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July 11--Creede

2010-07-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we toured the Woodcarvers Festival in Creede. It was held in the underground community center in Creede. I never knew anyone could do such carving! Enjoyed seeing how artistic these people are. Last night Gary built a great fire down in the gully next to the motorhome. It was about 45 and the fire felt wonderful.

Today we drove north of Creede on hwy 149 to Brown Lakes and then to Black Mountain lake. On a lark, we drove the 4wd road to Carson pass. Great road and scenery.

PICTURES: 1.fire on mountain; 2.Brown creek cascade (had a steep hike to get this picture); 3.running low on drinking water; 4.Black Mountain lake; 5.which way to go--the right was much steeper so guess way we went

July 9--Creede

2010-07-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of dry camping and we are really having a good time. We are all alone on the mountain with great views, solitude and wildflowers. We decided on a drive up Seepage road off hwy 149 north. Short but scenic road along a lake (no water). We spotted a cave in the canyon wall and nothing must be done except drive off the road as far as possible and then climb. It wasn't too bad except for the talus at the top. I hate climbing on talus and stopped at the mouth of the cave. Gary went right on in and saw lots of evidence of mountain sheep in the cave.

July 8--Creede

2010-07-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Moving day! We have been in South Fork at Alpine Trails for 1 month and it is time to move on. We have a week until we need to head to Texas to visit the new baby so we have decided to try our hand at dry camping in the motorhome. We made a few "scouting" trips last week and selected a couple of good looking campsites in the Rio Grande National Forest. This is "dispersed camping"--pick a spot and stop.

We are now camped off forest road 508 off Miner's Creek Road just north of Creede. So far so good--furnace works and generator works--so we have electricity and heat, but limited water. By the way, this post was composed and sent while sitting in the parking lot of the visitor center in Creede.

PICTURES: 1. running out of space; 2.Alpine Trails RV; 3.Creede mountain hideway (enlarge picture to see MH in center); 4.at home on the mountain with million dollar views; 5.relaxing.

July 5--South Fork

2010-07-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Embargo Creek was the area of today's adventure. We took a different route than previous trips and drove to Milk Cow Pass and Groundhog Park road 650 (about 18 miles into the mountains north of Hwy 160). After the first few miles of dusty gravel road, the trail narrows and became very scenic. We saw no one else for hours. On the return trip, we made a loop off the main road--649 and 648--great 4wd trails that passed an interesting large opening mine.

PICTURES: 1. Groundhog Park; 2.good place for camping hammocks on Groundhog Park; 3.Milk Cow Pass; 4.-6.mine

July 4--South Fork

2010-07-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

Fourth activities were actually on the 3rd here in South Fork. A parade and fireworks were the highlights. On the 4th we drove north of Del Norte to the LaGarita Creek trail and the Biedell Creek road to the Crystal Mountain mine.

July 2--South Fork

2010-07-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Yippee, more adventure today! Rio Grande Forest Road 508-1A north of Creede. We happened upon this trail (wasn't on our map) while out exploring, and it turned out to be a great, exciting trail with steep grades, tight slopes,views and an aspen forest.

PICTURES: 1. Gary at end of trail; 2. don't worry--just checking; 3.aspen forest; 4.and 5. view of Rio valley from end of trail

July 1--South Fork, Colorado

2010-07-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Some views of the upper Rio Grande river. Headwaters are at Stony Pass in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

June 30--South Fork, Colorado

2010-07-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great day to finish out the month of June! We drove the Stony Pass trail; this is a pass in the San Juans north of Creede. It is 12,580' on the continental divide and is the source of the Rio Grande river. In the 1860's through 1870's it was the main road into Silverton and thousands of gold and silver mine camps. It is now a rouh 4wd recreational road from hwy 149 between Creede and Lake City going over the pass to Silverton. We drove to the pass only (40 miles from the pavement on hwy 149) and didn't go on into Silverton. We also drove a side road about 4 miles from the Pass called Beartown road. It follows Bear Creek to Kite Lake (end of road at 11,500'). We didn't find any signs of the mine town but the lake was simply beautiful. The roads were very rough and slow. 12 hours on the road today! We were dusty and tired but saw many fantastic things.

PICTURES: 1.Gary on the trail; 2.scene from the trail; 3.Stony Pass;4. Kite Lake standing on mine tailing; 5. Kite Lake; 6. waterfall into Kite

June 28--South Fork, Colorado

2010-06-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Another great adventure day today. We planned to make a loop through the Rio Grande Forest that we/'ve done before so we weren't too excited. It encompassed several gravel roads to Summitville, an abandoned mining camp, and Grayback Mountain. A few miles down Park Creek Road we decided to explore a small side road. It immediately crossed Park Creek and just got better from there. This rough, rocky track climbed into the mountains through creeks and mud holes to 12000 feet. It was made even more exciting because evidently the national forest service does not see the need to mark the roads. They sell you a map of the forest with forest road numbers but there are no corresponding signs on the roads--fun. Two hours and lots of bumping later we actually came out on the right road.

