Midwest to Utah in December?

jamesu wrote:
"...and I'll have my TT winterized..."

By winterized I assume you mean you will travel with your winterizing antifreeze in your water lines. I picture you dewinterizing by draining these fluids from the trailer's system when you get to warmer climes in Utah. My TT is not equipped for camping extended in sub-freezing temps so I am wondering how your water lines will do if you camp in places like Zion, Bryce Canyon, etc. in the dead of winter. We've been there in December and it's cold.

I will have UltraHeat pads on the gray and black tanks, along with insulation on top of that and heat tape on the sewer plumbing and valves along with insulation. Fresh water is all internal except the low point drains, which I'll insulate. I might put a heating pad under the fresh tank too.

If the temps look like they're going into the single digits or below, I can hook up my mini compressor and blow the fresh lines and add a few gallons of pink stuff to each of the holding tanks.

"...and I'll have my TT winterized..."

By winterized I assume you mean you will travel with your winterizing antifreeze in your water lines. I picture you dewinterizing by draining these fluids from the trailer's system when you get to warmer climes in Utah. My TT is not equipped for camping extended in sub-freezing temps so I am wondering how your water lines will do if you camp in places like Zion, Bryce Canyon, etc. in the dead of winter. We've been there in December and it's cold.

4runnerguy wrote:

Other airports to fly into would be Grand Junction,

That's where I flew to. Picked up a rental car and then rented a Jeep in Moab for one day of exploring. It was nice doing something different over a long winter holiday vs visting my snowbirding parents in Florida.

caver wrote:
I flew out to Moab in 2002 for a 5 day Christmas break. Cold nights (teens) and maybe 50 for the high? Had some small patches of snow around Arches which was nice. The place is a ghost town that time of year. I got a Ramada Inn room for $30-35$ a night. There were maybe two other rooms occupied.

I stayed at that Ramada. I was glad I made reservations, because the day I arrived in Moab, a brush fire had been sparked the night before and was currently out of control heading for the North end of town. Every motel room in town was sold out. They nocked it down in the next few days, but with lack of wind, it ruined the air quality in the area for the rest of my visit. I went up North to Jackson WY and found some clearer air under the Tetons.

paulj wrote:
http://hint.fm/wind/
Nifty animation of current wind conditions across the lower 48.

Kewl!

Neato link paul.
Thanx

caver wrote:
I flew out to Moab in 2002 for a 5 day Christmas break. Cold nights (teens) and maybe 50 for the high? Had some small patches of snow around Arches which was nice. The place is a ghost town that time of year. I got a Ramada Inn room for $30-35$ a night. There were maybe two other rooms occupied.

This isn't a bad idea, especially if you are on a fixed time schedule. One can never tell in advance whether the interstates might be closed down or very difficult to drive at that time of year. Driving I-80 or I-70 with a TT can be very challenging in the winter. If you can be more flexible on your return, you might have a few days or a week to wait out the storms.

Other airports to fly into would be Grand Junction, CO, less than two hours away, or Salt Lake City, more like four hours away through a little more mountainous terrain.

We've gone to Moab several times during Thanksgiving week and had a great time. But we don't finalize our plans until right before we leave so we don't have weather issues. Even in November, there are few people. The CG's at Arches or Dead Horse Point are less than 20% occupied then.

http://hint.fm/wind/
Nifty animation of current wind conditions across the lower 48.

kknowlton wrote:
So far not many have mentioned wind in Wyoming. That state is legendary for wind (if you have ever driven I-80 across Wyoming before, you may remember those huge, permanent wooden snow fences. They're not just for looks.)

Crimeny!
No kidding LOL

Try Wyoming on a motorcycle...you'll be beaten to death.
Frigging wind in Wyoming seems to be statewide too.

So far not many have mentioned wind in Wyoming. That state is legendary for wind (if you have ever driven I-80 across Wyoming before, you may remember those huge, permanent wooden snow fences. They're not just for looks.) That's likely to be your worst problem, unless we get a snowy winter. As previously mentioned, it's a crapshoot. Good luck. Oh, and make sure to have chains. You may be required to use them in some areas.

I flew out to Moab in 2002 for a 5 day Christmas break. Cold nights (teens) and maybe 50 for the high? Had some small patches of snow around Arches which was nice. The place is a ghost town that time of year. I got a Ramada Inn room for $30-35$ a night. There were maybe two other rooms occupied.