Boondocking again in Penrose, with Mariko and Yagi

 Packed up the URRV this morning and by 10:30 AM I was heading out of my home neighborhood and headed South/Southwest towards Penrose, CO.

About three hours later, made it to the Penrose Commons BLM area next to the small town of Penrose off of CO Highway 115, no issues, a couple of stops to check out the towing bits that were pulling Mariko the Suzuki Samurai along as a dingy/toad behind Umarang.

I got my preferred spot, and though it did take a few light hammer blows, didn't have any real issues unhooking Mariko from the Blue Ox Tow bar. I think it was because she was slightly down slope from Umarang so there was slight binding.

Got camp set up for the next few days:

It had been quite windy and gusty all the way from south of the Metro Denver area and it remained quite breezy in the Penrose area.  No big deal though as I had doors, windows and a roof to keep things nice and warm within Mariko.

Took her out for a brief scout of the area to the north where several of the dirt trails are located.  It took me a few minutes to figure out when to go into 4WD and also how to keep the engine from stalling when encountering the rockier/rougher portions of the trails.  No problem, just something to re-learn from my days of 4x4 driving in a 1977 Jeep CJ-7 Renegade; the first car I ever bought with my own money.

Mariko and I wandered along for a bit, some parts of the trails were quite muddy due to recently melted snow.  I experienced her behavior both in high and low range 4x4 mode and it was quite enlightening.

Because she came with the True Twin Sticks mod for the transmission, it was easy to shift from high to low range depending on the terrain.  I will say, 4WD Low is very low geared with the aftermarket 6.4:1 gearing in the transfer case!  It's so low geared, I basically had to go into second gear even from standing stops to get going!  I suppose the low-geared first gear will come in handy in really bad road conditions!

Went up and down rock-strewn hills with no issues using 4WD Low, just powering up them and slowly descending them using the low gearing and engine braking made it very easy.

Mariko's short wheelbase however, produced a very bumpy ride when things got rocky but I guess I knew to expect that.  It helps a lot to lean forward a bit and not have contact with the seat's back in order to negotiate the rock-induced rocking motions.

Saving most of the other trails for tomorrow or another day, I then drove Mariko over to the nearby Brush Hollow Reservoir for pics.

Southern side of the reservoir

Northern side of the reservoir

The winds were picking up by 4:30 PM so I headed on back onto BLM land and the campsite.  I was surprised to see other campers out here, I'd figured it was too "cold" for so many to show up.  Still, not to crowded and I can't see any of them from my campsite.

It's supposed to get down to 32°F (0°C) tonight so I shouldn't need to turn on the Catalytic Propane Heater until I wake in the morning.  We'll see.

I hope to check out one or two nearby properties that are on sale, not really seriously looking but as long as I'm in the area.....

Mariko did very well, once I figure out the right combination of accelerator, clutch and high/low range modes to keep her from stalling!