Weeks 5 and 6: Big Canyons, Texas-Style

Buckle up readers, this is going to be a bit longer than the usual post. We are headed to The Havasupai Indian Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We will be living out of our backpacks and staying 3 nights at the bottom in our tent. We thought it best to dedicate our next blog post to that experience alone, so this post will cover week five and about half of week 6. Let’s jump into it.

The Grand Canyon of Texas

We started our week with a day full of exploration in what is known as the Grand Canyon of Texas, Palo Duro Canyon State Park. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife, the canyon is the second largest in the United States. We started off with their most popular trail, the Lighthouse Trail. It is the most popular for good reason! It was such a beautiful hike. The trail ends at a large rock formation that juts out of the ground. The path leads to an area where you can climb up and see the formation up close.

By the time we returned to the van, we were pretty tired. We ate lunch in the van and then did a quick, short hike that lead to a number of caves in some of the formations of the canyon. It was not an especially designated trail, instead you could climb around and explore the area at your own will.

After the hikes we were ready to clean up and get back to the campground. We noticed on the provided park maps that they have shower houses in the park. Since all of them were adjacent to campgrounds, we weren’t too sure if they were meant for public use. However, due to lack of time (we had to get back before the campground gates closed at 6PM), and a strong desire to be clean, we decided we would go for it. We went to the nearest shower house and took a quick shower and got out of there so as not to be seen by authorities.

Another Internet Crisis Saga

At some point during the drive in the Palo Duro Canyon, we made a mistake that had us feeling anxious. We had our Mi-Fi (a portable hotspot) plugged in and charging on the kitchen counter. Kendra later discovered the device sitting in our sink full of water. We had no idea how long it might have been sitting in there, but with the little hope that we had that it may not have been long, we decided to place it in a bag of rice overnight in hopes that it might dry out and work alright the next day. At this point, the hotspot is what we were solely relying on for internet since our Starlink hadn’t been working. Unfortunately, the hotspot was damaged beyond the healing powers of the rice. We were now without internet.

On the bright side of things, our Starlink cable had arrived at the post office in a nearby town where we had our folks back home ship it to. First thing Monday morning we headed that way, praying that the new cable would solve our issues with the Starlink. I wasn’t feeling terribly optimistic as I set the satellite dish out to test it. But thank goodness, that was the answer! We were back online!

It was disappointing to lose the Mi-Fi the way that we had, but we were grateful we didn’t have to be without internet for long. We are having a new Mi-Fi device shipped to Santa Fe for us to pick up later. We have found it to be very useful as a way to get service on the move or as a backup option when we are in a pinch.

Taking Advantage of the Nice Weather

Tuesday was a beautiful day. We didn’t have any plans for the day outside of work. We did much of our work outside to enjoy the nice sunshine. Kendra even laid out in her swimsuit to do some sunbathing. Once I got my work for the day finished up, I decided to make use of the nice weather to get some of the miscellaneous items on the van finished up. I climbed up on top of the van and zip-tied some of the solar wire to the solar brackets to prevent them from moving around so much as we drive.

We also have latches on the cabinet drawers and doors that are supposed to kind of lock them in place. The idea here is that they would stay shut when we are driving. However, that hasn’t been the case. Instead we have been placing cushions in front of the drawers to prevent them from sliding around. I was finally able to make some adjustments to the latches to make them hold tighter, therefore making it less likely that they would slide out. So far it seems to be a large improvement.

The last thing that I took care of was a small inlet in the screen of the sliding door for our Starlink cable. We had previously been taking the screen off of the door to get the cable into the van where we could plug it into our router. The inlet that I made makes this process much less cumbersome.

Exploring Caprock Canyon

On Wednesday, we tried to get our work done as soon as we could so that we could make the drive to a park that was about an hour and a half away, Caprock Canyon State Park. We wanted to get there in time to do a hike before dark. We hiked a pretty trail, called Eagle Point Trail. The park is known for their bison, of which we got to see plenty on the drive to the trailhead.

Because we were hoping to see as much of the park as we could in a couple days, we booked a campsite at a private park nearby, called Lake Mackenzie. The next day, we again got our work done in the morning so that we could do some hiking in the evening. We hiked our longest trail yet on the trip, the Haynes Ridge and Upper North Prong Trail Loop (6.8 miles, 873 ft elevation change). We were on the last stretch of the trail as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful hike and we felt like we got a good workout from the trek. Upon returning to the van, we promptly headed back to our campsite, an hour drive away, and made dinner. We didn’t eat until 9:30 that night. We have gotten accustom to inconsistent meal times, but 9:30 was quite late for us!

