Tonight is another one of those nights when I ask myself, "What the hell am I still doing awake?!" Well, there was a new geocache near Castle Dale that I just had to go find, and for some crazy reason, my wife went along with my plan. I still don't understand why she puts up with me.

We left Price around 9:30pm and got back shortly after midnight. The cache is a two stage multi-cache, and I found the first stage pretty easily, but the second stage required some math and the use of a javascript app to project a waypoint given starting coordinates, a bearing, and a distance. I'm certain that I figured everything correctly, but the new coordinates were in the middle of an alfalfa field, and I didn't particularly want to hike across it in the dark.

We drove all over the area--even getting lost a time or two (ok, not exactly lost, just disoriented)--trying to find a road that would lead to the second stage. We never did find a road, despite opening a gate and trespassing in some farmer's field. I almost drove my truck into a ditch while I was in that field, so I should be thankful that we made it out unscathed.

Right now, I'm hoping that the cache owner made a mistake and that the cache is really somewhere else. Either way, I'll probably be returning this weekend after getting things straightened out with the cache owner. And, for now, I'll try to get some sleep.

The camping trip this last weekend ended up going pretty well. I wasn't looking forward to taking care of both kids, especially Bradley, while we were away from home, but it turned out being a bit easier, I think. Bradley is just a handful no matter what, but by being somewhere new to him, I think it helped occupy his attention enough that I didn't have to keep him entertained as much. Having my nieces and nephews there helped a lot too, I'm sure.

Cedar Mountain is a pretty good place to camp this time of year. When we camped there more than two years ago (and Traci was pregnant with Bradley), there were these little bugs that apparently only like biting ankles, and I ended up with a red ring of bite marks around each ankle, just above the sock line, and it itched like all hell. Luckily, there were no bugs to worry about this time.

We attempted to drive to the dinosaur quarry on an old jeep trail, but when the map says "jeep trail," I guess I should start believing it. Of course, most of the USGS topo maps of this area are 30 years old, and I've seen a lot of "jeep trails" that are now well-maintained gravel roads. Anyway, we only got a couple hundred yards before I had to back my truck down the road away from a steep and rocky wash. I tried another road that spurred off of that road, but it disappeared entirely after a short distance. So, we simply took the main road to near the quarry and found the cache that we'd been trying to get to. It was the only cache within a 15 mile radius of our camp that I hadn't found, and that's only because it was placed rather recently.

Our campsite was a good alternative to Bear Creek Campground, plus it was free, so I might head back there a few more times this year. I also saw a spot on the way to the dinosaur quarry that looked decent, and I'd like to try it out before the season's over.

I'm getting a little restless lately. I've wanted to do some serious hiking, but just haven't found the time. Someday soon I hope to go on an eight mile hike (round trip) from the Price River overlook south of Mounds to a place called Balanced Rock that appears on the topo map for that area. There's a jeep trail that leaves the main road just northeast of Desert Lake, and though it appears to go all the way to Balanced Rock, I think I'd rather hike. Besides, I'd prefer not to drive my truck all the way out there only to find that it's not capable of handling the trail, whereas I already drove to the overlook last month and I know I can make it there again.

There's a footpath leading from the overlook to Balanced Rock, and it's well-used enough that you can see it in the aerial photos of the area. When I was first there, I thought it was a cattle trail, but now I'm not so sure. There doesn't appear to be any other trails in the area (which there should be if there were a lot of cattle), but I also can't imagine that enough people have hiked there to have made such a nice trail.

I can only hope that the flow of the Price River has gone down since August, because I definitely don't want to wade across it in October. Hopefully I can get away with simply taking my hiking boots off and rolling my pants up. The hiking pole my sister gave me for my birthday should help a lot with that part. I read that using two poles is much better than only one, so I'll probably buy another just for this trip.

It's beginning to feel as though summer is over, which normally signals the end of most of my outdoor activities. However, I realized lately that I did significantly more hiking last winter than I did the last two summers combined. That may have had something to do with not having a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and hopefully having my new truck won't change that this winter.

I haven't hiked a new county high point in more than a year, even though I'd hoped to bag several this year. Now that I've exhausted all the high points close to home, it's just been too costly and time-consuming to get any others. Either that, or I'm just lazy.

My trailer should be ready for the camping trip this weekend, barring any unforeseen problems with the new water system. I'll be firing up the new pump this evening after work (two days behind my planned schedule), and I'm pretty nervous about it. If everything works well, it'll be a welcome relief over the old system. Sleeping just above a pressurized, 34-year-old aluminum tank was unnerving. In the new system, the pump pressurizes the water lines after the tank, so my biggest worry will be springing a leak when I'm not close enough to hear the pump pushing 40 gallons of water onto the floor. But hey, I guess a portable wading pool would be fun for the kids.

I think I'm finished with the most difficult part of fixing my trailer. I labored for endless hours today to get the water lines run between the kitchen and bathroom sinks. The old lines were rigid PEX pipes and must have been much easier to run, but flexible braided PVC was nearly impossible. Long story short, I had to pull the furnace out of the wall just to access the hole in the wall where the tubing ran, and running the new stuff through that hole took dozens (and dozens and dozens and...) of tries. It went through a small hole in the wall, under the shower enclosure, and came out through another small hole on the other side.

Anyway, all that's left to do is to cut the tubing to length and install the fittings and clamps. I also have to either run a new copper gas line to the furnace, or cap off the tee where it used to connect. I kinked the old copper line when I pulled the furnace out, and honestly I don't care much about it right now. I also need to install a new hatch cover for the water filler. Surprisingly, installing the new tank and pump were the easiest parts. Oh jeez...I just remembered that I have to rehang the bathroom door too--it somehow got ripped off its hinges on our way back from Potter's Ponds a few weeks ago.

