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snackleggg · 3 years

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City of splintering hopes: Chapter 1 "Frosty conversations"

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Ao3

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Frostbite quickly seemed to realise what he had said and stopped talking, immediately dropping his usually happy attitude. Danny was still processing what he had said.

"Hey Frosty?" Danny asked during one of his semi-regular visits to the Far Frozen.

"Yes Great One?" Frostbite replied as he finished up checking that Danny had fully recovered from a terrible case of the ghost flu he had caught a few days ago.

"You and the other Yetis seem to know alot about my hybrid physiology when I don't even know that. How come?" Danny asked. It was an innocent enough question. Jazz had pointed it out just before he left for his visit and he hadn't been able to shake it from his mind since.

"Well, of course!" Frostbite said with a boisterous laugh "You think you are the only Halfa to have ever allied with our tribe? We have always been friends to your kind Great One!" Frostbite said back with a carefree kind of happiness before he realized what he had just accidentally spilled.

Now they stood there in heavy silence as Danny processed the meaning behind Frostbite's words.

"Other Halfas!?" Danny all but screeched as he nearly fell from where he was sitting with the realisation of what Frostbite said.

Frostbite looked uncomfortable to say the least. He seemed to look around at anything but Danny as he replied "Y-Yes of course! You didn't think you and those two others were the only ones of your kind." Suddenly Frostbite looked Danny in the eye with concern "Did you Great One?"

Danny couldn't reply.

By the heavy look Frostbite was giving him it seemed like there was something deeper to this subject than he was realising. Danny just shook his head.

"Mmm no, the only other Halfas I've ever met were Dani and Vlad" Danny said matter-of-factly. By the look Frostbite was giving him it was obvious he was missing something, some unspoken fact that hung in the air just out of his reach.

Frostbite suddenly broke from his gaze as he huffed while looking to the side "That Plasmius should be ashamed of himself to even dare call himself a Halfa. He may be there biologically but none of his actions reflect on your people" Frostbite said with a tone of bitterness, a tone that was slightly sharper than the bitterness he usually talked with when talking about Vlad.

"Yeah, totally agree, 100% but back to the topic at hand I have a people!?" Danny's brain was trying to understand this new revelation. In a way it answered alot of questions that he had never really thought about. How were the ghosts able to tell he wasn't a full ghost. Why had Pointdexter known to call him a Halfa as if it was a common term. Why ghosts just didn't seem all that surprised about the existence of some weird hybrid. Of course Vlad could've had a part in that but Vlad was always too busy in his cheese castle plotting revenge to really interact with many ghosts outside of hiring them to do his dirty work.

But it also brought up a while slew of new questions. Where had these other Halfas come from? Definitely couldn't be another lab accident caused by his parents. Why wasn't there any information about the existence of ghost human hybrids on earth if there were enough Halfas around to be considered a people, a kind, not just an anomaly that repeated a few times but by the sounds of it some sort of society? And most importantly, where were they!? Danny had never ran into anyone like himself apart from Vlad and Dani.

He looked at Frostbite, trying to pick which question was the most important to ask first. It seemed Frostbite was blissfully unaware of his internal struggle as he just went on.

"Well yes Great One. The Halfas were a strong and prosperous people.... I suppose there isn't really a way for you to know that but I am surprised this is the first you are hearing about this" Frostbite said awkwardly.

Danny probably looked like a fish with how much he was opening and closing his mouth without a word coming out. Finally he managed to say something past his shock.

" 'were'?" Danny asked, his hopes at meeting someone like him suddenly beginning to die.

Frostbite just nodded, avoiding looking at him again as a sorrowful look came upon his face "Yes, Pariah Dark" Frostbite said the name like it was something foul and Danny was inclined to agree "wiped them all out when he sensed they would be a threat to his throne"

Danny almost snorted at that.

Pariah Dark sounded like a character in a tragedy or a myth in that context. In trying to stop Halfas from dethroning him he was indirectly responsible for a Halfa dethroning him. Okay maybe not responsible, Danny would've done it whether the race of people had still been around or not but still the irony was there. So was the karma.