Another unexpected surprise was a road to the top of Grayback Mountain--definitely a 4wd road but great, great views at 12,000+ feet.

PICTURES: 1. Lunch in Rio Grande National Forest; 2.Summitville, old mining camp; 3.Summitville; 4. top of Grayback Mountain; 5. view from top of Grayback Mtn.

June 23--South Fork, Colorado

2010-06-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

The days are slipping by here being lazy and enjoying the cool weather. We have a favorite Mexican restaurant in Monte Vista with the best green chili sauce ever. Walks by the Rio Grande river are a daily routine along with drives in the surrounding mountains.

Gary and Frank Dees (our Texas friend) decided to hike the Continental Divide Trail from Wolf Creek Pass on hwy 160 today. Frank and Bobbie are square-dancing octogenarians. The hike started off in good order until they lost the trail. Gary and Scott have had this experience on the CDT at Bonita Pass, but this time the GPS saved the day even though they never found the trail.

June 17--South Fork

2010-06-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

Gosh, ten days since my last post! We rolled into South Fork, Colorado and Aspen Trails RV park on June 8. We plan to stay here for one month (unless we get a call to come to Texas early). Gary loves this park. It has all of the "big six" (water, electricity, sewer, satellite, wifi, and cell signal) and is $285 (plus elec) a month. His kind of place! June is definitely off-season here and everything is pretty quiet. But we didn't leave the wind in Utah; we put up our awning but had to take it down after a couple of days of high winds.

The roads here in the mountains are not plowed, but we haven't seen too much snow. Today we went to Creede to check on the roads at the Forest Service office there. We were told the Rat Creek/Willow Creek trail was open--so off we went. This is a 4WD road off the Bachelor's Loop out of Creede. We drove up the Rat Creek to the San Luis pass and then down Willow Creek (clockwise out of Creede), We made it but I think that saying the road is "open" was tongue in cheek. Several places the road is washed out and the creeks were very high and tricky to cross. One washed out place I got out and was supposed to help direct the tires on each side of a crevice. I was a lot of help--all I could do was scream "back up". My driver finally got through another way with only 3 wheels on the ground. But the pass was beautiful (and very windy). We had a great time (5 hours on the trail) and didn't see another soul. That's not too comforting when you consider how long the hike is back to town.

PICTURES: San Luis Pass in the Rio Grande National Forest north of Creede, Colorado.

June 7

2010-06-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

PICTURES; 1. California Gulch -- end of the plowed road; 2. California Gulch; 3. snow on Engineer Pass; 4. Pat and Gary on Engineer Pass; 5. Gary at Corkscrew Pass.

This is our last day in Ouray and we headed out to the Alpine Loop. The road from Ouray to Engineer Pass wasn't open (later we were told that road is in really bad shape) so we traveled south on 550 and went to Corkscrew Gulch which we love. Lots of snow had melted since last week and consequently the creeks that we had to cross were now rivers. But we made the crossings in good shape. We had been told that the road from Corkscrew to Hurricane Pass on to California Gulch into Alpine Loop was open, but guess what--still snowed in. We did drive to Engineer Pass and enjoyed seeing the snow. After that, we drove back to Silverton and onto the scenic hwy to Ouray.

June 6

2010-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. roadblock on Imogene Pass; 2. Cascade Creek waterfall in Ouray; 3. old Sneffels mine; 4. Atlas mine;5. another deadend; 6. can we make it (yes we did)

Today was a drive to Yankee Boy Basin just out of Ouray. We tried Imogene Pass road but were stopped after a few miles with a boulder in the road. Snow stopped us on another road, but had a good day seeing waterfalls and exploring old mines.

June 5

2010-06-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

Moving day again. We left Durango River Resort and headed north on hwy 550. We had three high passes to cross to get to Ouray: Coal Bank, 10,400 ft; Molas Pass, 10,800 ft; Red Mountain, 11,000. We made it fine (little slow at times) and are staying at 4J Park in Ouray backed up to the Uncompaghre River.

June 3--Durango

2010-06-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Ouray, Colorado; 2. lake at Corkscrew Pass; 3. snow banks on road; 4. red mountain view; 5. mountains from Pass
Catch-up day. So I'm posting more pictures of Corkscrew Pass and Ouray.

June 2--Durango/Silverton/Ouray

2010-06-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. top of Corkscrew Pass; 2. red mountain from Pass 3. top of Pass (lunch time but too cold to eat outside the jeep); 4. plowed roads leaving Pass; 5. remains of Mogul mine.

Snow, snow, and more snow! The mountains are really beautiful and the creeks are all rushing. Even though some of the high roads are not open yet we are enjoying seeing the snow. We've never been here for snow melt before and it is gorgeous (if you don't look at the muddy road).

