Overland Travel ⎮ Adventure Photography
You have asked and we have heard your cries! Because we threw the bus together so fast the last couple of weeks of having a house, most people watching never got to see it finished. We have a YouTube video showing you where we live full-time on the road. Check it out!
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Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that we have begun our year of full-time living on the road and exploring this great country.We are going to document our travels and adventures with you through a new series on our YouTube channel. We have made it to Utah and we want to share the first leg of the journey with you. Check it out!
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When you make the turn on HWY 191 to start the descent into Moab, Utah, you transition from a world of pine trees and alpine peaks to a landscape splattered with globs of slick-rock and arches that are a million years old: it’s like being on Mars. We spent a week in Moab and found it to be a very interesting little town, with just the right amount of quirk.
Moab is a free camping paradise! The entire town is surrounded by either Forest Service (FS) or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. Not to mention the fact that you could probably stealth camp on Main Street and no one would notice, or care. You can see all of the campsites we visited while in the Moab area, we have included GPS coordinates so you can find them on your next visit.
Considerations for boondocking in and around Moab:
You can’t poop in the desert like you can in the woods
Seriously, temperatures can reach 100+ in the summer time and mixed with the dry heat can zap the energy right out of you. Remember to carry emergency water in your vehicle and always fill up at the visitor centers that offer free water. Below are a few of the free water locations we found in Moab:
Moab is home to some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes in the world, most notably in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. These national parks boast some of the most premiere arches and canyons in the World. The town supports world class mountain biking, hiking, and off-roading with a fine mix of culture and entertainment to go with it.
Arches National Park
Based on the name, you can guess what you will see at Arches National Park. Countless 300-million-year old arches abound in the park. These sandstone structures litter the horizon of this well-kept park. We became spoiled in Arches, because the road was just finished in the Fall of 2017 and is in excellent shape. On your way into the park, be sure and stop in the Visitor’s Center and fill up plenty of water bottles and jugs if you have them. You will be surprised at how much water you can drink in the desert.
The Windows Section of the park gives a warm-up hike to a set of arches that are all within a half-mile of the parking lot on easy trails. North Window, South Window, Turret, and Double Arch are well worth the short walk from the car.
Delicate Arch is the main attraction for park visitors and it seems the only way to secure a photo of the arch with no one in the middle of it, is to hike up in the early morning and secure a spot before the sun rises. We did not do that and wished we had. The trail to Delicate was littered with hundreds of people trying their best to climb the moderate slickrock trail. It was hard to be frustrated with the number of people, because at least they are outside taking their kids on a hike. The arch itself is beautiful and well worth the 3-mile roundtrip hike.
Devil’s Garden is the furthermost section of the park and it boasts the most remote trail in the Devil’s Garden Loop Trail. On this 7.2-mile loop, you will see Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch, as well as Landscape Arch. Landscape Arch was especially impressive due to its 306-foot span and interesting history. In September 1991, a massive, several hundred-ton rock fall caused a section of the trail to be blocked off. Hikers were the witnesses to the rock fall and had to scramble to safety.
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands has a lot to offer both in Island in the Sky and the Needles District. The Island in the Sky offers views and trails from the top of the mesa, down. And the Needles District is known for its needle like features that grow out of the valley floor. The two districts are only 20 miles apart as the crow flies but take over an hour to drive between them.
We opted to stay in the park at the Willow Flat Campground. The campsites were super clean and much closer to the attractions in the park than they would be if we drove in from Moab. Just down the road from our site was the Green River Overlook which sports an amazing view of the Green River from a couple thousand feet up.
Rachael’s Pick in Moab
If you only get time for one stop in Canyonlands make it Mesa Arch. This is a very short hike from the parking lot, about 300 yards. The arch itself was not the grandest we saw, but the view behind the arch was spectacular! We got up just before the sunrise and biked to the trail. It was a cloudy morning, so the sunrise wasn’t awe-inspiring, but as the rays of the sun began to light up different parts of the canyon it seemed like every few minutes the view would change just a little bit. The distant horizon started as just a dark expanse but had so many shapes and colors as the sun brought it to life!
If you have enough time for a little bit longer of a hike take the two-mile round-trip hike out to Grandview Point. Island in the Sky gets its name because the park is on a big mesa. This hike takes you to the southernmost point of the mesa. As you walk out and look to the east there are several layers you will see below you. About 1,500 feet down is the White Rim. It is a layer of rock that looks white compared to all the red rock around you. On this layer there is a trail, the White Rim Trail (they thought really hard about the name), if you are lucky you will see either 4x4s or mountain bikers making the 100-mile trip around the mesa. As you look past the white rim and even further down you can see the Colorado River several thousand feet below you. As you approach the point look to the west and you will see the Green River. At the point you can almost see the confluence of the two rivers and you realize the shape of the mesa is formed by these two rivers.