Then he focused on the more depressing part of what Frostbite had said.

"Oh" so there really wasn't anyone else. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

"But!" Frostbite said, a little bit of a cheer coming back to him "the ruins of their old city still stands! Maybe, if you are interested in knowing more, you could visit them? Of course everyone here in the Far Frozen would be more than happy to recount stories of other Halfas to you Great One but our knowledge is limited. Even with our friendship with them, they were always a secretive bunch" Frostbite explained.

Danny didn't really know what to think of the offer. It wouldn't be the same as actually talking to another Halfa but it would still be something, right?

"I'll... think about it" Danny said.

He had gone through too many revelations in too short a time span and he really just wanted to crawl into bed and take a nice long nap, which he could do since it was the weekend.

"Of course Great One. It is entirely up to you what you do" Frostbite said with a smile.

The rest of the visit seemed to fly by but the conversation he had with Frostbite was stuck at the back of his head. He kept on wondering about the other Halfas.

Were they nice? What kind of society did they have? Had they ever been to Earth or did they live exclusively in the Ghost Zone? Why were they as secretive as Frostbite said? Even to their own allies? Why had Pariah felt so threatened by them? Were they really that powerful? What will I find if I go to these ruins?

Even after he left to go back home the thoughts of a people just like him, a people long gone, lingered in his mind.

He was distracted.

He knew Frostbite and the other Yetis had noticed it even if they didn't comment on it but Jazz was alot more proactive about these sort of things. She noticed the far away look Danny had as they were eating dinner and afterwards pulled him off to the side as their parents went back down to work in the lab.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing" Danny mumbled. He didn't know if Jazz would understand his dilemma. Sure he was born human but thinking about the possibility of other Halfas, even if he hadn't been born one, it made his core clench with a need to learn more, to find them

"It's obviously not nothing, you've been distracted ever since you came back from visiting the Far Frozen. What happened?" Jazz asked.

Danny couldn't meet her gaze. He didn't know how to fraze it, to tell her about all the spiraling thoughts in his head, the confusing feelings in his core.

"Danny" Jazz said seriously.

Finally Danny caved and told her about the conversation he had with Frostbite about other Halfas. He told her about his feelings and thoughts on the matter. It was like the dam that had been filling for the last few hours had broken and suddenly Danny was exasperated as he finished recounting everything.

"Other Halfas...." Jazz said thoughtfully.

Danny nodded. For some reason he felt guilty, he felt like he was betraying his family by trying to explore this part of himself.

Jazz, thank the ancients for the observation skills she definitely didn't get from their parents, noticed Danny's dip in mood and quickly went to comfort him.

"Hey, you shouldn't feel bad about this. It makes sense you'd want to find and learn about people who might've gone through similar struggles" Jazz said as she put her hand on Danny's shoulder, a grounding gesture which he was silently thankful for.

"But I feel bad about how if I do learn about this then I'll be keeping more secrets from mom and dad. I already feel terrible lying to them about The accident" Danny shrunk into himself. It's not that he wanted to keep lying to his parents but the perpetual fear of them not accepting him hung over his head heavily and he feared now that if he tried to explore and learn about these people who were like him it would only give his parents more reason to distance him from the family if they found out.

"Danny, look at me" Jazz urged and Danny barely managed to meet her gaze. It was determined and honest, an immovable rock he needed in the swirling river that was his thoughts.

"You don't have to go there if you don't want to but you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that it will only make everything worse. Think about it but don't forget that just as many good things could come from this as bad things" Jazz said and Danny nodded along. That made sense.

"Yeah. I guess the concept just kinda overwhelmed me" Danny said and suddenly he felt emotionally drained all over again.

"Go on, get some rest. Sleep on it but there really isn't a time limit" Jazz encouraged and she was right but Danny felt like if he did want to go then it might be better to do it sooner rather than later.

