{"id":12934,"date":"2022-11-28T21:24:50","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T21:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=12934"},"modified":"2022-11-29T18:30:41","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T18:30:41","slug":"notes-from-the-road-16-28-february-2022","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=12934","title":{"rendered":"Notes From the Road — 16-28 February 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
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< more recent<\/a> | 16-28 February 2022 | older ><\/a><\/p>\n

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TX: Big Bend Day 2\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Exploring around the Big Bend\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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28 February 2022:<\/strong> Took a day off to actually go exploring around the Big Bend a little bit. Following the Old Ore Road south to the Rio Grande, I took some time to explore a few overlooks and do some short hikes. I even saw a fox, but was not quick enough to get a photo of it. I also saw some horses along the edge of the river and a young Mexican guy who had come to collect money and set out souvenirs to sell, walked quietly back to the rivers edge and got on one of the horses to cross back to the other side. Later in the day I took a few other short detours including a stop at a Dinosaur Fossil exhibit before turning back towards camp. The wind was picking up in the late afternoon and once again busted my tent zipper. I had to sleep with the tent half open! Luckily it was not too cold overnight \u2026<\/p>\n

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TX: Big Bend Day 1\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Crossing Texas to the Big Bend\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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27 February 2022:<\/strong> Today begins the real \u201coverlanding\u201d part of the journey, heading to the Big Bend National Park to set up camp. I decided to do a little bit of exploring on the way, and made a few photo stops around the Pecos River. Unfortunately I made an assumption that I would be able to buy supplies in the town of Marathon, which is the last \u201ctown\u201d before the remote national park \u2014 but there was only an expensive general store there and so I overpaid for hotdogs and wine before continuing into the park and on to Old Ore Road, which turned out to be a bit of a long Jeep trail that had a few nice scenic spots before reaching Telephone Canyon where my campsite was located. I hurried along the trail to make it to camp with enough time to get set up before sunset, then relaxed in front of my first campfire of the trip \u2026<\/p>\n

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LA to TX: Westward Bound\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Chasing the sun\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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26 February 2022:<\/strong> Left Lafayette in the quiet calm of morning, with the only sign of Mardi Gras being the beads my camel is wearing from last night\u2019s festivities. The sky was overcast as we drove into Texas along the Gulf Coast which was dotted with refineries. Stopped by chance at the Texas Welcome Center, which turned out to have a very nice boardwalk trail across the Blue Elbow Swamp, so had one more chance to view the swamp ecosystem before passing into the west. Then somewhere along the way the landscape began that imperceptible transition, and by sunset it seemed like the west was on the horizon. In fact, a very dramatic \u201ccurtain\u201d-like effect was happening in the sky as the setting sun dropped below the think cloud layer, splashing a band of bright red and orange below the ominous dark blue of the heavy clouds \u2026<\/p>\n

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AL to LA: Swamps and Mardi Gras\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Finding the Bayous\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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25 February 2022:<\/strong> Left Alabama and made my way south into Mississippi where I stopped to explore a bit of swamp as I got closer to Louisiana. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I did manage to go for a walk between some towering cypress trees at the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge before getting back on the road. Crossed into Louisiana and stopped for some shrimp and grits on my way to Lafayette. I managed to arrive just a little ahead of the street closings for the first of the town’s Mardi Gras parades. Even though the actual “Mardi Gras” is next Tuesday, the celebrations are starting this Friday night. It was cold out, but I went out in the street to watch the parade and collect a few of the beads they throw from the floats. It was interesting to see how it played out in a non-tourist-centric version. Afterwards I returned to the Blue Moon to listen to some music before going to sleep, but I was tired and cold, and didn’t manage to stay up very late \u2026<\/p>\n

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VA to AL: Racing the Storm\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Another long drive day and some bad weather\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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24 February 2022:<\/strong> Continued the drive south today, accompanied for much of the time by a storm that was moving northeast. It made for an intense day, but by late afternoon I seemed to have outrun the weather, as I was heading southwest and finally crossed the end of the rain at some point in Tennessee. I stopped for the night around Birmingham, Alabama \u2026<\/p>\n

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NY to VA: Getting Back on the Road\u2026<\/h5>\n


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Leaving Long Island and heading south\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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23 February 2022:<\/strong> Got back on the road this afternoon, chasing the sun. Left Long Island after finishing up jury duty for the day. Taking a different route west this time and began the marathon drive heading 240. By the time I stopped for the night I had already crossed 6 states: NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA and WV \u2026<\/p>\n

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PREVIOUS NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/a> ><\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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THIS MONTH:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nGetting ready for the next big road trip. Heading southwest and into the desert for some new exploration as well as a few of our favorite events. We will be road tripping south and then west, with some stops planned in Louisiana and Texas, before honing in on Arizona, SoCal and Nevada for a month or so…
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COMING UP SOON:<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nEvery Day Is a Clean Up Day<\/a> in 2021. Ladies Offroad Network<\/a> has partnered with TreadLightly!<\/a> to create a year-long program that encourages members to pick up trash on the trails whenever they are out off-roading. Participants simply pick up the trash, weigh it, take a photo, and log the location and time it took, then upload the details. At the end of the year there will be a series of prizes based on pounds of trash removed from the trails as well as participation in other TreadLightly! initiatives. This is a great way to do some good on a local level and make a larger impact via the national program…
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\nAdvanced sand dune training with Barlow Adventures<\/a> at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California. This three day driving and navigation program focuses on moving safely and effectively through large dunefields. Skills-building exercises are intended to improve pace, line choice and vehicle control, as well as developing precision map and compass navigation technique…
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\nTrail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience<\/a> fundraiser event running March 30-April 2, 2022. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2022 include Zabriskie Point (famous), Barker Ranch (infamous) and the Racetrack (learn the secret of the moving rocks). Other points of interest include Dante\u2019s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists\u2019 Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, Titus Canyon, and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…
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\nUSnomads.org is very proud to be presenting a brand new kind of rally experience for 2022 — the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally<\/a> a ten week event that participants can do from anywhere within the continental U.S.A. Competitors design their own routes as part of the rally, then drive it in a points-based online competition that includes optional activity tasks, quests and weekly challenges. The rally will run from 6 June – 14 August and is open to any driver within the United States who has an off-road capable vehicle — stock or modified. Registration is now open and continues until 31 March or until the event is full, whichever comes first. For more information see the Rally website<\/a> or Register Now<\/a> \u2026

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