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”
We left the campsite around 7:30 and headed into Bryce Canyon City for coffee and hot water. We ended up at a Sinclair gas station and it had it all – we even filled all our larger water containers! And they had free ice for ice water. With our provisioning complete, the next stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. No need to stop at the Visitors Center so we went to Sunset Point. It was so magnificent. Photos just can’t do it justice! We hiked…Continue Reading “Beautiful Bryce Canyon”
We left Grand Teton National Park around lunch and enjoyed the scenic drive to Idaho Falls. We stopped briefly in Jackson to take in the Elk Antler Arch in the middle of town. We stayed in Idaho Falls with my cousin Ed and his wife Becky. We camped with them in West Yellowstone over the weekend. They provided us with a nice bedroom ensuite in their basement that was so wonderful. We took showers, did some laundry, cleaned the car, and relaxed for a few…Continue Reading “Idaho Falls to Utah”
The drive through Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park was beautiful. We stopped at several spots along the way to view the glaciers, then headed to Shadow Mountain for our campsite. We found a great campsite on Shadow Mountain. It took a pretty brutal ride up the mountain and several failed attempts to find the perfect site. But we ended up with a beautiful spot. We set up camp, made some dinner and enjoyed a nice fire. Stew was able to do some droning. We…Continue Reading “Grand Teton National Park”