I wanted to drive to Benezette, PA for my birthday this year. Benezette is known for its elk population and as I noted in earlier blogs I did not get to see elk in Yellowstone, Tetons, or Rocky Mountain National Park!! The elk just seem to elude me. I have previously taken the trip to Benezette with my parents over 10 years ago. We saw NO ELK on that drive! A few deer, but no elk. Even though Benezette bosts of thousands of elk, we…Continue Reading “Birthday at Benezette”
We left Erie on Monday morning and headed to Pine Creek. I was anxious to see the fall colors, even if a little late. They did not disappoint. We were finally home from our trip and what a great trip it was!! TRIP STATS Number of Miles: 8248 MilesNumber of Nights: 49 nights (7 weeks)Number of Nights camping in the car: 34 nights Number of National Parks: 8(Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Rocky Mountain) Number of National Memorials/Monuments: 3(Devils Tower, Grand Staircase-Escalante,…Continue Reading “Finally Home (Pine Creek) – trip stats & cost”
October 12, Thursday – We left our “Love’s Truck Stop” and headed east on I70. We stopped off in Kansas City, Kansas which is where Stew grew up. We tracked down his old address and neighborhood and spent time driving around checking out all the changes. Stew lived there from birth to until he was about 8 years old (1969-1977). We spent the day driving and stopped in Boonville, MO at a rest stop for the night. Rest areas are far nicer to sleep in,…Continue Reading “Heading to Erie!”
October 10th, Tuesday – We left our nightly pit stop in the Utah Welcome Center and headed for Colorado. We stopped in Fruita, CO at their recreation center and library for a much needed shower and some WIFI. The rec center was really awesome. I had the chance to talk to a woman in the locker room that was retired and living in Fruita. She told me how great it was – weather etc. She also told me about the Grand Mesa drive (which we…Continue Reading “Colorado”
We woke up in Hanksville at Stan’s Burger joint and convenience store. We got cleaned up in the restrooms and filled all our water jugs. Stew got coffee and I got hot water from my Dandy Blend morning drink. Perfect little spot for the night. Heading east on Rte 24 we drove through the Canyonlands. We decided to do a few hikes while in Canyonlands: Mesa Arch Trail and the Whale Rock Trail among others. We debated whether to camp and do Arches National Park…Continue Reading “Canyonlands and Arches National Parks”
We left Kim’s with lots of tears and hugs and down the road we went. We drove right past Las Vegas without even a glance and headed for Cedar City Rest Area where we stayed for the night. This was our first time car camping in a rest area but I did not want to head to the hills and all that dust. The rest area has facilities and the car would stay cleaner without all the dust blowing around. We made some dinner and…Continue Reading “Our Drive through the Grand Staircase”
The drive from Las Vegas to San Diego was pretty dusty until we got to LA. Then it was just a lot of traffic! We met Kim at a pizza place in Visa, CA around 4 pm. She had a break between clients and her last client of the day was in Vista. Wow, it was so good to see her! It had been 10 months since Alyssa’s baby shower which was the last time I saw her. After our grand reunion with Kim she…Continue Reading “San Diego with Kim”
We left our very dusty wild campsite in the desert of Logandale, NV, and headed to Lake Meade and the Hoover Dam. Such a different landscape through this area, very desolate. Lake Meade was very low and pipes were laid from the low shoreline up the beach to the buildings to bring water up there. The entire area didn’t seem very inviting although there was a marina. We drove to the Hoover Dam area but there was a long line to get through security so…Continue Reading “Las Vegas, here we come!”
We left our campsite by 7:00 to get into the park and get a parking spot at the visitors center. It was already packed and had to drive around a few times to find a place. We lucked out and found one with a picnic table!!! So, we could make some breakfast! We were parked right next to a Palomino truck camper. While we were making our breakfast they came back to get ready for their hike. We got to talking with them and got…Continue Reading “Zion National Park”
After breakfast we headed to Zion National Park. It was just a few hours by the backroads. We took Rte 12 and 89 which are very scenic routes in Utah. We drove right past the Red Rock Canyon area. We stopped in Mt Carmel at “Terry’s Food and Drug” which was a grocery store and hardware store in one. Looking at it from the outside it looked like a hole in the wall. But it really had quite a lot of inventory. We finally found…Continue Reading “On the way to Zion, a spectacular campsite”