Both hikes each had great features of their own, but the commonality of the two is the vastness of the views. It was amazing to realize just how far into the distance you could see.
Mountain Biking
If getting off of the road is your thing, then Moab is for you. Whether it is in a 4×4 or on a mountain bike, you can find a perfect trail system in Grand County. Because we live in a bus, we chose to hop on our Mountain Bikes and check out a couple of Trail Systems in the area.
Gemini Bridges
This trail system has something for everyone. Easy, rolling blue/green runs or black diamond expert runs are available from most every trailhead. We chose to start at the top of the Mesa and ride the downhill first on the Getaway Trail. In hindsight, we would have started at the bottom and ridden up to enjoy the downhill on the way back to the trailhead. You are rewarded at the bottom with a short hike down to the Gemini Bridge which has formed over a stream and is a real sight to see.
Slickrock
The world-renowned trail at slickrock is world renowned because it is difficult. The entire trail is, you guessed it, slick rock. The terran is steep and you must have the appropriate gear and attitude to ride it successfully.
Bring the appropriate bike
It seems that the most successful of riders on Slickrock were on 27.5-29” full-suspension bikes, with flat peddles. Most had some sort of knee protection and had aired down their tires a bit.
Have a good attitude
If you never rode in Moab and you expect to fake it until you make it, you will be very frustrated at the experience. Come in willing to learn and willing to try a section a couple of times before you get it right.
Zach’s Pick in Moab
Klonzo
Klonzo has something for every skill level of rider, even specifically for young riders that are new to the sport. This park is located off of Willow Springs Road and is located on BLM land. The trails are well marked and well mapped. I really enjoyed the Wahoo and Vertigo lines on the North side of the road as they really pushed me and my riding ability. The trails combine slickrock and dirt singletrack as well as tough climbs and spirited downhill sections.
Start on the South side and warm up on Rollercoaster, then head over to try your hand at the more difficult but much more rewarding North side.
We typically don’t eat out very much and Moab was no exception, the only place we visited in town for food was a coffee shop, Moab Roasters. The coffee was high quality and they sold pastries and gelato, but no gluten free food options. Other than the coffee shop we did not eat-out, so this review is really only for the grocery store. The City Market on Main Street had plenty of GF options and they were clearly marked with reasonable prices. If you are willing to cook your own food Moab can accommodate!
We did laundry at Moab Laundry Express and it was exceptional. The building was on a quiet street, the inside was clean, and the machines worked great. There are also 24-hour security cameras on the premises, which made us feel even better about the location. The next time we are in Moab, we will do laundry here again.
Moab, UT is such a unique and strange little town that everyone should come and see. Even if you aren’t a die-hard mountain biker or if you don’t like 4x4s, Moab has something to offer everyone. Come check it out before it gets too big and too developed to enjoy.
As always, you can keep up with our photographs and stories on Instagram and Facebook as well as our YouTube page. We hope you are enjoying this journey and we are glad you are following along.
Below we have organized the campsites that we used while visiting the Moab, UT area and hope that you find them useful alternatives to paying high dollar for other spots in Moab.
Manti-La-Sal National Forest
GPS: 38.486044, -109.322178
This site ranks in the Top-10 campsites that I’ve ever stayed in. Thick pine forest, snowcapped alpine peaks in the distance, and a great view of the Moab area from around 8500 feet of elevation.
To get here you take the Manti-La-Sal Loop Road off of 191 and follow it around. It loops back to the Colorado River some 60 miles later. Only 15-20 miles from Moab, you enter the National Forest and begin seeing pullouts and campsites along the road. The site that we stayed in was a few hundred feet off the road and extremely flat and easy to get to.
The site is fairly short on downed wood so I would bring your own. Also, there is not a water source nearby, so pack in plenty of water. Don’t be the guy that cuts down green trees and leaves trash. Pack it in and pack it out.
Old Airport on 191 (Easter Time Frame ONLY)
GPS: 38.487989, -109.451691
This is a unique campsite as it is only available the week before and the week after Easter Weekend. These spots are intended for the influx of Jeeps that come into town for the Moab Jeep Safari on Easter Weekend. By the time we got there the following week, it was a ghost town. A few rigs stayed behind to ride some more trails, but there were hundreds of spots left. We camped on a nice level slab away from everyone else.
