A Sunrise, Trailer Repairs and a Walk to some Rocks

 Wednesday, January 18

We had us a pretty good sunrise, a bit cold but bearable as I waited for the sun to appear:

I spent the morning working to re-attach the loading ramp back onto the trailer bed.

The aluminum channels through which the ramp's hinge pins had mounted and rotated had give way sometime early in the drive yesterday.  I'd been dragging the ramp, unknowingly as the rear view camera sucks in low light conditions, for a bit until a truck's good Samaritan saw it as I went past him and he flagged me down.

Left side hinge, showing the pin I mentioned.

Right side hinge area, completely worn down

due to being dragged on the roadway!

I'd procured hinges and hardware at the Tractor Supply in Hatcher, AZ and used it to remount the ramp.

The above seems secure enough and I was able to unload Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol.  I then spent the remainder of the time cutting off excess bolt length as required, cutting off aluminum remnants of previous mounting points.

I also found three cracked cross bars on the ramp and will be adding reinforcing steel plates before trying to load Scarlett back onto the trailer.  I'll probably replace all the existing nuts with Nyloc nuts to further secure them.  I also have to buy some more long bolts as I underestimated the need for longer versions of the 5/16" bolts.

A snack and some rest, the I joined Lori Z. who had come by as I was putting tools away.  She'd gone ahead towards the nearby rock pile to see what she could see.

A view of the rigs, now that the previous camper had

vacated the site in the early morning

Lori Z. at her meditation spot

I would end up at the point between the two rocks.

Lori Z. gazing out on the valley

Pano by Pixel Phone