In September, Earthroamer held a rally for any and all owners of their trucks. I think there were 27 ER's of various vintage, and owners from all walks of life. We didn't know what to expect, and were a little concerned about whether we'd fit in. After all, we had to really make an effort to get our ER. Turns out, many of the people we met were very similar. More than a few had to sell a first or second home to get theirs and we heard some version of "It was a real stretch for us". We met many really nice people and enjoyed ourselves on this trip. We drove in early and spent the night before the Rally in Valley of the Gods, one of our favorite places. We even had time to do a bike ride. The next day, we drove to the Goosenecks, not far away, to meet everyone else.
A few things became apparent: 1.) Not everyone was into off-roading like we were. 2.) Not everyone was into camping as much as us. For some owners, their ER was an RV that was really well built. Period.
That's OK. At any rate, we spent the better part of the week in Monument Valley, with native guides showing us various parts of the Monument Valley backcountry. As you might imagine, almost 30 ERs travling in a pack was a sight. We'd intended to spend more time in the backcountry, but the roads were very sandy as a result of the recent rain, and a number of trucks got stuck and/or were afraid of getting stuck. (We only used 4 WD once). The last night in MV, we camped in a really cool box canyon, and had a big dinner with native dancers performing traditional chants and dances. It was very cool.
We then, as a group, drove back through Valley of the Gods, up the Moki Dugway (a very steep, narrow and precipitous dirt road that climbs 1500 feet in a few miles). At the top, we drove to Muley Point, a rocky outcropping at the very edge of Cedar Mesa. From the top, there was an incredible view of Southern Utah, Western CO, and Northern Arizona. After we all got situated, it got super windy. We had intended to have a big campfire, but the wind made that impossible.
We wound up ducking into another couple's rig and having dinner and drinks with them. We wound up staying up super late with them, laughing and telling stories. We went back to our truck late, feeling like we'd met new friends. That night, it got well below freezing, with the wind howling and shaking the trucks until sunrise. That morning, some of us were up, drinking coffee, taking in the incedible view when a B1B bomber flew by. That, in itself was remarkable. However, the B1-B was BELOW us, flying under the edge of the mesa rim. It was close enough that I could have thown my coffee cup and hit it. It was SO cool! Later that morning, everyone went their own way.
We drove into Blanding and got gas and came back to see more. We camped in Comb Wash, where it again got pretty cold at night. We drove back up to Cedar Mesa and walked to House on Fire Ruin, which we'd been wanting to see for a while. While up there, we met yet another couple from the Rally, who had an ER very similar to ours. They live in WY, and travel extensively with their rig. They were super cool and we could have spent the entire day by the side of the road talking with them. We finally headed back home, somewhat reluctantly. We spent the last night of our trip in an actual campground outside of Grand Junction. It seemed a little lame to be in a campground with our truck, althogh when the ranger offered to bring us some firewood (rather than make us go pick it up) we decided it was just the ticket!