoia Mango Delight - 11/10 Sequoia NP

• ~20 minute cook time
• serves 4 - make extra for tomorrow’s lunch
• 4 mango Aidells Chicken Sausage
• 2 mangos
• 1 cup couscous and 1 1/2 cup water 
• Turmeric, cumin, thyme, curry, 2 cloves garlic and olive oil.

Slice sausage and mango. Boil water and cook couscous. Cook Sausage with oil and spices, when sausage browned add mango and couscous and mix all together.

Eggplant Squash linguini - I’m not so sure what to do with eggplant, I peeled it and sautéed it with oil and added mushrooms and yellow squash and then added it on top of the linguini. It was ok, but the eggplant tastes a little slimy. Need to work on eggplant.

1. Searchlight onion, sausage and cabbage skillet - 11/5 Searchlight Nevada

• 1/2 purple cabbage
• 4 Artichoke and garlic chicken sausage
• 1/2 yellow onion
• garlic powder, thyme and cumin

Cook sausage in oil, about 1/3 of the way done add cabbage, onion and spices, cook until cabbage is wilted about 15-20 minutes on low.

Wild Rose Chicken Cucumber Salad - 11/21 DVNP Wild Rose camp ground (where we got engaged in 2012).

• 1 cucumber peeled and quartered
• 3 green onions sliced
• 2 prepackaged chicken breasts from TJ’s
• poppysead dressing 

Once chicken is cooked cut it into small pieces and mix all the ingredients together. Add dressing to cover.

Holidays / special occasion / desserts

Thanksgiving Dinner for 3 people - Eureka Sand dunes in Death Valley National Park:

• 3 deli sliced pieces of ham per person (thick sliced)
• Roasted potatoes in pressure cooker
• canned corn and green beans
• store bought cranberry/orange sauce
• store bought rolls
• appetizer spread with olives, miniature toast with fig and cranberry sauce, smoked gouda and salami
• No dessert, I made a key lime pie a few days ago so that was about it. We did have hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and whip cream

I was able to spend very little time in the kitchen. Prior to cooking we just spent about 4 hours driving from Warm Springs to Eureka Dunes by driving Steel Pass. It was a great 4wd road with a few technical areas that required a good spotter. We then set up camp, I made a quick appetizer spread and then Ples and I went for a hike on the dunes. We came back around 3:30 and by 4:30 dinner was served. The first thing I did was make my marinade for the ham - mango-orange juice, cloves, honey and butter. It was quite a bit of liquid, I then placed the ham on top and covered it with all the liquid, covered with foil and cooked on low. While the ham was cooking I made my potatoes in the pressure cooker (see roasted potatoes recipe). Intermittently flipping the ham making sure all the sides are saturated in the sauce. When the pressure cooker was done and resting I cooked the green beens in my one pot and put my steamer basket on top with the corn and cooked both at the same time. When the veggies were done my ham was good to go and my pressure cooker was un-pressurized and BAM thanksgiving dinner was served!

Key lime Pie (pinterest recipe)

• Super easy no bake pie. This is my first pie that I have made in the truck. I was in California and so easy to get good fruit in California. I found some key limes and decided to make the pie. The hardest part was squeezing all the key limes, I used the whole bag which was about 30 or 4 oz. I also used a pre made gram cracker crust. I used sweetened condensed milk and regular cream cheese. I used my hand held immersion blender to mix the ingredients, add the lime juice last. It fit well in refrigerator over night and for the next few days. We topped it with whipped cream.

The Beginnings - how it all happened

In early 2015 we started planning for this adventure. Since we have done this before we knew it was possible and definitely not as scary. The scary part is quitting your jobs, moving out of your home, leaving your family and friends and all the "what if's". First thing we did was pick a time frame for departure, without a goal it's hard to work for. We then made a financial goal and started to make a budget. Ples and I lived off of my income and his went into savings, within less than a year we made our financial goal. The past year we still did trips, including a big 2 week trip to Switzerland. When we came back from Switzerland it was game time, picking up shifts and saving money. With doubt I kept chugging along trusting Ples and our plan. Making choices "do I really need this?" "How would this fit into our new life/truck?" Once you start living this way it becomes your lifestyle and it's just what you do. Things we bought needed to be multi-use and serve a purpose.  We took another 2 week trip in November and after that we buckled down. We turned down ice climbing trips and bike trips and instead picked up another grueling over time shift. Ples and I didn't see much of each other working opposite schedules and we didn't take our usual 4 days trips, some weeks were rough but we had a goal in mind and kept working towards it. On a warm 4 day in December Ples and I started building our new home. We gutted the inside of the truck and started rebuilding. Ples researched, drew out plans and put a lot of thought into our new layout of the camper. This is how our old set up looked:

After 4 days of hard work we produced this beauty:

 We bought a National Luna Refrigerator and made the look more organized and clean looking. Ples bought me a stainless steal counter top and drawers that pull out. Extra bonus was that I painted the interior PURPLE!!! We actually have a lot more space and a comfortable living space.

