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The Road To Toquerville

Discussion in 'Videos and Podcasts' started by NF7B, Jan 23, 2023.

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  1. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    Mountain peaks make for excellent repeater sites, but often accessibility of mountain trails can present challenges. This is a little 8 minute short film documenting a recent "quick trip" up the hill to one our our local club's linked repeater sites. Toquerville is located a few miles north of St. George, Utah and the repeater there is owned by the Dixie Amateur Radio Club based in St. George, Utah. On the recent trip, two club members embarked on a trip up the mountain to reinstall some repaired linking equipment. The film was made to give the club membership a little look at how road conditions can affect trips to the club's repeaters.

     
    KE7DRT likes this.
  2. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Well, at least help is on call
    Matt's Off Road Recovery - YouTube

    MORR is nothing but off-road videos for the most part, folks stuck out in SoUt off road is a varity of street autos. Never-ending hilarity.
     
    KC7JNJ and CA3FJK like this.
  3. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    I am certainly happy services like Matt's Off-Road Recovery are out there. Also, happy I have not needed their help, yet. Yet? ;)
     
  4. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Having a 4x4 just means you got that much farther from the road before getting stuck....:eek:

    I spent years as a Range Rat working (and driving) all over NV and parts of western UT. Also, in AK. Most of it off road. After doing that for over a decade as 'work' I don't see off-roading as 'fun'.
     
  5. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    I can understand that. You have enough experience and, it sounds like, sense to know the difference. I am always surprised at the number of tourist who come to this area with little or no understanding of true off road driving and they often get into trouble in their rental cars. Businesses like Matt's Off-Road Recovery make a great deal of income from that sector of the market.
     
  6. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    There is a guy over in Moab, that does the same ORR. I have to ask sometimes, just how stupid are people? Answer - watch this
    GPS Strikes Again - YouTube

    General rule - if your GPS 'nav system" pints you to a dirt road, it is not going to end well.

    Up here, they just drive into the ocean....
     
  7. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Sandia Laboratory - Tonopah Test Range Promotional Video from approx. 1990 - YouTube

    Nevada Test and Training Range - Life of a Target on the Bombing and Gunnery Range - YouTube

    My old stomping grounds. I worked for a DIA unit doing comm 'stuff' on the range. Same desert, same roads, same heat. Ran out of Nellis AFB
     
  8. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    I lived in Albuquerque for a while, so I know of Sandia Laboratory. And yeah, the summers in the Mojave can be rough work. As to the point about GPS, I witnessed the result of a friend using a Garmin Overlanding "Nav system" to find his way to a remote camping meet up spot in the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. The nav system was supposed to be for off-road overloading use, but it routed him through a super rugged path that was not the best option. His vehicle suffered a fair amount of damage. So much for using a "good" GPS unit.
     
    KL7KN likes this.
  9. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Viewed a vehicle recovery video where an (very) elderly couple followed their "GPS unit" and got stuck in the hinterlands of Utah. Weak and with zero recovery tools....
    One of the two had to use a walker, so as you can image - the outcome was fatal.
    By the time the SAR team reached the vehicle, both has perished - no cell coverage, no call for help.

    On the way back to Nellis one time from the TPTTR, we saw a RV parked on the side of the highway - an old man was trying to change a flat.
    We stopped and did the deed - he was surprised that a dot MIL truck would stop and help.
    Even on a paved road, help can be far away in the rural Intermountain west.
    On many roads, traffic can be nearly non-existent.
     
    NF7B likes this.
  10. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    Wow... that is a bad outcome for the stranded elderly couple. I do like having the radio in my truck for those times when there is no cell coverage. I also use APRS and have been able to successfully use APRS to send SMS text messages to the cell phones of friends and family which is nice to be able to do via radio when there is no cell phone coverage. Additionally, I carry a satellite communicator and I have used that to get myself out of a jam from deep in Escalante Staircase National Monument. I was sure happy I had that device with me. It is also good to have these various ways to communicate in case you come across somebody else who needs help. When deep in the backcountry I usually do not pass up anyone until I know they are okay and do not need help.
     
    KL7KN likes this.
  11. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Look a gander at your Zed page. WOW Nice photos.
    I miss the desert - in the winter. Not so much in the summer....
     
  12. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    Thanks for the comment and the compliment. Glad you liked them. I'm in the movie and TV biz and photography is my "hobby" outlet. I enjoy it, especially when combined with the great outdoors and the natural beauty of this area. My overland activities take me to some amazing places that I like to try and capture when I can. And I hear you about the heat in summer. The great thing is that where I live here in St. George, Utah, I am just barely below the snow (we don't really get any here), so if I want that I can simply drive up the highway a couple of miles and I get into snow in winter. In the summer, when the heat gets to be too much and I need a break, I have plenty of mountain get-a-way spots that are also only a short drive a few miles up the highway. So I can be up at 10,000' in less than an hour from my house. There are some mountain lakes that I visit often when the temps in St. George get above 100°. The location affords me the opportunity to find milder climates both in winter and summer.
     
    KL7KN likes this.
  13. KL7KN

    KL7KN Ham Member QRZ Page

    Yup. Grew up in Tucson. Quick drive up into the Santa Catalinas to ski, go swimming that afternoon. Las Vegas is much the same with the Charleston Range.
    Met the DW while TDY to Ut and for a very long time while stationed at Nellis, we would drive the Las Vegas, Cedar City, Milford to Delta loop to visit family. We watched as St George was invaded and grew like Topsy.
     
  14. NF7B

    NF7B Ham Member QRZ Page

    It certainly has been invaded. My parents moved here over 22 years ago and I loved STG back then. Now it is not the same place... Unfortunately. All the refugees leaving CA have changed this place forever. The secret is out.
     
    KL7KN likes this.

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