To get there, take 191 South out of town and turn at the Ken Lake turn. Once past the cement plant, continue straight instead of turning to Ken Lake. You will cross a cattle guard and have your pick of the lots.
Willow Flat Campground- Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky)
GPS: 38.384107, -109.888016
We typically don’t pay for camping. In this case, we did. We simply wanted to be closer to all of the attractions in Canyonlands National Park and we would have almost spent the $15 that it costs to camp, in fuel waiting to get in the park in the morning.
This campground is pristine. Even the vault toilets are the cleanest that I have seen. Each spot has a pull-in, fire ring, and pergola over a handicap accessible picnic table. The campground got very quiet around nightfall and was very calm all night.
It is a short walk (or drive) to the Green River Overlook and a short bike ride of car ride to a ton of the attractions in the park. These are first-come, first-served campsites and there are only 12, so get there before the 10AM checkout to stake your claim.
Willow Springs Rd. BLM
GPS: 38.695904, -109.681283
When people talk about free camping in Moab, they talk about BLM land on Willow Springs Rd. It is a little out of town (~15 minutes), but what you give up in convenience, you make up for in community and scenic beauty.
There are hundreds of spots along Willow Springs Road that can accommodate big rigs and small rigs alike. Get there early in the day and on a weekday if able to ensure that you get a good spot. When we were there in Early April, after Jeep Safari, there were hundreds of rigs scattered through the desert.
This spot has no facilities and you are required to have a portable toilet to camp there due to the sensitive nature of the desert soil. Be sure to pack out any trash or waste.
*The bonus to this site is its proximity to the Klonzo Mountain Bike Trail System. Klonzo is less than a mile down Willow Springs Road and was an absolute blast to ride.
Castleton Tower BLM-Castle Valley, UT
GPS: 38.642299, -109.376715
If your style is to get out of town and meet new people than the Castleton Tower BLM access point is a great choice near Moab. The Tower is popular with climbers, but there were plenty of non-climbers there as well.
The best way to get here is to take a day and drive the scenic La-Sal Loop Road from 191 in Moab and follow it 60-ish miles until it terminates in Castle Valley. You will see the campsite at the base of the tower. Another option is to take 128 out of Moab and turn South toward Castle Valley.
There are several tent sites scattered throughout the hillside below the tower, and enough parking for 10-12 normal sized rigs (sprinter van or smaller). There is a vault toilet, but as always, bring your own TP. This is a very popular climbing area, so be prepared for climbers to stumble into the site at any given point in the evening. It was a very quiet site with beautiful views of the stars.
Yellow Circle Rd. BLM
GPS: 38.426955, -109.419636
Similar to the spots on Willow Spings Rd., this location has a spot for everyone. It is the last left turn on 191 heading South out of Moab and the road climbs several different levels of camping. There are large spots at the bottom for big rigs and tent sites at the top, plus everything in between. The higher you drive, the more difficult the spots are to get to.
These spots boast great views of the La-Sal’s and of Moab. Like most areas in Moab, this is the desert and extreme caution should be had with the disposal of human waste.
That’s the list! We will be preparing one of these for each of the regions that we travel to as an aid to other travelers coming to a new area. Let us know if we missed any good ones, we would love to add them to our list when we come back through town.
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GPS: 36.655331, -105.977997
We had planned on pushing through to Durango, CO and instead opted to stay near Taos, NM in the Carson National Forest. We found this campsite at www.freecampsites.net and it was spectacular.
We are big fans of boon-docking and not paying for a campsite, but we also want to be out and away from town and other people. This spot was perfect for that. The pine trees create a very secluded feeling even though you could be a couple hundred yards from another camper. There was one other camper there when we stayed in early April 2018 and it was quiet!
The best part about this spot was that the ambient light from Taos, NM doesn’t quite drown out the stars like it does down on the Mesa. The result is a beautiful show!
There is much to do in the Taos, NM area including mountain biking, river rafting, skiing/snowboarding in the winter. If you get the chance, check out the Rio Grand River Gorge Bridge near this campsite.
The dreaded skoolie roof leak! We got rained on and woke up in a puddle of water while sleeping in our bus.
In this episode of our Skoolie Conversion YouTube VLOG we find the culprit, fix the problem and get a restful night’s sleep. Check it out below!