He crashed onto his bed not really knowing what to think. A few hours ago he was excited by the prospect but now he dreaded what he might find at those ruins, what secrets the Halfas kept hidden away even from those closest to them.

Danny almost laughed at the parallels as he thought about his own secretive situation with his parents. He was in no place to preemptively judge.

Finally he went to sleep.

Dreaming of a lullaby he never heard and a city of people he would never meet.

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First | Previous | Next

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I'll be tagging all content do to with this story with the tag City of splintering hopes so if guys want to you can follow the story easier. You can also use that tag for any questions or content you guys make of the story!

Hope you all like this first chapter!

#danny phantom #City of splintering hopes #chapter 1 #my writing #danny phantom fic #danny fenton #dp frostbite #jazz fenton #dp fanfic #danny phantom au

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chaniters · 5 years

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SUNKEN TOWN

Episode 4 of my Awan Cormac second series! (Belonging to @kruk-art)

Spoilers in this one too!

Enjoy!

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Rangers HQ

“There’s nothing there!” Anathema says, enhancing the image

“We just need to go over the parameters. Can you switch to thermal readings?”

“Already did and it’s not turning up anything”

“Why are we letting the civilian into the city’s camera security feed again?” Steel complains.

“If he thinks he’s onto something,” Ortega says tiredly “We ought to try”

“Combine thermal and visual trough this filter,” you say handing him a Data-rod. “That should get us what we want”

“Sure, but I think we’re a bit past filters by now. This isn’t going to… “ he stops mid-sentence as the image changes radically

“...wow. You’ve got to be joking!” he says as the image shows a ghostly figure walking the streets, unseen by all civilians.

“I told you he was using cloaking devices!” you say exasperated.

Ortega goes silent as he observes Void leave the camera’s fixed angle.

Anathema doesn’t wait for your cue and applies the same procedure to other cameras. Soon, they begin showing images of Void, setting up the hospital attack from the shadows.

“That’s enough, the tech team can take it from here,” Ortega says putting a palm on Anathema’s shoulder. Technicians begin duplicating the procedure over the rest of the city-wide security feed as you all follow him to the meeting room.

“Good job, Sidestep,” he says with a smile

……………………………………………………….

It takes hours, and they won’t even let you back into the tech-room. Your access got rescinded after Steel started quoting regulations. Nothing to do but wait and you’re in no mood for Ortega’s shenanigans.

You keep fiddling with your targeting jammer, trying to amplify its powers, since that’s all you can really do. The ranger tech-tools you stole are admittedly better than your old work tools at home, and you want to fine-tune the hell out of it for the next time you meet Void.

An annoying tingling at the back of your skull starts distracting you from your work, while you do your best to ignore it. Contrary to what you would expect, It doesn’t go away but begins burning mercilessly, like a hot iron. No. Not iron.

“What?” you say without turning, as you feel you can’t take it anymore.

“I see you already helped yourself to our tech,” Steel says, arms crossed, staring at you.

“I shared something, so it’s only fair you share something in return, don’t you think?” you retort. You generally respect Steel but you’re on edge.

You. Are. Not. Having. It. Today.

“I want to stop that asshole, just like you and rescue all the patients while at it. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“You seem to know an awful lot about Void”

“We do have a history. Ortega knows that already, I think he told you unless I imagined that part”

“No one fully explained what that history is, and I don’t think he knows either.”

“I helped stop him last time in case you forget!”

“Maybe so, but I think you know a lot more than you’re letting on. And I think we’re going to be at risk because you’re holding on to information.”

He’s right, and you know he’s right. But you can’t really tell him that Void was trained by a government program that creates artificial humans because that would lead to a whole different can of worms. “I told you everything I know about his mods!”

“Yes, you did. Still, I also know cloaking devices like that are experimental army tech that you’re not even supposed to know about. How you have a filter capable of seeing through it, that’s what I’m wondering.”