We drove to Silverton and intended to drive the road to Cinnamon Pass (part of the Alpine Loop). Engineer Pass is not open so you can't drive the entire loop (and of course Engineer Pass is the best part of the trail). But somehow, I don't know how there aren't that many roads here, we made a wrong turn and ended up on the Gladstone/Corkscrew Pass road. We were saving this road for a bright, clear day (cloudy yesterday) but decided to go ahead. It was a great road crossing over the mountains at over 12,000 feet. We later learned that it had been plowed the day before so there was still lots of deep snow all around and judging from the tracks we were the first ones to travel it this year. How many ways can you say beautiful?

The trail comes back out on hwy 550 from Silverton to Ouray which is the "million dollar hwy" and just drop-dead gorgeous in it self. Toured Ouray and then enjoyed the scenic ride home.

June 1--Durango

2010-06-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Silverton valley; 2. Ophir Pass road washout; 3. Ophir Pass; 4. snow along the road; 5. Mineral creek (almost went). Can you find the train in picture 1?

Unbelievably, it is June, but there is still mucho snow on the mountains. They are beautiful and great waterfalls and rushing creeks, but not so good for jeeping. Many of the trails we had wanted to try are still closed and won't be open for several weeks! bummer

We drove the Lime Creek Canyon road today and it was very scenic. It followed a torrential creek and the road went from mountain top to valley floor and back up the mountain. Then we drove into Silverton and got the sad word on the closed roads. It is a nice, scenic town, compact in comparison to Durango. We tried to drive the Ophir Pass road but after a couple of miles the road was washing out in front of our eyes--crashing, muddy water that defied crossing. We turned around and tried another track on the way back to the highway. It led to a creek crossing that was tempting but wisdom overruled (or the thought of tow charges) and we turned around there also. Overall, a very fun day. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw a brown bear on the way "home". It was on the side of the road--definitely big and definitely a bear!

May 31--- Durango, CO

2010-05-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. lunch at campground on Florida river in San Juan National Forest; 2. Florida river; 3. home; 4. mineral hot springs on the mountainside

It appears I have some "catching up" to do here. May 29, Saturday, we left Torrey and drove to Durango, CO (around 300 miles). We traveled scenic hwys 24, 95, and 191 in Utah--great area. We passed through part of the Glen Canyon Rec Area which is a great place. In fact, that area would be good to explore.

We came into CO on hwy 491 and 160. We are staying at Durango River Rv Resort which is 12 miles north of Durango on hwy 550 on the Animas river. It was very crowded and noisy over the Holiday weekend but has cleared out today. Yesterday, Sunday, we bought groceries, etc, and ate lunch in Durango.

Today we drove up the Florida river (yes it is in Colorado) into the mountains above Durango to the Lemon Reservoir and above. Very rocky, rocky rocky road. Planning to head to Silverton tomorrow (day trip).

May 28--Torrey: Wild Horse Mesa, Bentonite hills

2010-05-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Factory Butte; 2.- 4. Bentonite hills on Wild Horse Mesa road on the San Rafael Swell.

This is our last day in Utah and we have thoroughy enjoyed it. The weather has been cool (with some snow), mostly sunny and very windy. Besides the stories posted, we especially liked Dead Horse Point SP, Goblin Valley SP, Calf Creek Rec Area, and Pleasant Creek campground on Boulder Mtn. Not explored but of interest is the San Rafael County area.

May 27--Torrey: Wild Horse Mesa trail and Bentonite canyons

2010-05-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: Little Wild Horse Canyon. Pictures of Bentonite canyons posted on May 28.

It is getting hard to tell which adventure is the best, but today's was right up there with the greatest. We left early (for us, 7:30) and headed east on hwy 24 to east of Hanksville near Goblin Valley State Park. Five miles down the road to Wild Horse Mesa is the trailhead to Little Wild Horse Canyon, a genuine slot canyon. It is a half mile trail up a wash, a dry creek bed, to the canyon and WOW is all I can say. Beautiful, colored sandstone walls 100 to 150 feet high and in places less than 3 feet wide. It is 1 to 1 1/2 miles long until another dryfall at the end.

After resuming the trail, we were in the desert on the San Rafael Swell. We drove through miles and miles of Bentonite hills and canyons. It looked so "otherworldly" and was fascinating. Gary climbed down in the bentonite canyons and said he would like to spend a day following these canyons down deeper and deeper.

May 26--Capitol Reef

2010-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Switchbacks down Waterpocket Fold on Burr trail; 2.-4. Striker Valley in Capitol Reef NP from the top of Waterpocket Fold; 5. what's required for a shady lunch spot in the desert

May 25--Capitol Reef, Burr Trail

2010-05-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1-3 Wolverine Creek slot canyon; 4. Long Canyon on Burr trail

This was another great adventure day!. Yesterday was very windy and cold so Gary's tire run was our only outside activity. The old tire was ruined, but a new one has us on the road again.

Today we drove around 200 miles, round trip, down hwy 12 to Boulder Town and then onto the Burr Trail that traverses part of Grand Staircase and Capitol Reef. It is partially paved (much appreciated) and then gravel; it crosses the Waterpocket Fold with a series of steep switchbacks. We had a great drive and the views were outstanding. The trail follows Long Canyon, a narrow red cliff beauty, for several miles. We were told about an unmarked side canyon (N 37º 51.89', W 111º 18.037') that we found and it was great.