Our Tire Debacles

Up to this point we have been having some tire issues. Nearly every time we drive somewhere, we have been using a small portable tire inflator to inflate our rear tires, with the driver’s side tire being the worst. We have tended to lose 20 PSI or so on that tire seemingly due to a slow leak. We had taken it to a tire shop when we were near White Sands National Park, but the next day we had the same problem. We aren’t sure that they did anything to fix it, despite charging us for the repair. Friday evening I finally garnered up the gumption to find the problem and fix it myself with a tire repair kit that we had. It ended up being relatively easy to find the nail that was in the tire, pull it, ream the hole, and plug it. I am not sure how the tire shop missed the nail, but I was just glad to have the tire fixed at this point.

The next morning we checked the tire pressure. The plug held up well and the tire kept its pressure. But our tire problems would not be over. As I checked the other rear tire, it was quite low. I proceeded to hook up our tire inflator to bring it back up to the recommended PSI. This is when I would discover that our one-week old inflator no longer worked. The inflator was running very loudly and would not move the needle on the PSI gauge. I think it may be due to running the tool nonstop for quite some time as we filled up the tire the evening before, causing the motor to burn out. We decided it was safe enough to drive on as long as we were extra careful. On our way to Palo Duro Canyon State Park that day, we stopped at a gas station to fill the tire without thinking too much about it. It would be a problem for another time.

That time would come later that evening, when we left the park. The tire pressure was low again. Our concern was great enough that we felt the need to address the issue right then. We went to Walmart, where we purchased a new tire inflator. We tried to inflate the tire a bit while we were in the parking lot, but we didn’t have much time before the gates would close at our campground. We weren’t able to improve the tire pressure at all in the Walmart parking lot. As soon as we got back to the campsite, we ran the inflator again, this time for a much longer period of time. Still, there was no improvement in the tire’s pressure. At this point we were very frustrated. I proceeded to rant about my disdain that I already had (but was now heightened) for Walmart and the low quality of products that they tend to sell (sorry to those who like Walmart, no judgment, just not my cup of tea). The brand of the inflator was HyperTough, but I thought it’d be more appropriate if it were HyperTerrible. I mean come on, how can a product claim to be “tough” let alone “hyper tough” yet be built with cheap plastic in China and not work out of the box. But I digress.

At this point, we were left with a predicament. If we left the park, we could not come back since the gate was closed. On the other hand, if we didn’t leave the park, we ran the risk of our tire losing too much pressure overnight for it to be safe to drive. After some contemplation (and the release of frustration through a few choice words) we decided the best course of action would be to leave the park, inflate the tire and stop at a Home Depot to pick up a new inflator – our fourth tire inflator purchase. We got to the gas station to fill the tire, at which point I decided to see if there was an obvious problem with the tire. And sure enough! Another nail! Kendra suggested we fix it then and there, and I agreed. This way we would have the powerful, convenient compressed air from the gas station. I pulled the nail, reamed the hole, and plugged it right there in the gas station parking lot. It went well and the plug seemed to hold up just fine. This would be the third nail that I have had to pull and plug in the van tires. Hopefully that is the last of them. We then picked up a new tire inflator at Home Depot on our way to a free municipal park campground. The campground was about 2 hours away, but was on the way to our next stop, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Back to Palo Duro Canyon

During the chronicles of our tire problems, I mentioned that we went back to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I didn’t mean to gloss over this. We spent a good chunk of the day in the park. It was a cloudy day where the rain was off and on, so the park was not too busy. We hiked a trail called the Rock Garden Trail. After about 100 feet of the trail, I thought to myself “there is no way Kendra is going to want to finish this hike.” That thought came to me as we were trudging through the mud, climbing the canyon. But to give her credit, she was persistent and willing to give it a shot. We made it to the end where there was a beautiful view of the canyon from a cliff. We were feeling dirty and gross by the time we made it back to the van. We decided to eat some food and head to the showers. This time around we asked permission and they said we were ok to use them.

Sightseeing in Santa Fe, New Mexico

On Sunday, late into the morning, we left the municipal park and finished our drive to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Of course, the first matter at hand was to stop at a local coffee shop. We got to the cafe just before closing and I bought a cappuccino and some beans to keep me caffeinated for the next couple of weeks. From there we were ready to spend some more money, so we headed to REI, a place notorious for taking lots of money from us (but of course, giving us great products in return). Our goal was to get all of the supplies that we would need for our upcoming time in the Havasupai Reservation. We purchased a compact tent, backpacking meals (freeze-dried food that is cooked simply by adding boiling water), a jug to carry water, a water-purifying straw, camp stove fuel, and more. These supplies will be used in addition to the majority of the supplies that we already had from a previous backpacking trip we did in Joshua Tree National Park.