As always, check out the rest of our YouTube channel HERE and follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
FREE Camping on I-40 near Amarillo, TX (EXIT 76)
GPS: 35.19151, -101.725334
In a previous post we showed you a wonderful little public park to camp in on the side of Interstate-40 if you don’t want to drive any farther. But what if you can’t make it to San Jon, NM? Stop in Amarillo!
*Previous Post: Free Camping- San Jon City Park
Right off of I-40 and near a Flying J truck stop is the Texas Travel Center. This property is paved, well lit, has 24-hour security, and was immaculately clean when we visited in April 2018. We arrived late and there were already several trucks, motorhomes, and passenger cars there. We pulled right in, used the facilities (which were spotless and warm) and slept soundly. The noise from 40 was not very noticeable, and this was one of our more enjoyable urban camping experiences.
We camped here in our skoolie conversion and felt right at home. If you are travelling along I-40 and can’t drive much long past Amarillo, consider this stop.
BONUS: The infamous Cadillac Ranch is nearby and is a must see if you’ve never been. These mid-century automobiles were erected in 1974 by the art group Ant Farm. Each caddy is arranged at an angle supposedly in line with the pyramids of Giza and is affixed in the ground nose down. The cars are now covered in graffiti and have been recovered and re-decorated for several PR campaigns in the area.
Cadillac Ranch is FREE and open 24/7 and is a unique piece of public art that everyone should see. Also, if you see my wife, ask her how she got purple hands and purple paint all over her jacket.
Last year we got hailed on and got pulled out of the race 35 miles in. This year we entered Land Run for the 50 mile distance on single speed bikes; a new challenge for a new year.
This episode documents our training as well as our troubles on race day. Check it out and give us a subscribe and a like if you enjoyed!
When Rachael and I get an idea or a goal in our head, it is difficult to get it out without going after it. (Flashback to 2016) We wanted to ride a gravel bike ride together and we set out to do just that. Rachael had already ridden in the notorious Dirty Kanza gravel race in Emporia, KS and I had never raced gravel. To be honest, I had never entered a bike race until the Land Run 100 in 2017. We signed up to ride in the Land Run 100 and began training. We threw together around 3 months of training on mixed surfaces with distances reaching around 80 miles. We felt prepared and ready for the race when we pulled into Stillwater. Man, were we wrong.
The night before the 2017 race was to begin, a storm system moved into Western Oklahoma and brought with it rain, hail, sleet, and freezing temperatures. If you were fast or lucky enough, you outran the rain and missed most of the freeing temps. We were neither. We had two flats in the first twenty miles which soaked us to the bone and made navigating the rutted, muddy, red dirt roads nearly impossible. Tires became caked with clay-like mud, chains were conveyor belts for muck, and functioning rear derailleurs became all but a distant memory. The most common tool used to clear mud from a rider’s bike, a paint mixing stick provided in the pre-race goody bag.
On top of the mechanical issues, the weather became an obstacle in itself. Temperatures hovered around 30°, winds whipped to 15 miles per hour, and an unpleasant mixture of rain, hail, and sleet fell from the sky at will. The majority of the 1000 riders that started the race did not show up ready to ride in these conditions, and only 135 of them finished. Many rode in shorts, fingerless gloves, and even some road in sleeveless shirts. After our tire changes and enduring around thirty miles of these conditions, we couldn’t even manage to shift our bikes; not like they would actually shift anyways. We called for a SAG (Support and Gear) to come pick us up out of the root cellar that we had commandeered for shelter. SAG’s are support volunteers that in this case, drive their lifted Jeeps into the bowels of hell to pull unprepared cyclists to safety, or to the nearest truck stop/Red Cross triage station. Once at the truck stop, we were given an emergency blanket, a cup of coffee, and a ride back to Stillwater, defeated.
(Flash forward to the present) We knew that we needed redemption at Land Run and set out to finish a race that still challenged us, without nearly killing us. We made plans to enter the 50-mile route, half of what we attempted the year previous. The Land Run literature describes this event as “not a race”, it’s a fun-run and we were okay with that. We knew that if we took similar bikes on our redemption ride, we would likely break something and still get SAG’d. We chose to ride single speed. One gear. This way if the mud was brutal and caked on our bikes, we would not have any drivetrain parts to break. Just 2 gears and a chain. We upgraded our clothing and came to Stillwater with neoprene gloves and many more layers. We were over-prepared for what was to come.
We arrived in Stillwater on St. Patrick’s Day weekend to the same warm, welcoming spirit that often comes with a trip to the Land Run 100. The weather was beautiful, the ground was dry, and if there were perfect conditions to run gears at Land Run, this was the year. We, however, were running single speed bikes on one of the fastest Land Run courses to date. There hadn’t been rainfall in weeks, temperatures were set to be in the 60’s during the race, and the sun was shining.