“Experimental stuff gets misplaced all the time, right? Like drugs that kill people or give them powers. You’re seriously coming at me because the army lost another toy? I’ve just happened to have seen this stuff before” At least this is the truth. Void’s cloaking is government made, and they misplaced it. Big time. How Void got authorization to even use back when you were both in the farm it is something that you always wondered about. Whoever handled it to him back then must be regretting it very much now that he’s gone rogue.

He says nothing, so you take the chance to speak again.

“If that’s all you got, please go away? I don’t like being stared at”

“I’ll stop when I figure out who do you work for.”

“What the fuck are you implying?!” you say standing up and facing him…

“ENOUGH!” Ortega says entering the room. “Can’t I leave you two alone for more than a couple of minutes?”

“I WISH I was alone” you complain under Steel’s glare.

“You know what? You two should just…” Ortega starts before realizing the futility of it all “... whatever. I’m not your nanny… Just came to let you know that we lost them. The trail goes cold when they reach Sunken Town. The cameras end there”

“So when do we leave? I’m ready right now” you state standing up and shoving the scrambler on your backpack

“Nobody’s going right now ... What we’re going to do is keep working on it day and night. There are other… whoa. Wait!”

You’re already walking to the door, Steel stepping to the side more than happy to have you out of the HQ

“That’s it, I heard enough. I’m going to Sunken Town alone then”

“That area’s not even mapped! And it’s huge! You’re never going to find them like that. And they’ll see you coming from miles away! Our teams are trying to trace their comms… something’s going to show up, we just need to be patient, that’s how these things work!”

“Well, that’s not how I work!”

“But… one does not simply walk into …”

You slam the door leaving him and Steel behind.

“...Sunken town” he finishes the sentence groaning.

--------------------------------------------

Sunken Town.

Blacked out on tourists maps of Los Diablos, the government would have it be looked at from afar but never visited.

Former Los Angeles’ city center, the area was sprawling with skyscrapers right until the big one hit. The city’s iconic skyline turned wasteland in a matter of minutes, as the earthquake seemed to hate this area hardest. What remains now is a labyrinth, of interconnected toppled buildings leaning unsteadily onto each other in odd angles, along with a series of tunnels, garages, basements and old subway installations.

The new system combined to create a massive man-made cave system that is constantly expanded further by its duellers in (often catastrophic) attempts to create new passages and recover pieces of sellable wreckage and valuables. Everyone refers to it as the “Sunken Town” and only the most desperate dare venture -or live- here, the population consisting mostly of criminals, treasure hunters, social outcasts and the desperate.

Declared unsafe by virtually every engineering survey, the whole area became abandoned after attempts to bulldoze the rubble caused heavy tremors and deadly incidents with the locals. By all accounts, it is a death-trap with buildings collapsing almost every week and populated by hostile and armed pariahs under the ugly shadows cast by of Los Diablos brand new buildings.

Ortega wasn’t kidding when he said you’d never find Void like this. Even with your telepathy, the residents simply don’t know the layout well enough beyond their own turf and have confused and conflicting ideas about the rest. Picking their minds to create some sort of map won’t be effective if the pieces won’t add up.

You switched strategies to focus on rumors of the kidnapped victims, but all you get is some silly urban legend about people getting taken in their sleep and murdered by some sort of cult hiding somewhere in here. You have a hard time imagining Void joining a cult, and while Psycopathor and his fans are actually a sort of cult, their killings tend to be public.

You’ve been at this almost the whole day now, and not a single mention of them. It’s maddening. You might as well go back to the rangers and see if they got something by now, but that’d be admitting defeat. The night-vision setting on your mask is really giving you a headache by now but there’s no electricity here.

Your thoughts are interrupted by stray thoughts atop one of the inclined buildings. You can hear gunshots as you lift your gaze, and then a figure jumping several stories down onto the pile or rubble below, the fall slowing down into a glide before her feet touch the ground.

Impressive. Some sort of levitating boost?

You’re getting an adrenaline rush from her mind. Someone’s after her… and soon enough you can see her pursuers, wearing night-vision goggles. All of them jumping down behind her.

