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Old 07-11-2011, 06:25 PM   #1
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X17C serves us well out West

Just a quick note of thanks to those here that offered help and guidance as we prepared for our trip out west. It's been a while since I gathered much needed information but this forum proved to be very valuable as I considered hitches and their setups, towing guidance, and other odds and ends. I read post after post in preparation. What was especially appreciated was the friendly, helpful manner in which guidance was offered to my requests for information. I'm still no expert on camping or towing but if there is anything I gained from my trip that would be of value to others I'm happy to share lessons learned.

I was a rookie with a Jayco X17C being our first camping trailer. With very little experience we went west and took in the Custer/Mt. Rushmore area in South Dakota, Yellowstone, Zion, and then the Grand Canyon. We covered a lot of ground in 2 weeks and I could not have been happier with our Jayco. Having every component of the camper work reliably was key to the trip's success.

It was a great trip, the trip of a lifetime. We created memories never to be forgotten. If you have never done a similar trip I encourage you to consider it. I'm still in awe of the things we saw. If you have an interest I documented our adventure from planning and preparation (including our decision to go Jayco) through the trip itself. There's no ads or anything like that, just our story - justforlookingthrough.com. Thanks again.
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Old 07-11-2011, 06:33 PM   #2
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Sounds like an awesome trip. I hope we can do it someday. It was a good trial run for your new trailer as well. Glad to hear all went well.
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Old 07-11-2011, 07:56 PM   #3
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It was a great trip

I hope you get the chance to do the trip or some semblence of it. I suppose it may have been a bit more amazing to me since I live in the land of corn and bean fields. I love Indiana but am still amazed by the mountains, geysers, canyons, wildlife, etc.

Something I didn't expect was enjoying the drive like I did. We had some long hauls but I really enjoyed every mile. I credit that to having plenty of power in the tow vehicle and sway control that kept everything in line even in some windy conditions. Then, of course, we loved having the camper. I always liked tent camping but having the conveniences and capabilities above and beyond those we were used to really added to our enjoyment.
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Old 07-11-2011, 09:21 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Trout34 View Post
snip......It was a great trip, the trip of a lifetime. We created memories never to be forgotten.....snip
Trout34,

Glad it was a memorable trip for all. Feel free to post some pics of the trip, and some of your campsites.

Bob

ps: If you get a chance, post (over in the Towing forum) a couple of pics of your Reese Dual Cam with your TV/HTT hitched up. We don't get to see to many of the Reese Dual Cam WDH's mounted on some of the smaller HTT's or TT's. It may be a good visual tool for those considering it on their smaller TV/HTT combinations.
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Old 07-12-2011, 05:31 PM   #5
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thanks for your help

Bob, thank you for your help. You provided some good guidance. I don't have a picture of the hitch but will try to get one soon. I'm trying to post a few pictures, hope it works.

Picture 1 - The Jayco and the Armada, a wonderful pair in front of the Watchman at Zion
Picture 2 - My 4 favorite faces in front of 4 famous faces
Picture 3 - Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring
Picture 4 - The crew atop Angel's Landing, Zion
Picture 5 - Small grizzly at Yellowstone
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Old 07-12-2011, 05:39 PM   #6
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Great pics!
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:29 PM   #7
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Thanks for posting your trip pics, looks like everyone was enjoying themselves....., even the grizzly! A trip through Yellowstone just isn't complete without a grizzly sighting

Bob
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Old 07-12-2011, 09:03 PM   #8
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Glad you had a good time. Great looking pics. When wife retires in a couple of years we will do more traveling. Ernie
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Old 07-13-2011, 12:28 AM   #9
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Great pics and thanks for sharing. I have not been there but will be doing a lot more trailering when the wife retires in a few years. We might make a similar trip next summer. One quick question. I take it that this is not a black bear due to the hump in the top part of his back. Just asking? I'm not familiar with the bears in that area. We have a lot of black bears where we live. Thanks again for sharing and will check out your journal.
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Old 07-13-2011, 08:52 AM   #10
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Picture 4 - The crew atop Angel's Landing, Zion
I wanted to hike up to Angels Landing a couple years back, but heard that near the top, the path narrowed to withing a couple-three feet with sharp drop-off's on either side... is that true? We couldn't get online to verify that so both Don and I chickened out.
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Old 07-13-2011, 04:36 PM   #11
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Answers and a couple more pics

Murphie - It was a grizzly. In the post above I mentioned my blog of the vacation. When the trip started I had all 3 kids blog their perspectives each day. After the trip, as I was typing up my son's, he had written that grizzlies had a hump and their head is higher than their behind and that was not the case with black bears. Wish he had told me that during the trip. We saw this youngster on our way out of the park, just north of Old Faithful. The day before we saw a mother grizzly and her two cubs. The cubs were pretty far away but a kind man let us look through his scope. The cubs didn't seem to be much smaller than the one pictured. As we watched him, I was on the lookout for a Momma grizzly as well. We did see a black bear as well. I'll try to post the pic.

Healthi - Your information was dead on. They post on signs that people have died on the trail. It's easy to see how. In fact, on top there was a young man messing around when he stumbled. If not for the quick hands of a friend we'd have seen someone die. There are sheer drops on either side of you near the top but I'd guess it never got narrower than 6 feet. They have placed chains on the trail to help with navigation. They took the fear out of it for me but I still watched the kids closely. If I recall correctly its about a 1400 foot elevation change. The trail was work. It was upper 70's lower 80's when we tackled it so the conditions were pretty good compared to the scorcher it would be today. We were careful and it was rewarding. I really loved Zion.

Pic 1 - We did another demanding trail, this is the view from Bunson Peak, Yellowstone
Pic 2 - A black bear at Yellowstone
Pic 3 - The Grand Canyon
Pic 4 - A picture of the chains near the top of Angel's Landing, Zion
Pic 5 - A view of the drop from the Angel's Landing trail, Zion
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Old 07-13-2011, 06:31 PM   #12
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Trout34,

This is my favorite of your pictures thus far:




Awesome shot!

Bob
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Old 07-14-2011, 05:26 PM   #13
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One of mine as well

Bob, this is one of my favorites as well. We loved Zion. It seemed like there were photo opps like this at every turn. We did not have time to hit Bryce or Arches but heard fellow campers raving about them. Zion, the drive in and the drive out, gave us a taste that leaves us wanting to get back to Utah.
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Old 07-15-2011, 03:27 AM   #14
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GREAT PICS!!!!!!!

I want to do the Mount Rushmore trip, maybe next year!!! We will be taking the sister to your 17C, our 17Z!! Thanks for sharing
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Old 07-15-2011, 08:30 PM   #15
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I think you'll like it

Shep, we loved that area of South Dakota. We could not have asked for better weather so I think we saw it at its best. It was early June, it had been cool in the weeks preceding our arrival then blossomed to three days in the lower 70's while we were there. No bugs, light breeze, I doubt San Diego weather could beat it.

We stayed at Custer State Park, the Sylvan Lake campground. Electricity and showers, no water or sewer hookup. The campground was close to Mt. Rushmore so that was nice. Takes a long time to get anywhere but you'll definitely want to hit the Wildlife Loop and the 2 scenic drives in the park.

You may have done so already, but we found a couple of videos on the construction of Mt. Rushmore and that background added to the enjoyment and appreciation of the place.

There was a 17Z at the campground with us at Yellowstone. Nice guy owned it and he loved his like we love our C. I've currently got a slow connection but I'll see if I can't dig up some pics.
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