We turned on a side trail, Wolverine Canyon, and found our first real slot canyon. We had rough directions and managed to find a place where we could slither down into it. Really cool and creepy. Glad we have long legs and not any fatter than we are. We twisted along the canyon for over 1/4 mile before it was blocked. Finding these canyons (N 37º 48.18', W 111º 11.96') would be a great activity for little and big boys.

After driving 'unknown' tracks in the desert, we made it to Muley Twist Canyon. It's a rough, rocky 3 mile drive up a side canyon in the middle of the Fold. There are 3 very nice arches on the canyon walls along the 'road'. At the end, a hiking trail leads to Striker Valley overlook. I probably would have stayed in the jeep if I had known that we had to climb to the top of the cliffs, but it was worth all the slickrock. The view is magnificent. You are on top of the Waterpocket Fold and can see in both directions for 20 miles or so --unbelievable.

We then progressed along Burr Trail to the switchbacks down the Fold into the valley. They were built (somehow) by a pioneer rancher to get his cattle to market. Man these people were determined.

More pictures of this trip are posted on May 26.

May 22--Capitol Reef

2010-05-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

PICTURES: more scenes from Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef NP

This was supposed to be a rest day because the wind is so strong I didn't think I wanted to risk stepping out of the motorhome. But a leak in the water heater sent us scurrying to Loa looking for parts. Gary got a new plug and fixed it in a jif. Did laundry in the afternoon at the General Store in Torrey. This weekend was evidently BMW Bike Weekend in Torrey and all of them were staying at the cabins next to the laundromat.

May 23--Grand Staircase National Monument

2010-05-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. if you have to change a tire, it needs to be in such a beautful place on the Escalante River; 2.-4. Devils Garden, Grand Staircase NM; 5. canyon view from hwy 12 in Grand Staircase.

Utah Hwy 12 is billed as a 'scenic highway' and 'All American Hwy'. Normally, I take these designations with a grain of salt, but this time I have to admit that this road is simply a fantastic drive. It starts in Torrey and goes through Bryce Canyon. We drove the road from Torrey to Escalante,UT. The section from Boulder to Escalante is through the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. Wonderful, wonderful canyon views is the only way to describe it.

We also drove the gravel road "Hole in the Rock" which runs across the NM turning south off hwy 12 at mile 65. The road was rough, washboard and not as scenic as claimed. We only drove 11 (out of 55) miles to Devils Garden just off the main road. It was a great grouping of hoodoos and slickrock. One great camping spot in the NM isj Calf Creek Recreation Area". Its down in the bottom of a small red canyon with a stream. Very scenic and even has a trail to a tall waterfall.

On the return trip, we discovered a leaking tire. Gary changed it in record time and we were back on the road. Now tomorrow will be a trip to the garage in Loa, UT, the county seat in the area with a total of 525 people.

May 21--Torrey, Utah (Aquarius Plateau)

2010-05-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Big Lake reservoir; 2. Top down but so windy and cold had to put windows in; 3. Wind on top of knoll in picture 4; 4. Just had to try side trail up knoll.

The vicious winds returned today and are promised to continue through tomorrow. Ugh, I'm really glad I'm not in a tent!

Ignoring the wind, we headed out this morning for a drive on the Acquarius Plateau. More geology notes (for me): Roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwest U.S. is the Colorado Plateau which is nicknamed Red Rock Country. The Acquarius Plateau is an uplift on the much larger Colorado Plateau. The Acquarius is the highst plateau in North America with over 50,000 acres of mostly forested highland over 11,000 feet.

Our plan was for a 60 mile loop running along the Plateau. But the higher we went the more snow we encountered until after about 25 miles the road was snow covered and even Gary decided it might be a bad idea to continue. It was a very interesting drive; very different from other areas here.

May 20--Capitol Reef NP

2010-05-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Cottonwood trees at Fruita; 2. Fruita; 3. Fruita school house; 4. and 5. petroglyphs on the canyon wall about 10 feet off the ground

We rested today and explored the historical town of Fruita in the NP. This small community was established by the Mormon pioneers in 1880. It is in a small, narrow valley next to the monocline where two small rivers (creeks in the rest of the watery world) come through the valley. The orchards that the Mormons planted with irrigation ditches are still being cultivated in the Park. There are also petroglyphs on the canyon walls dating about 1000 years (so they think) to the Fremont Indians.

May 19--Capitol Reef NP

2010-05-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1.-3. Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef NP; 4. Glass mountain (unusual outcropping of gypsum crystals; 5. Temples of the Sun and Moon in Cathedral Valley

Our adventure today was a drive through the Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef. It is a 55 mile loop through the northern part of the Park; it's a high-clearance dirt road (took us about 7 hours). The road begins with crossing the Fremont River and then travels through desert in the Valley. We don't have a picture of the river crossing, because we discovered that camera wasn't working just as we stopped at the river (turned out to be only a battery problem, whew). Great drive, but we are always ready to quit jostling around in the jeep and sack out in the motorhome.