Unlike her delicate fall, they’re using a simple combat exoskeleton enhancement over their clothing, landing heavily and leaving cracks on the old pavement. You considered getting one of those, but the batteries are faulty and need recharging all the time.

But more importantly… Matching uniforms and equipment, and all of them chasing the same individual…? This stinks of supervillain minions.

Without another thought, you start running towards them with your gun drawn. If you don’t act, she’s going to get caught. You hide behind a corner and pull her by the arm the moment she runs next to you.

She tries to pull away, but you hold her arms and look into her arms while trying to calm her mind. It takes a few seconds for her to realize who you are, and then she stops struggling. In turn, you can see she’s no ordinary civilian… she’s wearing her own costume.

“I’m Sidestep, and I’m here to help.”

“Wow. I thought I was the only one in this dump, less of all someone famous. I’m Elyise, nice to finally meet you!”

“Any idea why those goons are chasing after you ?”

“I don’t know.. Maybe my magnetic personality? No?” she laughs nervously “Help me take those jerks down and I’ll share what I know”

“You’ve got it,” you say to that peeking at the rubble pile from your hiding spot.

Your mind’s sensing something odd about her. Some sort of telepathic ability bouncing off yours, too faint but it’s there. She might be an empath?.

No time to give much thought to it as you can see her pursuers catching up.

“She can’t have gone far! Find her now!” one of them demands, furious.

The enemy starts running in your direction, four males and a woman, all armed, all furious and charging with their exo-skeleton suits, so it’s do or die. You pull quickly and take a shot at the one who spoke. He collapses with a shriek as the energy blast hits him squarely on the chest, while the other one avoids you taking cover. He shoots his own gun right back at you, but you’re behind cover now. Telepathy always gives you an edge in shootouts.

Elyise jumps to the side, waving her arm… causing several pieces of debris to lift from the ground and rain in her general direction. Telekinesis… magnetism? Hard to tell. One of the enemies gets hit by a piece of wreckage and falls flat, while the other covers with their exoskeleton’s arms. Your mind tells you the one hiding is about to shoot Elyise, and thus you’re ready to take a shot the moment he pokes his head from his cover, taking him down as well.

Only two left.

“It’s Sidestep!” one of them screams

“I don’t care who he is, he’s not gonna get past me!” the woman answers in turn, ripping the door from a rusted car, and charging towards you. The old door blocks your shots and Elyise’s wreckage rain, letting the other minion follow.

Both of you are forced to duck as the one closer to you flings the door in your direction, missing narrowly. Falling to the side, you roll to avoid getting stomped by the male minion, but end up taking a hit to your hand, forcing the gun out of your fingers. Elyise’s got her plate full, gliding to the side to avoid the other one.

“You're so beautiful in that suit… I’m going to enjoy turning you to a pulp!” the woman screams charging her, sending fist after fist, edging closer to her.

Your opponent gets ready to finish you off, pulling his fist back, ready to crush your skull… but luckily he’s forgotten who you are. You haven’t.

Stepping to the side, you let his fist get stuck in a decayed brick wall.

You can’t help the smile under your mask as he struggles to free himself realizing his mistake, not fast enough to avoid the spinning kick that turns light’s out for him.

Turning to help Elyise turns unnecessary, as she’s lifting her opponent in the air as she flails her arms fruitlessly before being slammed into the dirt so hard it makes you close your eyes.

“Who’s the pulp now, asshole??” she says kicking her a few times. Perhaps there are some anger management problems there…?

“Well, that takes care of the trash,” she says dusting her hands “We have to bind them so they don’t report back on us and…”

“Leave that to me,” you say focusing on their unconscious minds. It takes a few moments, but it’s relatively easy now that they’ve been taken down. “They won’t remember a thing,” you say standing up.

“You… you did something to them?” she asks uncertainly. Of course, you were right, she is a telepath of some sort. This just confirms it, that she could tell you did anything in the first place.

“Just a minor thing. Let’s get far before they wake up” you say taking a tunnel formed by a collapsed structure as she follows.

……………………………………….

