Jordanelle - Hailstone Campground

Holy Capuchin Monkeys, Batman!  We had a fun time celebrating Halloween early with the professional campers at Jordanelle.  This was our first and only trip with the gang since the T@b was out of commission most of the summer.  The best part was watching the Utah Utes beat Oregon on the make-shift outdoor theater!

East Canyon - Big Rock Campground

For our first outing with the new T@b, we made a quick trip up and over Big Mountain to East Canyon.  We had a fun time getting back into camping mode and exploring some of our own backyard.  It has been a particularly mild fall and we are happy to take advantage of the delayed onset of winter.

The New T@b

After many months of repair and painting, the T@b is back and ready to roll.  We had to go with a new paint color (to fix the graffiti black).  While nothing can beat the cute red color scheme, we like the new metallic turquoise look. I will say it is awfully nice to have the T@b back.  We looked at buying something else, but nothing really compares to the ease and style of the T@b (other than maybe an airstream).

T@b Found!

Our T@b was found!  About 10 days after the T@b was stolen, we received a call from the Salt Lake City Police Department notifying us that they had found a trailer that looked like ours.  So, we rushed over to the address they gave us and there she was.  The thieves had painted all the trim in a flat spray paint black, as if that would hide the trailer from suspecting eyes.  They broke the front window and the door lock, but other than that, most of the T@b was in reasonable condition.

Our T@b was Stolen!

After 5 years and many great camping and travel memories, we are sad to report that our 2009 T@b was stolen from our driveway on June 11, 2015.  We are so sad to lose the T@b.  She was more like a friend having shared so many great adventures with us.  We are heartbroken and hope our T@b will be found.  If you ever see a white T@b with red trim feel free to call or text me with the sighting at (801) 631-9166.  Our T@b was the Q layout with a front window in the kitchen area (not so common on many I have seen).  The T@b is also missing the table and water tank (now sitting useless in our garage).

Escalante

We explored Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument this weekend and it was fantastic.  We stayed in the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and drove into the Monument.  Next time I would stay in the Calf Creek Campground if available.  The drive through this part of the Monument is just breathtaking.  We hiked to the upper and lower falls of Calf Creek.  This photo is Mary standing at the top of the upper falls.  

Rockport State Park

We got out for another quick camping trip to Rockport State Park.  It takes less than an hour to get to Rockport from Salt Lake City on I-80.  We really liked the sites at Twin Coves Campground.  Nice sites overlooking the water and access to the beach just behind the sites.

New Battery - Interstate Deep Cycle

We finally had to get a new battery for the Tab.  We were still using the battery that came with the Tab when we bought it back in 2010.  That is pretty good longevity for the battery.  We made sure to always keep the battery on the battery tender and to make sure that the charge was never depleted.  I think helped with the long battery life.  We bought the same battery made by Interstate Battery - the Deep Cell.

New Cushion Covers

We had some new cushion covers made this year for the Tab.  We got the fabric at Ikea.  I had hoped to make the bottom covers out of red, but we couldn't find a sufficient match so we went with the faces on the top and bottom cushions.  Sometimes the faces seem a little creepy, but most of the times they are cheerful and add a fun element to the Tab.  Definitely a unique addition.

Yuba Lake State Park

We bought a new kayak!  So, we set out for Yuba Lake for the maiden voyage.  It was another fun quick getaway.  The park is pretty exposed with very few trees and plenty of wind, but it was still fun to explore the trails and to try out the kayak on the choppy water.  

Willard Bay State Park

We started the 2015 season off with a quick trip to Willard Bay State Park.  We were hoping to go to Antelope Island but that park was full.  It has been a very mild winter and everyone is starting the camping season early.  Willard Bay was a nice little campground with big trees and interactive trails through the cat tails.  The downsides were the noise from the campground's proximity to the freeway and the gnats and mosquitos that came out in force as dusk.