May 17--Capitol Reef NP

2010-05-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

PICTURES: 1. Grand Wash trail; 2. and 3. our new Japanese friends (Kinuyo and Shinitsu Araki); 4. Grand Wash

This is UPS delivery day for the new GPS! On the first day at Moab the old GPS decided to retire. We planned to make a short trip in the morning to be sure and be at the RV park to catch the delivery man. We have found a GPS to be very comforting on treks in the desert.

We hiked the Grand Wash trail at Capitol Reef. Easy trail that follows a wash (remember, dry creek bed in Arkansas) in a deep canyon. The canyon narrows down to maybe 20 feet wide with 400 foot walls. It was a great hike, but I had read that it was a slot canyon (a narrow canyon where you can touch both walls with your outstretched arms). That just shows you can't believe everything you read. Now I'm still on a hunt for a slot canyon! As we were hiking the trail, we met Shinitsu and Kinuyo. We were very surprised to see each other again and had another nice visit!

We are proud owners of a new Garmin Trek (hand-held) GPS.

May 16--Capitol Reef National Park, Torrey, Utah

2010-05-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Pictures: 1. Tantalus creek crossing, spring water coming from rock; 2. lunch on the rim; 3. Tantalus Canyon; 4. red cliffs

We are exploring a new place! We haven't been to Capitol Reef NP before and are enjoying learning about this area. I don't remember where it got the name Capitol Reef because the main feature is a Waterpocket Fold. For those of you, like me, who are not geologists that is a giant buckle in the Earth's crust that stretches across south-central Utah. It is a classic monocline! I love this geology stuff. Anyway, it is a big jumble of colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, stark monoliths, twisting canyons, and graceful arches (taken straight from the Park brochure).

We are staying in a no-frills park about 5 miles west of the NP. But we like it here; the owners are friendly, its quiet, small, and cheap (Gary's main concern). Sounds like a winner to me. Before starting out on our adventure of the day, we stopped at the local visitor center in Torrey (the population might be 50). An older lady was manning the center (and this is just for you Dana) and we got into a conversation with her. What do you know--she was from Greenbrier and Scottsboro. Her father was a civil engineer and worked on the Tennessee river dams. She met her husband at Redstone Arsenal. They moved to Utah in 1974 to work on the shuttle. So many people have interesting 'back stories'.

Back to the main story line...We drove Tantalus Creek trail from Boulder Mtn into the NP. It was a 10 for scenery (Gary rates it an 8). We crossed the Tantalus Creek and the Pleasant Creek as well as rocky mountain ledges, but I'm getting better; didn't close my eyes a single time.

May 15--Leaving Dead Horse Point

2010-05-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, our three days are up. We had a great time and still have water in our tanks! Yeah. We really liked it here and would recommend it to anyone. Before we left this morning, I wanted to take one more hike on the rim trail Gary wasn't feeling very well (wonder if it was the mushroom soup?) so I decided to go alone and let him pick me up at The Point. That's a 2 1/2 mile trail through the desert to the overlook at the end of the butte. So off I go with only a bottle of water and a promise to get picked up in one hour. The trail was wonderful and I arrived at The Point parking lot exactly on time, but no little Jeep Wrangler. I stood around for a while and then started talking to a young Ranger who was trying to interest passersby in a little ecology lesson. He wasn't having any luck attracting anyone so I decided to be generous and listen to his spiel. Well, 30 minutes later when Gary still wasn't there, we were real good friends. After 45 minutes on The Point I decided to start walking back on the road (1 1/2 miles) and look for him. Just before I got back to the campground, my Ranger friend stopped and drove me on to the campsite. Sure enough, no Jeep or Gary. By now I had decided that Gary must be at the Visitor Center parking lot. All he heard me say was "pick me up at the parking lot". Now why he thought I would want to walk 1/4 mile to the Visitor Center I don't know. I told Mr. Ranger what he and the Jeep look like and please send him home, He was afraid I had gone over a cliff, and I was afraid he had gotten really ill. Oh, well, as Shakespeare said, All's well that ends well.

We drove to Torrey, Utah, and Capitol Reef National Park. We don't know much about this place but are staying for a week to explore. We have water, elec, sewer, wifi, and cell signal all for $14.25 a day!

The pictures are more from the White Rim road in Canyonlands.

May 14- Dead Horse Point, day 2

2010-05-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Canyonlands! After the long drive yesterday, we slept in today and enjoyed a little extra rest. Then we headed out to conquer more canyons! We drove down Longs Canyon off the Dead Horse Point Road. It was a great, short drive down a tight, sandstone cliff canyon. Drove into Moab for gas and pizza. Then drove the Shaefer road back into Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Great views of Dead Horse Point and the Colorado River. Then a nice, steep climb back up the canyon face.