“Come in! Come in Elyise” the intercom says

“I’m here! Stop yapping already!” she answers

“Oh thank god! I thought they’d get you! And it’d be all my fault!”

“Nobody’s going to get me, you hear me?. I had it under control! And now Sidestep’s here so we have an even better chance!”

“Sidestep? Sidestep is that you?” the voice sounds different than what you remember… he seems confused. You look at the image… Reaper’s on the other side, sitting on a sofa with a cast arm and a cigar on his mouth in a very richly decorated room, a half-empty whiskey bottle next to him. What the hells is going on…?

“Hey, Reaper… it’s me” you say

“Thank you! Thank you for looking after my protegee.. She’s…”

“I’m not your protegee!” she interrupts “I found you drunk at Owl’s wailing about what Psycophator did, and took the case, remember? I needed your resources and your computers! You’re the one helping me, not the other way around!”

“Thank you Sidestep…” he goes on and on ignoring her.

Elyise groans, turning off the audio. “He’s under meds for the pain… his doctors are a bit… liberal about painkillers. He’s been in high cloud nine right now since the fire, and he’s also drunk because he thinks it’s somehow his fault” she says before turning the audio back on.

“... and if something happened to her, it would be like Hood’s death all over again! She’s even telekinetic like him… I mean not exactly like him, she’s not nearly as insufferable but still, if something happened I wouldn’t even know what to…”

“Nevermind that! Did you find any extra intel?” she cuts him off

“Intel?” Reaper asks losing his previous train of thought. “Oh… right. Yes, Charon found a lot actually interesting details”

Charon… his supercomputer named after the mythical ferryman according to the comics. Supposedly an AI. You never thought it was real.

“The structure you found, is part of a collapsed chemical plant” he explains showing a diagram in the intercom's screen. “The plant’s been abandoned since before the big one. Also, hear this out… It’s the original plant where they first manufactured the hero drugs, back when they were just diet pills! It was a big scandal back then when the media broke the entire story, the corporations, they stole this researcher’s papers and used them without her consent to develop...”

“You can spare us the history lesson… we could use plans of the place tough” Elyise interrupts again. It would seem she’s officially had it with wasted Reaper by now.

“Hm.. here,” he says the intercom updating with schematics. “The building’s partially collapsed now, but many floors and labs should be intact, and it had several basements, you’d have to go check on them yourselves.”

“It wasn’t abandoned now,” she says “It’s been turned into some sort of clinic, guards everywhere, and they’ve got the patients from Houswald captured inside. I think they’re experimenting on them… “ she says looking at you.

“Those bastards! They can’t do that!!!! You just hold right there… I’ll go get my suit and…” he says suddenly enraged.

“Enough!” she yells “You’re wounded, and in no shape to fight Reaper, and besides you’re retired! If you want to help, you need to pass on the coordinates to the rangers, your the only one with the tech in place to have communications in this dump!” Reaper’s gizmos are the most advanced you’ve seen yet rivaling farm’s experimental tech, and way ahead of the rangers. No wonder he was the top hero for so long if he had that much money to burn on it...

There is a silence on the other end and you can tell Reaper’s trying to process the words in slow motion. He’s so darn high, it’d be funny if your lives didn’t depend on him right now. “Fine… I’ll tell the rangers. Just wait till they are close before you make your move, you don’t want to get caught without reinfor..-”

“I know!!! It’s not my first time doing this!” Elyise complains, but Reaper keeps going on about the dangers of the job until she simply turns off the intercom frustrated.

“Wow… you’re really harsh on him”

“Spare me,” she says walking onwards “I’ve been taking his tale of woe for three days straight while Charon investigated. And the worst part? The AI It only works with HIS voice recognition. HIS. Not mine. So I had to get him to repeat every question I asked, and you’d think he ‘d stop drinking while at it? He did not. And the crying. God, the crying is the worst… You wouldn’t believe how bad he…”

You smile as you keep walking behind her hearing her huge list of complaints.

