Last week we joined a group of offroad camper vans traveling across the San Rafael Swell in Southern Utah. Our group was made up of 30 van enthusiasts, a handful of excited dogs, and our fearless leader, Sky Powers.
For this trip, we planned to start at the northern tip of the Swell and work our way South to Goblin Valley. With an Off Highway Van Sundance Kid packed full of supplies we left our headquarters in Salt Lake City, ready for adventure.
Setting Off for the Swell
We arrived at a gas station in Wellington, Utah on Friday morning to meet the group and go over a safety briefing before hitting the trail. Sky gave us advice on how to travel in a caravan, handed out radios to communicate with, and gave a demonstration on “airing down” our tires.
Expedition #1
The first leg of the journey consisted of open desert with large canyons in the distance. We drove for a couple of hours in this landscape until we entered a dense forest of desert brush. As we carefully weaved our way through the brush, it opened up to a clearing on the edge of a cliff. We chose our campsites and watched as the sun set in the canyon below us. That night we feasted on chicken wings, salad, and doughnuts over the fire.
The next morning we woke up well rested after a warm, peaceful night in the van. We made a breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola, and read a book as the sun rose. After about an hour we headed south on the second leg of the trip.
Expedition #2
This part of the trip included frequent stops at a variety of historic attractions in The Swell. This included an abandoned uranium mine, a fossilized dinosaur footprint, pictographs from Native American tribes, and a pioneer’s log cabin.
This was our favorite part of the whole trip because we were able to learn about the rich history of this area.
As we continued south, the rock started getting redder, and the canyons started getting bigger. An hour before sunset we found our campsite and circled the wagons under a beautiful arch.
The crew got busy making a fire and preparing a delicious Mexican dinner. We went to sleep with our bellies full of food and tired after a long day.
The Next Day: Offroad Camper Van Recovery Class
We woke up the next morning to see sunlight shining on the arch above us. After brewing some coffee, the crew headed out to its first activity of the day: Offroad-Recovery Class.
Sky rounded us up around his van to give a live demonstration on offroad van recovery. This was very useful information considering the environment we were in. He showed us the basics of using shovels and traction boards, and also showed us how to safely rig a winch without damaging your van.
After class, we got back into our vans ready to tackle the third leg of our journey. These roads were steeper and rockier, and some of them even had snow and ice on them. We drove on this terrain for a few hours towards Goblin Valley. Thankfully everyone made it safely to Goblin Valley without having to implement any of the skills we learned in our class that morning.
Never Enough Overlanding
Since there was an optional third night of the camping trip, half the group left to head back home, and the other half decided to camp near Goblin Valley.
We were thankful we decided to stay one more night because this was the most beautiful campsite yet. As we drove along the park, we entered a maze of sandstone towers and goblin-like formations of rock. We found a campsite nestled in the sandstone and made ourselves at home. That night we gathered around the fire and reminisced on the trip we had just completed.
The next morning we said our goodbyes to the new friends we had made. We packed and organized our van for the drive back to Salt Lake City. It was hard to leave the desert, but it was made easier knowing we’d be back soon.
If you've been considering van life and attending trips like this, Off Highway Van can build you the van of your dreams that can handle any obstacle on or offroad that you can throw at it. To learn more about the trip or about us, reach out to one of our van experts today!
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