On the Road Again. Boondocking near Williams, AZ

We left BlazeOurWay's Lori and Chris Z's awesome hospitality today.  

We're starting our eastward portion of this camping trip, and drove just a few hours to dispersed camping south of Williams, AZ.

Wouldn't you know it?  The site we picked has excellent cellular internet access!  So, no need for Starlink here.

After a late lunch, and some resting from driving, we went exploring in the Honda CR-V: Harriet.

We drove down FR140 and then explored the Dogtown Lake Campground run by the US Forest Service.  Nice campground, very wooded so I wonder how it would affect Starlink coverage.

There's many spots in the Kaibab National Forest where we're at.  Good dispersion and not too many other rigs about or near us.

We're planning on just resting tomorrow I think.

Tonight's sunset:

Starlink!

I finally broke down, and got the Gen 3 star link internet dish this week.

A few notes:

I bought mine through the Home Depot in Kingman, Arizona, since I could get the military discount through them. The setup and activation of the unit when sold via third parties is poorly done and a pain in the ass.

Once I got it working, it finally dawned on me after I called with RichardM, that my calculations for power utilization had been wrong. I had forgotten that the equation for amps used is different when the volts are different!  Thanks to RichardM, I figured it out and it was drawing the expected amount of power.  

Basically between 60 and 75 watts at startup in about 50 to 60 watts while running. This causes a 6 to 7 amp draw on the house battery while the starlink system is running. 

Presently running some tests, assuming known internet usage requirements, and will determine whether existing power generation (solar panel and flooded 100ah battery) is sufficient. 

On sunny days I don't think it will be a problem to run it the way we were expecting to access the Internet .  On the cloudy, overcast days I am sure the small generator will come in handy to top off the house battery.

We continue to moochdock with BlazeOurWay's, Lori and Chris Z.

Meadview is a quiet little town, more popular before Lake Mead water levels were much higher.

Moochdocking with BlazeOurWay

 We got to Meadview, AZ, Saturday, April 27 and have been Moochdocking at BlazeOurWay's  (Lori and Chris Z.) home.  This is their new base of operations after having been living fulltime in their Overlander Rig: Stewie for the last two years or so.

Yesterday, Sunday, April 28

Some maintenance done on both Stewie, the Z's overlander rig pictured above and also on Yagi, my TW200.  New chassis batteries for Stewie and adjustment of the chain for the TW200.  I thought I needed new sprockets and chain due to the chain slipping at times when going uphill above 50 mph, but no, it was a loose chain.

Today, Monday, April 29

We four drove out in Lori Z's Trailhawk Cherokee Jeep to check out a camping spot on the western rim wall of the Grand Canyon.  You can see this rim wall from the town of Meadview.

Approaching part of the rim wall:

Took about 85 minutes or so and about 40 miles of driving (the last half on rough dirt trails) but we eventually got there with no issues.  No way that Uma or the CR-V could have reached this campsite, mind you, high ground clearance is required.

The view from near the campsite:

We actually encountered my first female/armed BLM Ranger on the way out.  She was investigating a "trespass road" that someone had created.  Basically, someone had graded out a bypass to the designated route, which is prohibited by the BLM.

We got back to the Z's home with no issues, all of us a bit car-weary so we basically rested the rest of the afternoon away.

T-Dub'ing to Lava Butte

While Martha went to do some shopping in Henderson, I rode out this morning on Yagi, my TW200 to check out Lava Butte.  It lies outside, the borders of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The beginning of the trail, shortly after it becomes a dirt road from the trailhead off of Lake Mead Boulevard was pretty rough, you definitely need 4x4 and good ground clearance just to get on the trail!  (Big boulders and ruts with a decent slope)

Here was today's objective:

The way to the butte was not bad at all after the entrance, I experienced not too many technical bits along the way except the last steep hill before google maps said I was at the butte.  It was quite steep but Yagi did it with no issues, in spite of my reservations.

Lava Butte

I continued on the "designated route" on this BLM land, detouring slightly at times for pics:

Yep, this is the "designated route"

This rock formation caused me to detour slightly,

and no, I didn't ride closer...

Back on the designated route, I caught up and passed a white pickup truck only to see a spot for pics, so he ended up passing me anyways.  It's always nice when slower vehicles yield the road to faster moving vehicles when off-roading.

You can see southeastern Las Vegas Metro

I left Yagi after taking the above pic and wandered over to the nearby cliff edge seeking views of the valley next to me:

While at the edge, I saw this colorful rock formation...then I spotted the car.  See it?

Yep, either idiots dumping an old car after using it as target practice or remains of some of Las Vegas' mobster history...probably the first theory.  :)

A view of the valley, colorful right?  This is in spite of the light due to overcast skies.

Looking back the way I walked, can you see Yagi?

Once back on Yagi, one last pic of the cool rocks forming the cliff edge:

Soon after the above pic, I was at the Wet Lands Conservation Park and motoring along a sedate dirt road towards the outskirts of northeastern Las Vegas.

As you can see, storm clouds had been steadily gathering and I was anxious to get back to the camper before the rains came at Noon.  I would make it through the city tangle and back onto Lake Mead Boulevard without any issues and only got a little bit wet from scattered showers.

Not a bad little route, this Lava Butte trail, I'd rate it as moderate for a rider with my lack of off-road riding skills.