Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Despite the time wasted with our morning campsite move we were off to explore by 10 am. (This RV move would have been easier if the site wasn't so unlevel!)

Have I mentioned how beautiful this area is? Right. I have.

We started our tour at Dead Horse Canyon State Park. Breathtaking views! We would have loved to have camped in that park but it is reserved well in to October.

Dead Horse Canyon

On to Canyonlands National Park. This park is the second largest in the US - second only to Denali in Alaska. There are three distinct areas divided by the Colorado and the Green Rivers. Today we toured the "Island in the Sky" area. Again, if you are looking to do some hiking, biking or 4x4ing, this is the place. Fortunately for us, much can be seen and enjoyed on the simple driving tour.



The "Upheaval Dome"

There is a 4-wheel-drive road around the perimeter of the Canyon base for the more adventurous. That looked like a fun drive, although a little scary in places. One of the highlights today was to watch a group of bicyclers winding down a steep narrow road far below from where we stood. If only it was all down hill. We saw a few cyclists on the road leading up to the park. I can't believe they might be enjoying that ride!?

cyclists zipping down the canyon

See that road??

new snow in the distant mountains

Tomorrow we will head about 1 1/2 hours south of Moab and from there we will tour the south portion of the Park known as "The Needles."

my little friend

beauty - even in the dead trees

Arches National Park, Utah

The Arches National Park is truly awe inspiring.  It is certainly another place you should all add to your 'places to see list'.  (Along with Bryce and Zion Canyons!)   

 

You'll need a big memory card in your camera because you won't be able to stop snapping pictures.  So beautiful!  Your $10. pass will buy you a week of visiting and you will certainly want to go back to do some hiking.  I wish we could have visited during my 'hiking' days to fully enjoy the views. 

Luck was with us today as a big rain storm hit just as we were finishing up our Park visit.  Back at the campground, at the end of the day the rain cleared, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow out our RV window.

Who knew this place would be so busy in late September?  Our campsite is booked for a week starting tomorrow night and we have to move to the spot next door.  It is only available for one night.  Anyway, tomorrow after our move, we will drive to Canyonland National Park for what I'm hearing is "less crowded but simply majestic and well worth a visit".



Great views front and rear!



Cool clouds before the downpour

Moab, Utah

Moab Rim

Site #11 - $32, p/w/s, Internet, Temp 30C and windy

The trip to Moab? Absolutely spectacular! It is right up there as one of the most interesting and beautiful drives we have been on. All that red rock cliff and gorges. It was rather reminiscent of the Bryce canyon area.

The first campground we checked out had only one poor site left. We now have a somewhat decent spot down the road. We won't spend a lot of time in the RV anyway. We picked up a few groceries and we dropped off my bike for a bent wheel replacement. It will be ready for pick up today. There are many bike stores in this town and each employs a hand full of mechanics. It is a real tourist destination and it looks like some great biking although I expect for more serious bikers than us!

Bridge over Colorado River entering Moab, Utah

Today we will drive in to the Arches National Park. (with the truck!!) There are so many places to explore in this area that I expect we will be spending a few days.

Salina, Utah

Butch Cassidy Campground

Site #6 - $26, p/w/s, Internet, Temp25C

It has been a very frustrating time with my laptop. I'm not sure if I picked up a virus through one of our internet connections or what?? I have wasted a lot of time trying to get it up and running to no avail. So I will be using Ron's old laptop for now. I lost my previous posting and I am worried about my photos.

Anyway . . . Salina. This campground is NOTHING like the ads. We are shoe-horned in and could probably shake hands if our neighbor were to open his window. Also, there is plenty of highway noise. We ran our fan all night for white noise. However, I got three loads of laundry done this morning and I don't feel guilty working on my computer.

We did do a bit of a town drive. It is a well kept town with some cool old buildings. There are some huge homes which was rather surprising in such a small place. Coal mining is big. There is an extensive ATV trail from here and covering a good portion of S. Utah. Everybody has ATV in the back of their trucks. Our neighbor stopped to visit yesterday and he said there are over 1200 miles of trails. He come every year from California to 'ride'. Supposedly there is a week where folks from all over the world gather. Who knew!?

We stopped at an large Auto Salvage business. Ron is looking for a replacement bumper. No luck. (Our shopping trips suck. Groceries and salvage shops.)

On to Moab tomorrow. It sounds like the scenery is awesome. Hopefully we have better luck with the campground!

Nevada

So . . . Up in the mountains of Nevada it got down to 2C last night.  I'm hearing talk of snow back home, so I guess I won't complain.  It was friggin' cold when we got up this morning though!!  We find it so strange reading about winter in what we think of as the Nevada desert.  However, Nevada is the most mountainous state and Nevada does mean 'snow-capped' in Spanish.  At this park there is skiing, skating and ice sculpturing activities during the winter months.  This morning it was a little easier to imagine that!  Time to move on to warmer weather.

 

umm...do we have to climb that mountain? Luckily no - road to left.

The drive across the Nevada "Great Basin" and the Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah was one of the longest straightest stretches we have ever been on.  Ron said he had forgotten how to use the steering wheel.  The inclines were much easier pulling today without that added wind.