After coming back to the park, we met a Japanese couple who had just arrived in the park. They came over to our coach, brought Japanese mushroom tea/soup, and we visited. Very interesting to meet people from Tokyo. He spoke fair English; she spoke about as much English as we spoke Japanese. They loved the open spaces and slower pace of America. Shinitsu and Kinuyo Araki

Picture 1: Dead Horse Point State Park as seen from the White Rim road; picture 2: Canyon wall exit from White Rim road; picture 3: Colorado river from Shafer road directly below Dead Horse Point; picture 4: boulder that has fallen across the trail in Longs Canyon (we have just passed through but it hasn't just fallen),

May 13 - Dead Horse Point State Park

2010-05-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

I hardly know how to record our wonderful adventure today. In 2006 we first visited Moab and Canyonlands. While standing on the rim on the canyon at Islands of the Sky, we saw a jeep driving in the canyon a couple thousand feet below. We were fascinated and discussed how much fun that would be. Well, four years later, here we are experiencing that for ourselves. We jeeped the famous White Rim road in Canyonlands National Park. It is a 68 mile partial loop that drops from the rim down into the canyon; it runs along the plateau and also in the bottom of the canyon along the Green and Colorado Rivers. There are a few primitive campgrounds along the trail and it is recommended as a two-day trip, but we are not equipped to camp out (and aren't very fond of the idea, either). So we opted for a long one-day drive. Now 68 miles doesn't sound like a long trip, but at 6 mph max it takes all day.

We were on the trail at 6:25. It starts at Shafer Point by dropping precipitously down a sheer canyon wall in a series of steep, narrow switchbacks. And it only got more exciting from there! We spent all day driving rough, rocky, sandy, steep one-lane trails and loving every minute of it. Around every curve was an even more breath-taking sight. We stopped several times, took short hikes, and snapped pictures; but we had to keep moving to make our 68 miles. We sure didn't want to be in the canyon after dark. There turned out to be much more daring parts of the road (and I call it that with a smirk) than we had expected. There were quite a few “on my gosh” moments. But I am learning how to come to the top of a steep hill and just head over into the abyss—trusting that there is a road down there somewhere. The person who rated the trail 4 out of 10 must have missed Hardscrabble Hill and Hogback Mountain! A few times there I thought we might be staying here longer than planned—maybe permanently, but my driver was great and really come through in a pinch.

As we turned one curve, we came upon a group in distress. Four bikers with a support truck (one- ton 4 door Ford) had a flat and no jack. We were able to loan our little Jeep jack and get the spare on the truck. It looked like the little jack might bend and give way, but it held. There was little traffic on the road (we only saw 2 vehicles all day) so they were really glad to see us come along. After another hair-raising switchback climb up the sheer cliffs, we made it back to a graded gravel road that felt like a super highway. Our little step-child Jeep had done another superior job which is wonderful since the towing fees start at $1,000 on this road. Every muscle in our bodies ached, but we slept great. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Pictures are from the White Rim road, Last picture is Gary on the Musselman Arch on the White Rim.

May 12 - leaving Moab

2010-05-14T21:29:00.001-07:00

Well, the inevitable came today. Now matter how much you ignore the facts, at some point the dirty clothes consume your space and a trip to the laundry is a necessity! Today was moving day, and we had decided to wait until today to wash (2 weeks worth of dirty clothes, ugh). Our campground didn't have a laundry so we hitched up the motorhome and jeep and headed to town to wash and then move on. We gassed up the jeep (plus an extra can) for our trip deep into the bowels of the canyons, and then stopped at a laundromat. Another couple came in (obviously travelers also) shortly after us and the man started commenting how much he hated the laundry runs. I thought he expressed it ratherly nicely: “I would rather be pushing my bike through sand.” Now, we have been watching these extreme bikers since we have been in Moab. It seems that all the skinny, spandex-clad population in the U.S. come to Moab to bicycle the slickrock. We have seen them going places that a bicycle just shouldn't be able to go. We have met them as we were flying (5 mph) along the deep sand beds, pushing their bicycles in the bottomless sand. And believe me, it didn't make us wish that we had brought our bikes. So we fully understood what he was talking about.

But a quick hour later we were all finished with 5 loads and had also bought a few groceries—piece of cake. We drove 35 miles north of Moab to Dead Horse Point State Park. We had been fortunate enough to get reservations for three nights at this great park. It is on the Islands in the Sky road in the Canyonlands NP. Every once in a while you hit a home run on vacation planning, and this is it. Great park (21 site campground) on a penisula into the canyon over the Colorado river (2000 feet below). For only $20 a day says Gary. Our back window looks out over the desert to a canyon rim! There is no water here, but it does have electricity so we sitting pretty. Gary set up the satellite dish, and then we started hiking one of the 10 miles of trails along the rim in the park. Magnificent!

May 11--Moab, wind, wind, wind

2010-05-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Last night was miserable; I thought the wind was driving me crazy! At 1:00 I turned on the lights and moved the slide in on the motorhome. Then at 3:30 I woke Gary up (how can men sleep through anything) and got him to go outside and take the screen off the windshield. The wind was blowing so hard that the magnets were slamming against the windows. Gusts were 45 mph and I think I felt every gust. The wind has been overdoing it ever since we left home, but this was the worst. The wind continued today, but has calmed down now (6:30 p.m.). I'm hoping that it doesn't follow frequent patterns and start gusting about bedtime.