I'm going to sleep well tonight, as long as my aching body doesn't keep me awake. I think I can finish the trailer up tomorrow after work, then the rest of the week I can focus on getting me and the kids ready for our camping trip.

Damnit, I feel like an old man. Yesterday, as I was running around town buying parts for my trailer, I got that twinge in my neck again. This is the third time that I've had a really bad muscle spasm in my neck, and it's getting really. fucking. old.

The only good news is that I finally have every single part that I need to fix my trailer, except the pump and tank which have yet to arrive (after buying them off of eBay at a savings of $78). Sadly enough, nobody around here sells bulk packs of hose clamps. I checked the auto parts stores, hardware stores, and retail stores, but couldn't find enough clamps to suit my purpose. I had to buy six nine-packs of small hose clamps from Wal-Mart at $2 apiece, but only four out of the nine clamps were the right size. It was still cheaper than anywhere else, though. My only worry now is that the braided PVC that I'm using won't work well with 120°+ water at 45 PSI. I'm not sure if it's rated for that pressure and temperature combined, but I suppose I'll find out. I oughta install a shutoff valve just after the hot water tank just in case.

I won't actually be able to work on my trailer until my neck loosens up a bit. I was afraid that I'd have to call in sick to work today because of it, but I took a Zanaflex and it seemed to help a bit. My doctor said to only take it just before bedtime, and she gave me a different medication to take during the day (Bextra), but that's been recalled, and I have no desire to die of a heart attack while I take that shit.

I went out yesterday for a drive in the Swell with Sam and Mark to look for a place to camp in two weeks. Six months ago when I was down on the old Spirit Railway railroad grade, it seemed good enough to drive my car on (even though I was in my Mazda at the time). So we took the Taurus there, but that didn't last long. The road was pretty wet and a little too rough for my car, so we went back to Price to get my truck. Shortly after we returned and passed the place where I turned the Taurus around, I had to get out and turn the hubs in. Not long after that, I had to put the transfer case into 4-low. And awhile after that, I had to turn the truck around. The road had been completely obliterated by flash-flooding. The road was washed out, with a five-foot deep gash across the road that will probably never be repaired. I don't see why the county or the BLM (whoever maintains that road) would bother with it.

Buckhorn Wash Road was barricaded with a sign saying that the road was washed out as well. I'm willing to bet that the two geocaches I placed nearby there recently are stranded now. Each of them required a drive over jeep trails that are prone to washing out and that crossed several washes. I was lucky enough when I placed those caches that I could get my truck out there, since neither of the roads looked like they'd seen a road grader in decades (if ever), but I'm hoping I can make it back out there next year to check on them.

Anyway, after two unsuccessful trips to where I had wanted to camp, we decided to give Cedar Mountain a quick look just so the day wasn't a total waste of time. We actually came upon a place where I'd camped two years ago, but I seemed to remember it being much further up the mountain. In fact, it was pretty close to Cleveland, and only six miles away from the nearest pavement. So that's where we'll end up going, and now I'm looking at maps and aerial photos for a good place to leave a geocache. There's a hill called The Nipple nearby, and that's looking pretty promising. :)

I don't get it. State Trailer Supply in Salt Lake wants $150 for a 40-gallon fresh water holding tank for my trailer. Action Motors & RV in Wellington wants $135 for a 42-gallon tank (the closest size they could come up with). I just bought a brand-new 40-gallon tank through eBay for $35. Ain't the internet sweet? :)

I'm still waiting for a few auctions to get close to ending before bidding on a water pump, but I should have one bought before the weekend's over, and hopefully I'll have it all before next weekend.

I'm wondering if it's too late to put a new roof on my garage this year. I've finally got the time and money to do the roof, but I don't know if the weather will hold up long enough to get it taken care of. I guess the worst case scenario is that I can throw down some roll roofing really quick and dirty, then do the job right next year. That's not my ideal situation, but it's better than doing nothing.

After I posted last time about trying unsuccessfully one last time to fix my trailer plumbing, I tried yet again. I actually got my pipes fixed well enough to use them by bypassing the cold water pipes and running everything through the hot water pipes. I was sure I had it plumbed right, but I wanted to test it before going camping, so I turned on the water pump. Everything seemed to work--while the pump was running, I tried both faucets, and I had water pressure! I was pretty excited, until I turned the pump off. I heard air escaping from somewhere, and it turned out that the pump had crapped out on me. It was infuriating.

My only option now is to replace my old aluminum tank and antiquated pump with brand new stuff, and I might as well re-plumb the entire trailer while I'm at it. Mark managed to do the same thing to his trailer with braided PVC hose and fittings that he bought here in town, so I'm hoping I can do the same. The pump and tank I'll probably have to either order online or drive to Salt Lake City for.

I already removed the old tank and pump today, and I'll get all the old pipes out tomorrow. Running the new water lines should be easy because the braided PVC can bend anywhere I need it to, but the fittings will be a trial-and-error process.

I need to have it all done in about two weeks, because Traci is going to disappear for the weekend then, so I think I'll take the boys out camping in the San Rafael Swell. I think we'll try out a new spot at the base of Cedar Mountain, which unfortunately means I'll want to go scout a good spot before I ever drive my truck and trailer out there.

Speaking of my truck, I got the door fixed today. I really like Sherry's Paint & Body--they were quick and did a good job. Price Autoplex, on the other hand, pissed me off a bit. The woman who wrote down my appointment last week did it on the wrong day. I showed up today, with Traci following me in the car with both kids, only to find out I was actually scheduled for tomorrow. I guess that's not as bad as telling me my truck needs a new engine just because a glow plug fell out, but they've got one mark against them. I'm desperately hoping that I can find a reliable service shop in town, since I've vowed never to go to the Ford dealer again, but only time will tell if that's even possible.