The race began with a traditional cannonball out of the same cannon used to start Oklahoma State University football games and the 1000+ riders took off out of downtown Stillwater. The 100-milers were destined for a Guthrie, OK turnaround and the 50-milers were slated to turn around at Mulhall, OK. Following a police escort out of town, the gaggle of riders hit gravel around mile 3 and the dust cloud rose into the windy Oklahoma air. Shortly thereafter, mile 4 to be exact, Rachael’s chain picked up a pebble and bent a chain link. We spent the next 15 miles trying to repair her chain with the limited tools that we had at our disposal. One tool to rule them all: spare chain links. We borrowed tools and spare parts from very gracious fellow riders and limped in the half-way point.
Once we rolled into Mulhall we were greeted with gummi bears, the most delicious ginger ale, and chocolate candies galore, but no spare chain links. We developed a system as we limped to mile 25 that involved cruising the downhills and flats and walking the steepest hills. This kept most of the tension off of Rachael’s chain and allowed my legs to rest a little. We decided to use this strategy to work our way back to Stillwater. We slowly worked our way back to town passing a lot of the riders that passed us early in the race. The gearing of our bikes allowed us to move faster uphill than most geared riders and still cruise the downhills at a fast pace. Rachael’s chain failed to malfunction on the return trip to town.
We were greeted at the finish line by a crowd of screaming people, a hug from District Bicycle co-owner and Land Run 100 founder Bobby Wintle, and a cold Iron Monk beer that tasted better than any beer that I have ever had. These fans of cycling were cheering for everyone that crossed the finish line, as they should. These fans had no idea of the journey we had been on to find redemption on the red dirt of Western Oklahoma.
We will return to the Land Run 100 gravel race in the future, maybe even the 100-mile’r. There is something to be said about the movement that has grown out of the transformation of this college town into a destination for gravel cycling. Unlearnpavement is about leaving your baggage on the dirt and learning all that you can about yourself while you climb the rolling hills of Payne County and that is something that the Okienomads can get behind.
If you haven’t noticed yet, we don’t like paying for camping. We especially don’t like paying for camping when we are traveling through beautiful Western Canada and every dollar means we can stay on the road a little longer and see more of this beautiful country. Many thanks to the British Columbia Recreation Department for having so many awesome, free campsites and trails for public use. This one was located just down the road from Wapta Falls and offered amazing views of the falls and the mountains beyond.
How to Get There- (GPS: 51.109397, -116.500873)
Once you visit Jasper National Park, travel back down the Icefields Parkway and turn West on HWY 1 toward Field turn onto Beaverfoot Rd. Stay on Beaverfoot Rd for nearly 8 miles of rough logging road and turn left at the sign for Wapta Falls Recreation Site. The dirt road to the campsites is rutted and could be difficult to navigate in wet weather. We managed fine through a few puddles in a 19 ft. Class C RV. Getting out was a little tricky, but with some careful driving we made it out with no problem.
We pulled in at night and didn’t really understand how good of a FREE camping spot we had stumbled upon. Rachael started working on a delicious meal of red beans and rice and I took a walk outside to see what I could see, and hear. The sound of Wapta Falls 2000 feet below was LOUD! And if the stars could make noise they would have drown out the falls. This was by far the best night for night photography on our trip, but it didn’t last long. By the time Rachael got done with dinner, most of the stars had hidden themselves behind cloud cover.
We rested easy knowing that the parking brake was on and that we would awake to the sound of a mountain waterfall and what was sure to be a beautiful view. We slept in the next morning and awoke to great conditions and undoubtedly one of the best views of the trip. Chancellor Peak and Mt. Vaux dominate the horizon and Wapta Falls, massive in its own right, is dwarfed by the peaks above. It is crazy to think that only a day before we were hiking to the abandoned campground and the hoodoos at the base of Chancellor Peak and now we were viewing the same peak from a great distance.
You could say that there were facilities here. There were a couple of fire pit areas and a couple of picnic tables that seemed to be pretty well maintained. There was also a pit toilet between the campsites that seemed to be in okay shape. We would definitely poop here again.
Activities in the Area–
It really was a shame that we had to leave this campsite so soon, but we had more to see in Yoho and time was starting to run out on our Canadian adventure. We hope that you enjoyed our review of this campsite and hope that you continue to follow our adventures on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook as @okienomads.