 

The Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah

We arrived at Salina and the "Butch Cassidy Campground".  Suffice it to say that I hope the awesome camping from the previous few nights will carry us over the next two nights.  Not the best of camping here!  Also, my laptop is acting up. Crap. Not a happy camper!

Cave Lake State Park, Nevada

What a beautiful park! If we had some power here, I could easily be convinced to stay a week or so. Beautiful views every direction. I especially love that we can open every blind in our RV and not worry about someone looking in. The campsites are all well spaced in amongst low bush cedars, junipers and pines so we are very private. That plus there are only 3 of us staying in this loop.

At 7300 feet elevation, the weather is much cooler than we have experienced on this trip. It is almost a mile higher than the altitude of Medicine Hat! It was 24C when we arrived yesterday, but we awoke to 5C this morning. Today there is no wind and it is shaping up to be another warm day. It feels much hotter in the sun. 

beautiful sunsets

This morning Ron was over helping someone fix their awning. He found a part in the first site that we had attempted to back in to yesterday. It was a bit tight, but proved to be so unlevel that we pulled out. The guy that tried that site after us had worse luck and bent plus broke a piece off his awning arm. Ron is always well stocked with the necessary fix-it tools and parts! 

cool cactus

We drove to town to send a few emails. Happy Birthday, David!! We plan to stay at the state park for another night then will head towards The Arches National Park in Utah.

Ely, Nevada

Our over-nighter in Twin Falls, ID was uneventful. We picked up a few supplies at Walmart and we took advantage of the campground internet to plan out our next couple of stops. We are headed south on US-93 towards Ely, Nevada and Cave Lake State Park.

US-93 to Ely, Nevada

HOLY HANNAH WIND ! ! ! Horrific winds. Just when one would think it was getting a little better, it would get worse. Ely is a very high elevation but the climb would be minimal and not really noticed if it wasn't for that wind. Also, we might have stopped sooner, but there really isn't much in the way of camping or towns on that entire stretch. Deserted desert!

Pony Express Rest Stop - lunch break

We used up a tank of gas between Wells and Ely - 220 kms.
We will give this State Park a try. No RV hookups (power or water), so only a night or two at most.

Driving in to Cave Lake State Park

more from the Dunes

We went to the Interpretive Centre and for a drive to Bruneau Canyon.  Some interesting sightseeing.  A neighbor had told us about this canyon.  I'm not sure how well travelled the road is.  The last stretch of road was pretty rough gravel, very narrow and lined with huge sunflowers. 

road lined with sunflowers

cool plant at the canyon

Bruneau Canyon

 

Also we had a good laugh over this sign "THIS ROAD CROSSES US AIR FORCE BOMBING RANGE. FOR THE NEXT 12 MILES OBJECTS MAY FALL FROM AIRCRAFT."

 

It was an interesting gorge and an entertaining drive.  Back at the RV, the campground had indeed emptied out but we were joined by 3 new units.  Ron chatted with a recently retired couple from Trail, BC.  They joined us for an evening fire.  We shared border crossing experiences.  They have lake property in the US south of Trail.  Food is always the big issue.  We are tomato felons. They are the avocado felons.

 

Beautiful sunsets over the campground

 One thing I forgot to mention about the Dunes.  The house flies were atrocious!!  I don't think I've ever seen them so bad.  The campsite brochure advertises that fly swatters are available at the Interpretive Centre, so I guess it's an ongoing issue.  I will not miss the flies. Or the wind.  It was calm when we drove off this morning.  I am still chasing flies out the truck window and I'm sure we'll be swatting them in the RV when we stop this evening.

Bruneau Dunes State Park

Bruneau Dunes State Park
Site #24 (best #23), p/w, Internet cost, Temp 36C

It took us quite some time to come up with a destination and a campground for last nights stay. We ended up south of Boise, Idaho at Bruneau Dunes State Park. We had another couple of steep climbs today through the Blue Mountains out of Pendleton, Oregon. It certainly sucks up the fuel.

These Interstates are far too busy for me.  High stress travelling!  It was mostly us and the semi's until we reached Boise area. There it was four lanes of bumper to bumper traffic.  Yeesch…

Big pulls

huh? ON? wrong turn maybe?

This way?? Not us.. hahaha

That stretch of countryside is very dry. Lots of sagebrush. And wind. Much like home. The hot weather continues. The temp was 36C when we stopped for the night.

Arriving at Bruneau Dunes State Park

 

The campground

Bruneau Dunes? Just like it's name. Dunes. Huge sand dunes - the highest at 470 ft. We are basically camped in a huge sand pit. in the middle of nowhere! Love it!! Finally we are out of the hustle and bustle of the fast moving traffic and city noise. We are about 20 km from Mountain Home south of Boise. There is a Air Force Base near by and not much else.



little black dot on small peak is a person!

this is as high as I go

We road our bikes to the dunes this morning but it was pretty windy. Blowing sand and contacts don't go together. The weekenders are packing up and I'm wondering if we will be all alone this evening. Time to cook up some bacon and eggs.