For my birthday we took a quick trip to Bootleg Canyon in Vegas to race and test out our new system. We came home with a few changes in mind and then we started thinking where we were going to put everything. As time went by we started purging things and compiling a pile of "must go's". We started selling items and buying new things with the money we made.

Ples and I were in a really good place in our work environments, with promotions, raises and offers we had to let down. In all, money and being successful is important to us but not as much as living our lives to the fullest and doing what we really want to do. We are both gypsies and have the drive for adventure and travel. We see it everyday how people save and work themselves to death, literally. How many people do you know that are about to retire to live out their dreams when either themselves or their spouse gets sick or dies. Both of our parents are at an age where they will need our support in the near future, it is now our time to take care of ourselves and do the things we want to do. The what if's are still there but muffled by "live in the moment" "be present" because now is the only moment we have. Many people don't understand why and how but many people do and have been inspired by our lifestyle.

As time came close to departure we finalized last minute details, built a shed for storage and spent as much time possible with our friends and family. Our to do list was getting smaller and on April 20th we moved out of our apartment. We really loved our apartment, location and neighbors and it was sad to say goodbye. We also had to say goodbye to two really good jobs, we had great employers and co-workers. Oh yeah and then there is saying good bye to our friends. We made some really good friends in the past year; we know that we will stay in contact and continue to share our lives together.

 After some delay with the tune up on the truck we left on Sunday April 24th. Truck and trailer loaded to the brim. 2 trail bikes, 2 downhill bikes and a paddle board. I fit 2 years of clothes in 1 and a half bags (cubes from Mountain Smith). My bathroom supplies fit in a small tackle box. Trailer consists of bike supplies, sleeping bags, paddle board and snorkeling supplies and odds and ends.

We drove to Fruita to meet our bike shop friends for a few days of riding. Feeling like just another trip, it didn't feel real that we were homeless and jobless.

Dan continued on with us and we went to Moab to ride with more of our friends. The weather was rainy a few days but we made the best of it. Jeff made it out and we rode with him for a few days. Curtis rode with us one day and we hung out with Adam and Meegan at camp. My bestie Carissa came out and surprised me and we rode 2 days together. We had a great time with our friends before we hit the open road. We also went to vendor night at cruise moab, got our geek on and checked out all the cool trucks.

Now it was starting to feel real. 1 week into it and we needed to take care of some business. Like most importantantly, a shower! It was too cold to set up our shower so we opted for a shower at a campground. End of week 2 everyone left and it was time to move on from Moab. We opted for the campground in town in order to use their electricity to plug in all our devices, use their water and once again the glorious shower. We had a few unexpected expenses: a few bike parts from crushing it in Moab and one of the welded hinges on the trailer broke. We ended up finding a great aluminum welder in town and got it fixed in less than an hour. With several days of riding under our belt it felt good to sit in the truck and drive. That night we stayed in the San Rafael Swells near Goblin Valley state park.

We hiked Little Wild Horse Bell Canyon. It was my first slot canyon, pretty impressive.

 We then drove through Glen Canyon Rec area to Lake Powell at Halls Crossing. There we decided to buy an annual parks pass, totally makes sense for us to have one. It was $80, 1 day at Lake Powell state park was $25. Ples and I paddled our SUP through the calm green waters and tall canyon walls. First day on the SUP is always a little intimidating, got that out of our system!!!
Spent an amazing night at the entrance of the hole in the rock trail. 360 degrees of nothing but mountains, buttes, plateaus and desert. We were completely isolated, it felt great after 3 weeks of crowded camping.
We played frisbee in the warm, quiet, still of the night and slept like babies.

Long drive through Navajo Nation to get to Flagstaff.

Then 7 months passed and I haven't written since. But now I am writing a trail guide to cooking while on the road, it should be good!