Dog and I are camping (well off the grid) in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. 2,938 square miles of wide open space in Utah.

Did you know that as opposed to a National Park, a National Monument can’t have improvements. You know, stuff like paved roads, buildings or facilities.

So, we are out here on our own in the red dirt, junipers and sagebrush of Utah.

I like it!

To date (12 days), we’ve driven 2519 miles and used 139 gallons of diesel fuel. At an average of $2.10/gallon I don’t want to do the arithmetic. I’ll wait for my American Express bill to surprise me.  Commercial Break – let me point out that DONATE button over there. Every penny you wish to chip in is appreciated.

Of those 12 days, we’ve only been somewhere with water and electricity twice. Still, I’ve enjoyed hot showers daily, ice in my cocktails and good meals. Heck, we’ve even watched a little broadcast television. I can only take a little of that however.

So here we are. The solar panel is out taking advantage of this bright Utah sunshine, AT&T has made some serious improvements since my last trip out this way, I have 4 bars of 4g and the dog and I are enjoying the peace and quiet.

Here are a couple shots of our camping site.

Cheers.