The DeTour Trip Report-As told by Blackdawg

Soon we were overlooking the area we had just driven through including the river crossing. Not a bad spot for a good sandwich.


The DeTour-104.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-106.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00050 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

IMG_4352 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4353 by mike digirat, on Flickr

The DeTour-107.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_4355 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4356x by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4357 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4360 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4361 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4362 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4364 by mike digirat, on Flickr


I always enjoy seeing river confluences. While not as dramatic as the Green flowing into the Colorada, it was a familiar look with the Dolores flowing into the Colorado.


The DeTour-105.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_4368 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4371 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Of course Dewey bridge was still in view as well.


IMG_4372 by mike digirat, on Flickr


So many roads..so little time..


IMG_4375 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4376 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4377z by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4378 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Food in our bellys we set back on the road only to encounter some very bad mud again.


The DeTour-108.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-109.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Our trucks were not multiculturally muddy


2017-09-30 - 00051 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

The DeTour-116.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-117.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Thankfully it was only a few miles of slop and we came over a ridge to look down into a lovely valley.


The DeTour-110.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_4379 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00052 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

The DeTour-111.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-112.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_4381 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Its always fun to see where you’re going.


The DeTour-113.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-114.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-115.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


The valley was quite lovely and there were offshoots here to explore, alas not for us. It was getting into the end of the day and we still had no idea where we would be camping tonight. The scenery was lovely though.


The DeTour-118.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-119.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-120.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-121.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00053 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00054 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

The DeTour-122.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-123.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Mud was definitely a major part of this trip no matter where we seemed to go..


2017-09-30 - 00055 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


None now though thank god! We continued down the road as its wound through some lovely country with some great cliffs.


The DeTour-124.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00056 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

The DeTour-125.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


And then..it stopped.


Suddenly we were not in the backcountry again but in ranch country. Properties where everywhere now and we were suddenly on a county road. Which soon turned into pavement.


Damn.


Seemed our dirt adventure had come to a rather sudden end. We pulled over and aired up once again Dan and Mike helping me and filling up a tire or two.


The DeTour-126.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00057 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


The adventure was done..


2017-09-30 - 00058 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


Well not really..


We had little idea of where we were and no idea where to camp. So we just starting driving. We were in beautiful country by had little clue on what was public land. Looking at the maps suggested a spot off the highway but after some exploring, we came up empty.


Back on the highway we realized we were right on the edge of the Colorado National Monument. There were some roads there and we set off. Was quite pretty!


The DeTour-127.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


However we realized this was not going to be a place with dispersed camping. At least near by. We wound our way through and turned off at Black Ridge Road which at least on the map looked promising. We drove a long ways before coming out on top of a mesa. I went left and Dan and Mike went right to find us a spot.


By now the sun was setting and doing wonderful things with the light.


The DeTour-128.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


My spot came up short but Dan and Mike found something promising and called me back to them.


The DeTour-129.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-130.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-131.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


The spot they found was a ridge overlooking a valley of some house’s just South of Fruita. It would do just nicely. Mike and Dan had already gotten comfortable.


IMG_4383 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00059 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


I arrived and quickly approved.


2017-09-30 - 00060 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00061 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


We then setup and watch one hell of a sunset with storm cells traveling north and south of us.


IMG_4384 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4385 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4387 by mike digirat, on Flickr

The DeTour-132.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_4388 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_4389 by mike digirat, on Flickr

The DeTour-133.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-134.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00062 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00063 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00064 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-30 - 00065 - The De-Tour - Day 14 by Dan, on Flickr


This would be our last night together. It had be a glorious trip with so many ups and downs. And plenty of problems to overcome and adapt too. Mike and I joked that Dan would never want to come on another trip with us with all the shit that had gone not as planned. He of course laughed it off and had loved it all.


We all had. Dan had fit in out group perfectly and we knew he would be coming on more trips. The last campfire was a cold one but a jolly one with sad undertones as they always do. But we soon all turned in for the night, none of us really looking forward to the next day. Though we had come full circle just about from our unplanned Detour back near Loma near the start of the Kokopelli. And we finished it as we started, covered in mud.







The fact it was rainy and cold in the morning didn’t help either..


The DeTour-135.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Packing was slow for us. But naturally, once we had packed up, the weather broke!


Figures..


We then set off to get to Furita our final farewell point.


The morning drive blew us away though.


