First, I'd like to thank Dave for planning and orchestrating a great expedition style trip! I have been wanting to go on one of his trips for years and finally made this one.
The initial impression was that the trip wasn't too different from the usual 3 or 4 day trips I generally do with the difference that you can range much further afield and fuel, water, and food become the limiting factors.
Another thing I found was that this kind of trip will amplify any problems with your rig and equipment that you may not have noticed before. I had planned to operate some HF ham radio but I found that the circuit that charges the battery in the back of my truck was not working properly. Between the refrigerator and the ham radio I ran the battery down by the second day. Fortunately, the power in the back was all joined with Power Pole connectors so I was quickly able to rewire it so that everything ran off of the truck starting battery.
I didn't think I'd need a solar panel so I left it at home. It would have been really handy to have to keep the batteries charged on the days we weren't traveling.
I also found some loose nuts and screws on the floor of the truck cab. They must have shaken apart on the rough roads.
I also became a convert to having a shower on the trail. I've had one for some time but rarely used it because of the hassle of setting it up and taking it down. I would just use baby wipes for 3 or 4 day trips. A shower, even a water conserving "submarine" shower, at the end of the day felt much better than wiping down with baby wipes.
Dave already did a great job posting picture so I don't want to duplicate what he already put up but here are a few of mine.
Here is my ham radio setup on the edge of the Grand Canyon at Kelley Point.
These little guys (actually I think they're gals) were all around Kelley Point. They would hover almost motionless right at the edge of the cliff. They were very territorial quickly driving away another other insect that invaded their space. They are a species of carpenter bees (Xylocopa veripuncta?)
Here is little forced perspective making one look like the giant Grand Canyon bee with a 50' wing span. Actually they were a nuisance sometime getting into your pictures when you didn't want them.
Dave enjoying the sunset at Kelly Point.
A truly spectacular campsite.
An avid photographer could easily spend weeks at Kelly Point taking pictures of the canyon, vegetation, and gnarled juniper wood lying around.
Here are some unusual looking clouds we saw.
We arrived at the Whitmore Canyon Overlook near sunset requiring an alteration in our dinner plans and eating by camp light. It is valuable to have flexibility with your cooking plans. I had planned to have a somewhat elaborate dinner that night. We ended up having a very satisfying spaghetti dinner. I have to thank everyone for helping with the cleanup afterward. I was really beat that evening.
Here is the view the next morning. I really liked the fact that I could hear the sound of the rapids below while in bed when the wind was blowing just right.
The campsite at Whitmore Canyon Overlook was rocky and barren but I did manage to find this one flower poking up between some rocks.
And here is the popular plate of food picture of our dinner at the Bar 10 Ranch.
And the obligatory "Normal Rockwell" dinner picture at the Bar 10.