From there, we walked around downtown Santa Fe for a bit. It was pretty cold that evening and it was getting late enough that many of the shops were closed so we didn’t last very long. The area is very neat though. There were all kinds of shops, restaurants, and other buildings each with unique adobe architecture. We stopped at a local restaurant for pizza before heading to a free campground about 20 minutes outside of the city.

Chipotle, At Long Last

Monday was our day to get some chores done. We worked in the morning, then headed to town to drop off recycling and pick up groceries. We bought some of the remaining food that we would need in Havasupai.

We haven’t been eating out much on this trip, but instead have done most of the cooking in our van. Most places that we end up staying are pretty far from any urban areas where there tends to be more food options that are our style. We don’t get very excited about many of the large chain restaurants like McDonald’s, Subway, etc., but one that we can’t go too long without is Chipotle. When we found out that Santa Fe had a Chipotle, we couldn’t resist! We stopped there for dinner Monday evening and that would be our first time since leaving Ohio that we would have a Chipotle burrito bowl, but believe me, it won’t be our last!

Bandelier National Monument

Tuesday would be our last full day in the Santa Fe area before we head west toward the Grand Canyon. We decided to explore a nearby park, called Bandelier National Monument. The scenery was really neat. The parks contain ancestral Puebloan carved dwellings in the sides of the canyon. A trail runs along the canyon where many of the dwellings were built. They even have several ladders that lead up to the caves so that you can go inside and see what it might have been like for the communities living in the dwellings. Petroglyphs were also visible on some of the walls of the canyon where they built multi-story buildings. Kivas are underground buildings that the community would use for group gatherings. The park had rebuilt some of these kivas as they would have been back when the natives lived there between 1150 and 1600 AD. We didn’t spend a lot of time at the park, but it was very neat to see the dwellings, the scenery, and learn a bit about the history of the Puebloan people.

Tire Problems…Again?!?! 🤬

The following day we left for the Grand Canyon at noon. We had a campsite booked for the next couple of nights before we start our trek down the canyon to the Indian Reservation. It was supposed to be a 7 hour drive (emphasis on SUPPOSED TO BE). We would not arrive until midnight.

About halfway to our destination, Kendra said that the low tire light came on and asked if we should pull over. I shrugged. She pulled over. Thankfully she did, because our tire was clearly leaking air. After some inspection, I realized the plug that I recently installed was the location of the leak. I thought I must not have done a great job of plugging it. We pumped the tire up as much as we felt was safe and headed to a gas station where we would have access to an air compressor. We pulled in next to the inflator and I removed the previous plug, reamed the hole, and put in a new plug. It seemed to go alright, so we pumped up the tire and were on our way again.

We weren’t too far down the highway when we noticed our tire quickly losing air once again. Kendra pulled over immediately on the shoulder of the highway. We did some freaking out and releasing of frustration before looking for the closest tire shop that would be open fairly late (it was already 5PM local time by this point). We found one that was open until 7 and decided we would rather try to patch it once more and get to the tire shop rather than calling roadside assistance. I quickly pulled the old plug, reamed the hole, and inserted a new plug. The tire was completely flat at this point, so we would have to get it back up to a reasonable tire pressure before we could continue down the road. The tire inflator could only go for 5 minutes at a time, then we would have to give it a five minute break. Between all of that and the battery on the inflator dying. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes (yes, I timed it) to get the tire to what we felt was a good enough PSI to get us 10 minutes down the road to the tire shop.

While I worked on this, Kendra prepared dinner. It was not an especially pleasant evening as we had trucks driving right next to our van at 75 MPH shaking things around and heightening our already high stress levels. But when we were finally ready to give the 3rd plug a shot and get to the tire shop for a proper repair, we prayed that we would get there alright and treaded lightly, trying not to go to fast.

Thankfully we were able to make it there safely and before they closed. We asked if they could repair the tire and they said they couldn’t repair it, but they could replace it. They informed us that a tire is unrepairable when it is plugged the way that it was. In order to properly fix a tire, you have to remove the tire, plug it, and patch it from the inside. Good to know. They replaced our tire and we were out of the door at 7:15, 15 minutes past closing. We were finally back on the road and drove in the dark for the final 4 hours of the trip. We were extremely excited to be at our campground and to get some sleep that night.

Preparing for Havasupai

The next day was our final day before heading down the Grand Canyon, so we spent most of our time ensuring we were prepared. We picked up our permits, did laundry at a laundromat and packed our bags. We would be getting up at 5AM the next morning to head to the trailhead, so we wanted to get everything in place as much as possible.

Stay tuned to hear about our experience in the Grand Canyon. We are so excited for this opportunity!

Thanks for sticking it out for this long one. Peace y'all ✌️