We came down from the mesa and back on the main road through the monument and quickly got to see why it was a monument. It was beautiful here.


The DeTour-136.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Sadly, and regrettably, we didn’t stop for photos but continued down the goregous canyon walls to the bottom where we suddenly were at a toll gate.


“Shit did we have to pay to get in here?” I asked.


Of course we had seen no toll to get in the way we had entered.


I pulled up to the booth and the elderly women smiled and asked for my pass.


“I don’t have one, we came in from the south west side from Utah, do we need to pay to get out?” I asked.


She shrugged her shoulders “I have no idea” she said with a laugh. “Go on through!”


Cool beans!


We headed into town, got gas, washed the windows. Then said our farewells.


It would be a few month till we got to see eachother again. I headed north and Dan and Mike headed Northwest.


What an awesome trip.


Plus this happened just outside Craig:


The DeTour-137.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The DeTour-138.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


I can’t think of a better way to hit 200k on a tacoma than on an adventure.


And what an adventure it was, more than half of it was totally unplanned.


One thing is for certain, Mother nature sure knows how to derail plans and is always the winner. Or is she? We still had a good time and everything worked out even better than I thought it would. Goes to show that sometimes even if you spend all the effort to plan something out. You should always be ready for anything and be ready to take a few detours to make it happen.


Is that what being adventurous is all about?


Hell, one could even say there is no such things as..



DeTours.









Thanks for reading my story.

Enjoy the De-Tour story? There's more - @turbodb also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/19161719
Read the full story:
As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]

As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]​

 

Credits:

Narrated, Photos, Photos compiled by:

Monte, aka @Blackdawg driving Frankenstein and Igor:
​

Photos and second narration by:

Dan, aka @turbodb :


Photos by:

Mike, aka @Digiratus Driving the Red Head
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Photos by:

Ben @m3bassman and Kirsten



Friends who joined us:

Zane, aka @SpeedyTech



Dan, aka @drr



Mark, aka Derp, aka @IDtrucks



Glenn, aka @Glenn_R



And my lovely lady

Devin





See you on the trail!

Other Trip Reports:

August 2014: The S.O.S Report: The Full Story
August 2015: Fires, Tires, n Bears. OOH YEEA!
August 2016: Alberta Bound & Beyond
March 2017: ImpromptU-ah! Back to Utah We Go!
September 2017: The DeTour​

 

At last its done!

over a year over due! Sorry about the wait!


two more long trips to write about in the works from this year

 

Awesome man, love it! Thanks for having me along . We should do a good chunk of the trip again so we can actually see everything when it's not snowing, hahahahahaha.

 

Sounds like a plan

 

Well, now that I finished yours I'll have to go back and read Dan's. Nice report as always Monte!

 

Thanks Gavyn!

Working on photos for the last two now..haha

 

What an awesome adventure! Some great photos and fun story telling. Until this last October I had never dealt with the Utah mud. Now that I have, it adds a whole new element to the story. That is the slickest and stickiest mud / clay mixture I've ever had to deal with!

 

Yeah most the mid we hit in southern Mt and wy is the same. It's high bentonite content makes it a total bitch. Plus it's like super glue when it dries. Nasty stuff. It's pretty much anywhere in the Badlands.

Thanks for reading!

 

Finally caught up, loved the story telling as always. Your telling of how you felt when you got to the Dome Plateau camp spot made me nostalgic as fuck to when I pulled up to it. Ugh want to go back so badly! Now I need to read Dan's version.

 

Yeah that spot is so awesome. Id be happy to go back. Want to check out the area west of there and East of Arches too so im sure I'll be back. Just not soon enough haha

 

The connection from there that runs to the backside of arches was not all that special IMO. I was on a time limit though and did not get to explore a lot of the out and back side trails. I think if I was in less of a rush I would have been able to enjoy that leg of the trip more. But I basically went from Dome to the back side of Arches, rushed through Arches, ran back to the rec center for shower/laundry and hit Moab Brewery for dinner, then camped out by Needles overlook at like 10 PM on BLM land just for a place to sleep. Was too much for one day, but my trip was coming to an end and I needed to start my journey back to the East coast.

 

Ive seen photos of some of the in and outs there. Looks like it would be worth it I think. I've never been into arches yet either ha so need to do that.

 

#5 @BHill_teq

Which you've read probably Dan's version