____________________________

My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

#fallen hero: rebirth #Awan Cormac #Elyise #Reaper #Sidestep #Steel #Ortega #Fanfic

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jenngrover · 7 years

Text

Camping at Monument Valley

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend about three and a half months in my T@b last summer. I spent my time, primarily in Colorado, although I did spend a little over three weeks on vacation in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Before vacation, I worked during the week, and spent evenings and weekends hiking and exploring the high Rockies. I learned a lot of things and I thought it might be worthwhile to share them. Some are things I sort of knew, but my experience confirmed and some were things that made me go, “Hmmm.” I hope you benefit from my experience! Originally, I had one massive long post, but I realized, nobody likes everything crammed into one post, I know I don’t.

This first post will deal with the role of planning in my trip. I am, arguably, a little over the top when it comes to planning. Yet, I never regret the planning I have done, once I embark. This summer was no different. You will find my planning permeated throughout the other posts, but this posts deals with how I went about my planning and what I learned from it.

Location

Where can I go that is scenic, that I can boondock, that is accessible for my T@b, that has good Verizon 4G.

What will my back-up plan be if my planned site is unavailable?

What happens if the cellular network goes down? What do I do in an emergency?

Where are the local NWS offices? What counties and which ranger districts will I visit?

Where can I seek medical help, if necessary?

Where are the closest Walmarts and Targets?

What are the fire conditions? I don’t burn a fire, but others do and many fires are started by lightning. which could put me and Rocky at risk if a wildfire breaks out.

As a result of my research, I had some beautiful campsites this summer. Better than you can get in most campgrounds, and for free! There are numerous websites out there that will show you how to find free campsites (I like Campendium), but in general, look at the websites for your local ranger districts and determine if “dispersed camping” is available. These are established sites that generally have a driveway (dirt) and often a fire ring (where someone else has stacked rocks in a ring.) If you stop a the ranger stations, many rangers will give you some advice, too. Most FS districts require you camp at an established campsite. Don’t build another fire ring – use the established one.

One ugly reality that I encountered is the growing number of people who are intentionally transient and the manner in which they abuse dispersed camping. Please leave your campsite better than you found it! Many places are ceasing dispersed camping because of the trash left behind by inconsiderate campers. A wildfire near Boulder, CO was attributed to this type of situation early last summer.

Many places allow you to stay for up to 14 days, but it can vary, so please be sure to find out before you go, how long you can stay and follow those rules.

Location planning also helps you know what your options are if your plans fall through. While on vacation with my sister-in-law, we learned a wildfire had sprung up at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Instead of boondocking, we opted for a Forest Service CG, just outside of the park. I knew that is was an option from my research. We pulled up and had our choice from a few open spots, which was pretty good considering it was late on a Sunday in July. I knew that it would be cool enough to be able to leave Rocky behind at this campsite and we are far enough from the fire to not suffer from poor air quality.

Connectivity

As I mentioned earlier, connectivity is a must for me. I need both phone and data and rely on 4G. My set up worked fairly well. I learned that many places would have strong connectivity in the morning but that it would fluctuate throughout the day and that by afternoon, I needed to connect to my booster. I was using my window mount, this summer. I like it because it is easy to use when the weather is bad or when I am trying to be discreet while overnight parking at Walmart. I received this antenna for Christmas and can’t wait to try it. It’s a Omni-directional antenna. I will plan on using that at spots where I get pretty good signal but want to take it up a notch or when I am making a quick stop. I will also likely pick up this directional antenna.

A directional antenna is a little more work to dial in – you have to know where to point it, but there are apps for that and from what I have read, I think it will be worth it.

