Camping and Racing, an Odd Marriage

Last year, Mike bought a Ford Focus ST.  Shortly after, he learned that Ford was putting together a free racing academy for owners.  He followed the academy's progress religiously and signed up as soon as it opened.  Knowing it would be in Utah, we decided a fall class would be ideal so we could make a long weekend out of it and camp.

We woke early and left home as the sun was coming up.  It had rained the night before and it was humid and overcast.  Surprisingly, we made it through Phoenix relatively easy, and headed northwest on the 60 towards Vegas.  We hit highway 93 and were greeted with a new sight: Joshua Trees.  The Joshua Tree National Park is on my bucket list, but we haven't made it yet.  Highway 93 is named the Joshua Tree Forest Highway, and it it very fitting.  We were treated with tree after tree.

Once through Vegas (I'm sorry, I just don't get the appeal), we pushed onwards.  Glancing at the clock, we knew we would not make Tooele today.  And honestly, after 500+ miles in the Jeep, we were all ready to get off the road.  I pulled out a map, and found us access to the Dixie National Forest just off Interstate 15 in Paragonah, UT.  Just a few short miles down Little Creek Road, we found a small campsite tucked off the road among some trees in full fall colors.

We hiked around before the sun set and made dinner before dark.  

We had another long day in the car to look forward to, so we climbed into bed and snuggled away the cold.