We drove Utah 128, a scenic byway that follows the Colorado River through the canyons east of Moab., wonderful canyons and a white-capping river. We stopped in Moab and Gary went into a electronics store. A huge gust blew in while he was gone and I swear it moved the jeep.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we move to Dead Horse Point State Park. I may not be able to blog until Saturday.

May 10--Moab, Monitor and Merrimac jeep trail

2010-05-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

My driver took me on another great adventure today. He is doing such a great job of keeping me entertained! There was a threat of rain (soggy, impassable roads) but we headed out anyway to try our luck on a '5' trail and luckily it didn't rain.

The trail started in a sandy wash (dry creek bed in Arkansas) and very tight canyons; if the jeep had been any wider we might still be in that wash. The trail was very, very deep sand. Now I'm afraid of deep sand, having been stuck on occasion in my childhood in Florida, and generally close my eyes when my driver takes off through a long stretch. of sand. We had read about sand beds before we started the trip, and the ominous advice was to let most of the air out of your tires and then reair them after each sand bed. Now that sounds like fun doesn't it! But our little jeep takes those sand beds (with full air) without a slip or slide. Next trip I may open my eyes! Besides the sand, there was lots of slickrock--what this place is famous for. It is called slick, but that doesn't mean it is smooth. More places to close my eyes.

The main attractions on the trail are the buttes: Monitor and Merrimac. For those who don't remember their War of Northern Aggression (just for you Randy) history, those were the first two ironclad ships that battled in 1862 off Hampton Roads, Virginia. The Merrimac was actually the CSS Virginia. Another bit of information I'll throw in (the old school teacher in me still comes out at times) is the difference between buttes and mesas. A butte is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides, and a small, relatively flat top. A mesa is similar but has a top wider than its height while a butte's top is narrower.

We lost the trail (from our jeep book) somewhere along the way. The desert is a hard place to decide which sandy track to take. But we drove by the buttes (and stopped for lunch) and had a much better view than the outlined trail. Of course, we had to backtrack over some rough, steep slickrock when our 'trail' ended.

Picture 1: Merrimac; picture 2: Monitor; picture 3: Determination Towers

May 9--Moab, La Sal Mountains

2010-05-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Rest day today! We decided to take it easy today and take a drive on asphalt (mostly) into the mountains just south of Moab-the La Sals. The two tallest peaks are over 12,000 and still completely covered in snow.

For a special treat, we ate buffalo burgers at Milt's Stop and Eat (a Moab favorite with the extreme sports crowd since 1954). It had a walk up order window and a few tables outside vieing for the shade of one ole tree. But it was breezy and fun to watch all the mountain bikers and tenters (you can tell this group by the rumpled clothes and sweaty hair). We had a shower today so we didn't really fit in, but we pretended that we had really worked hard climbing mountains (instead of napping on the sofa under the air).

Picture 4 are the LaSals taken from out campsite.

May 8--Moab, Arches NP

2010-05-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

We decided to visit Arches National Park today. We had covered it pretty well four years ago, but decided we wanted to make one more visit. We left the house before sunrise (6:00) this morning and drove to the Devils Garden trail in Arches NP. We hiked to Landscape Arch, Tunnel Arch, and other views.

We drove two jeep roads that start in Arches: Cache Valley and Willow Flat. Nice 4 rated roads but not as spectacular as the others we have done. We did have a nice view of Delicate Arch from the Cache Valley and saw many wildflowers. We are enjoying seeing the desert bloom. It's amazing how anything can grow in the sand and rock much less have beautiful blooms.

Back 'home' by 1:00 and resting in comfort. Picture 3 is Delicate Arch; picture 4 is Landscape Arch (306 feet).

May 7--Moab, Gemini Bridges trail

2010-05-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we were back on the trail again this morning (29 degrees at 6:30). So we waited until 8:00, took the top and windows off the Jeep and headed out. Gemini bridges are twin natural bridges (formed by water flowing under the rock) instead of arches (formed by erosion of the rock). I included this lesson for my children who have always been fascinated with the discussion of erosion.

Yesterday's trail was rated a '4' (out of 10) which I thought was a little difficult for us; so we headed out on a '5' today--go figure. About 5 miles in we decided to take a trail down a side canyon (Bull Canyon) to see the bridges from the canyon floor. The main trail views them from the rim. We didn't read the directions carefully enough and missed the turn for the bridges in Bull Canyon. The trail got steeper, rockier, and more thrilling as we went. Finally, the trail ended and we decided that we had gone too far and must have missed something (nobody can say we aren't bright)! After turning around (another joy), we backtracked down all those hills we had struggled to get up and tried to find the darn bridges. By this time I really didn't care about ever seeing them! We met a jeep (the first humans we had seen all morning) and asked them if they knew where these elusive arches were. Nope, they were looking also. While the men were talking out their respective windows, the lady in the other jeep said "what about that sign 'Gemini Bridges'". We were sitting right next to the trail to the bridges. In our defense, the sign was way off the road and half-hidden. If we hadn't stopped them (actually they stopped to let us pass on the one lane trail), we both would have missed it again. Anyway, we hiked out to it and enjoyed the great view.

