Ride, Captain, Ride...

 

If you said, "Ride Captain Ride is a song recorded by the American rock band Blues Image.  It was co-written by the band's singer-guitarist Mike Pinera and keyboardist Frank "Skip" Konte and was included on the group's 1970 album, Open," you get 93 bonus points.  10 bonus points if you were able to name the band.

I got out for a ride yesterday on the CTX.  In the afternoon.  Notable because it was only in the 80s mid-afternoon.  I didn't take a camera or a video camera along, but I did stop to get a photo of a canyon with scads of saguaro cacti...

  And, of course, the obligatory photo of the CTX...

 I had considered putting a ride off until the next day - good thing I didn't...

 There are parts of the road where the edges are crumbling away - I am hoping that will be part of the repairs they will be doing.  I hadn't seen any other notice of that road closure previously, so I'm glad I got in that ride on Monday.

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Plus, there is another reason we will be occupied today: Joan and I have been having discussions about what we want to do this summer.  I would like to haul the scoots to the Black Hills for a month or so.  We haven't tried the cargo trailer behind the van, but the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight seems to be in line.  The cargo trailer is getting long in the tooth, but some new tires and getting the wheel bearings serviced should bring it up to snuff.  Assuming "snuff" is a good thing.

Joan, on the other hand, would like to do a road trip; possibly going north into California, Oregon, and Washington.  She saw an article that told of a good loop trip to see different things going north, then south.  No scoots along.

The downside of "no scoots along," besides the fact that there would be no scoots: no trailer for extra storage of stuff.  The RoadTrek is a great size.  The only thing lacking is storage for extra stuff for any extended outing.  I am not talking about just having extra clothes, but stuff like kitty litter, tools, easy access to camp chairs and a patio mat.

Now, I will admit that towing a cargo trailer changes that whole "easy size" thing - we would no longer fit in a typical parking space.  There are some campgrounds that have sites where a Class B van will fit, but not the additional 15' of a cargo trailer.  Some compromises are in order.

Joan has been lobbying for some kind of storage pod that would attach to the van hitch.  I would be leaning more towards something that attaches to the rear door hinges, giving it that rugged outdoorsy kinda look.  Those cargo boxes that attach to the door hinges are pricey - like in the $3k+ range.  One of the nicer pods that attach to the hitch would be about half that and give more storage.

She found a couple used Stowaway brand storage pods (her preference) in Arizona.  One is in the Phoenix area, but the photos of it look well used.  Another looks brand new, but is about 2 1/2 hours away.  This week is not packed with things in our schedule, so... road trip.  Well, day trip.  We'll see how that timing works.