Solar/Battery

Keep all of my gear and gadgets juiced up is a big deal. I also like to be able to run the fan without worry and watch a little TV at night. That meant I had to know how much I could do with the battery that I had. I found that I planned well, in this area. We had a stretch of about three days where it was cloudy. My battery and the little solar I did get through the clouds kept me humming! If you want to learn more about my solar set up and battery set-up, here are a few links:

Solar for Long Term Boondocking

Big Data for a Tiny Trailer: Installing the Victron 700-BMV

Guilty as Charged: Battery Use & Management Part 1

Guilty as Charged: Battery Use & Management Part 2

Beating the Heat and the Crowds

While on vacation, we face extreme heat and the record-setting crowds that celebrated the National Park Service’s Centennial. While at Zion, we headed up to the Kolob Terrace road. This took us to higher elevations and very few tourists. There are some amazing sights to see. We learned that the T@b a/c can’t keep up with the 100+ degree temps, very well, so Rocky was able to join us while we drove the road. When we were at Bryce Canyon, we took advantage of the opportunity to visit the amazing landscape of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and toured Cottonwood Canyon Road and the old Pariah town site. When we were in Moab, we drove up to the Sand Flats recreation area and observed the stunning views from the Porcupine Rim, that overlook Castle Valley and the edge of Arches National Park. In Canyonlands, we took an early morning hike to False Kiva, a site that you won’t find in a NPS brochure, because it is a Class II archeological site. all of these areas lead to fewer crowds an in many cases, cooler temperatures. Planning gave us a lot of relief this summer.

It’s not just preference, it’s safety

Some people like to “fly by the seat of their pants.” I am not one of them. But, I don’t just view preparation as a preference, I view it as a responsibility because of the safety implications. When you put yourself at risk, you inherently put others, like emergency personnel at risk, when they need to help you. I take my planning seriously and I hope you will, too. When I first started planning my trips west, I knew little about the nature and danger of flash flooding in the west. I am now keenly aware. We don’t have many wildfires in my part of the country, but I make sure I am aware when I travel. In some part of the country you might have tornados, or other hazards. Be aware both for your safety, but also so that you can enjoy a trip when things don’t go as planned.

Here are some photos from ,y summer adventures:

The sun breaks the crest of the horizon over thhe Grand Staircase, illuminating the Bryce ampitheater in Bryce Canyon National Park.

A tiny opening created a window of time for the sunrise to sneak through the thick blanket of cloud cover and create a brillinat sunrise with bold colors behind the La Sal Mountains in the distance. The color creeped across the sky bringing alittle pink and purple to the skies above Mesa Arch for just a moment, before the light was swallowed up by the clouds, again.

Stormy, spring skies create dramatic lighting over Cottonwood Pass

The sun rises behind the iconic Mittens of Monument Valley.

The skies were filled with color above Crystal Lake, for a moment before sunrise before the clouds won the battle.

I was busy looking ont he ground for an interesting shot, when by chance, I gazed up to check the weather and became enthralled with the circle of trees above my head.

Historic Twin Lakes, CO sits in the shadows of Rinker Peak and Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains in North America.

The sun starts to warm the peaks along the Contiental Divide above Lost Lake.

The June full moon rises above the Collegiate Peaks as viewed from Independnece Pass.

The morning fog lifts as the first light hits Crested Butte

Stumps, found along the Clinton Gulch Reservoir

Looking east from atop Cottonwood Pass.

The last light of day bathes Jones Mountain North.

Clinton Peak and Wheeler Mountain frame this lovely reservoir, high in the Rocky Mountains.

Perfectly still waters reflect the towering mountains on Emerald Lake.

Clouds and color highlight the first light over the peaks that tower above Twin Lakes.

The peaks of the Dallas Divide feel like old friends to me and I always feel as though I am in good company after spending time with them.

The sun slips below the range in the distance as the sky turns a delightful shade of cotton candy pink on a cool summer evening,.

Sunset, looking west from atop Cottonwood Pass

Wildfire smoke creates a hazey sunset at Zion National Park’s Watchman.

The last light of the day strikes the iconic Mittens of Monument Valley.

When the clouds stole the golden hour light, I decided to make a monochrome image with the perfect reflection and dramatic clouds.

Lessons Learned: Why Planning matters I was fortunate enough to be able to spend about three and a half months in my T@b last summer.

#Boondocking #cmaping #NuCamp RV #Pleasant Valley #summer #T@b #Tab #trailer #travel #USA

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