While we ate our lunch there, we read our instructions again and noted that the road we had traveled was definitely NOT RECOMMENDED and was listed as likely to cause damage. Well, Gary had driven it like a pro and our little step-child Wrangler did great. We got back on the main trail; and saw the bridges from the top of the mesa. But they were not nearly as impressive as from the canyon floor! Now that we've done a NOT RECOMMENDED trail, heck, we might go for a '6' tomorrow!

Question especially for Wolfie, Warren, Marianne, Juliette, and Wilson: what does picture 4 look like?

May 6--Animals and Flowers

2010-05-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

These are especially for the grandchildren.

May 6--Moab, Utah

2010-05-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, our jeeping adventures started today! We jeeped the Kane Creek trail from Moab to Hurrah Pass (14 miles) and then connected to the Chicken Corner trail (11.2) one way. We spent all day driving 50 miles, but it was indescribably beautiful--redstone bluffs and rim views of the Colorado river. It was quite an experience! I kept looking at the road (if you can call it that) and saying "oooh, boy"; and Gary would say "piece of cake". All three of us (Gary, me and the jeep) made it back to camp without body damage so it was a very successful day of adventure.

Pictures are along this trail with views of the Colorado river. Note the jeep in picture 3.

May 5-- Canyon de Chelley

2010-05-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Another day at the Canyon. We hiked the White House ruins trail down into the canyon-600 feet in less than a mile. Then a walk along the Canyon floor to the ruins of a Anasazi cliff dwelling. The trail down was great, but the hike back out of the Canyon was something else (especially at 6500 feet altitude). We made it though with only about a dozen rest stops and were very proud of ourselves. For future reference, you can hire Navajo guides to take you on horseback and jeep tours of the canyon. I was seriously thinking of hiring one to haul me out of the canyon. After cooling off and eating lunch, we headed out to Moab, Utah (about 175 miles). Thankfully, we had reservations, because it is very busy here. There are some serious jeep trailer queens here in our park. They make our jeep look like a step-child. Nevertheless, we are heading out tomorrow for some serious adventures; maybe if we get stuck one of the trailer queens will pull us out. Pictures were taken from the Canyon floor.

May 4--Canyon de Chelley National Monument

2010-05-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Left Grants, New Mexico for Chinle, AZ (about 150 miles). Visited Canyon de Chelley which is in the Navajo Nation. The park and the campground are FREE. Nice campground, no hookups, but shady and spacious. There is limited access to the canyon, but there are drives with walks and overlooks on the rims of 2 canyons. Beautiful, redstone canyons with green trees and grass in the bottom.

May 2--Mt. Taylor

2010-05-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

A special mountain just for my three little Taylors. Mt. Taylor, New Mexico, 11,000 feet and snow capped.

May 3--El Malpais National Monument

2010-05-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

My aching legs tell me we had a busy day! Visited El Malpais National Monument outside of Grants, New Mexico. It snowed last night and the dirt roads in the park were impassable (even with 4WD) so we followed the advice of the ranger and stayed on paved surfaces. The Park is a huge lava flow with a chain of 30 cinder cones running roughly along the continental divide. Many places are miles of solid lava of undetermined depth.

There are miles of lava tubes (some collapsed and making caves), but unfortunately these were down an impassable road so we will have to explore them on another trip. We walked a long trail across the lava flows (Lava Falls area, picture 2,3) and climbed a sandstone cliff and viewed the lava fields (Narrows Rim trail, picture 1). We also hiked to La Ventana, the largest accessible natural arch in NM picture 4).

All in all, a great day, but I've seen enough lava for quite some time.

May 2: Grants, New Mexico

2010-05-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

Rain, snow, and fog today! Therefore we had a day of enforced rest. So we just relaxed and enjoyed a day "at home" at Blue Spruce RV park (not particularly scenic but quiet and all RV necessities). 25 tonight. Oh, yeah, Gary says NO to Aunt Jemima Complete pancakes.

April 29,2010: Heading West

2010-05-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Gary and Patricia left the beautiful spring weather in Alabama and headed for the high plains deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. This is our first long trip in our "new" previously-owned motorhome, aka 'the short bus'. Also coming along on the trip is our extremely experienced Jeep Wrangler.

We are three days out now and 1300 miles under our belts and everything is rosy. Of course, that could be because I've just had a nice, long hot shower (the first in 3 days)! We are staying 3 nights in Grants, New Mexico, and I am listening to the wet snow hit the roof as I type. We left home a week earlier than planned because Gary thought it was going to be too HOT here. Oh, well.

Tomorrow we are going jeeping at El Malpais National Monument (the Badlands). Just in case you want to know, it is pronounced el mal pie EEZ.