New Mexico

We use a web source to locate pubic campgrounds that is more extensive than any other one, but it has a glitch. The co-ords for each CG are in the center of the CG, never the entrance.  The shortest way to the center of a campground may or may not involve using a road. That was the case today. We were advised to Navigate Off Road, which in this case meant driving down a steep hillside about 50 feet until we got to the maintenance yard for the CG. We declined the instruction and kept on driving and found the paved entrance a mile or so down the highway.

There is something about the sun in northern New Mexico that is different from anywhere else that we know of. Fifty miles over the Colorado border and the sunlight is somehow softer. We especially noticed it at sunset yesterday. 

We have left the San Juan's and the scenery is just not as exciting.  We have camped in New Mexico State Parks. They are nice and not expensive. The very sad thing is that the drought has the water levels about 75 -100' below normal.  That's a whole lot.  You can look and see where the water used to be and think how pretty the park was back when there was water.  If only some of Alabama's water come could out here - then everyone could be happy.

Sunday, August 18 - Off the mountains, down to Durango to fill the larder. Shopped at both City Market and Wal*Mart. Dorothy made our food last for three weeks, buying only bread, milk and eggs in Silverton. City Market is our fav grocery in the country. Beats Publix handily. Drove down a rural NM road to Navajo Dam State Park.

Monday, August 19 - Our second night at Navajo Dam State Park. We needed another day to veg out. Hot days but cool nights.

Navajo Lake State Park with bonus rainbow

Tuesday, August 20 - Stayed at Heron Lake State Park. It was cool and we had no need of hookups. Dorothy made a yummy Tex-Mex dinner.

Can you see the soft light we do in New Mexico?

Wednesday, August 21 - US64, aka Paseo del Pueblo Norte, from Tierra Amarilla east to Taos affords some scenic views on a rural and very lonely road. It tops out at 10,500 and it's a long grind to the top. We were not passed nor did we pass anyone. We saw may a dozen on-coming cars on the one hour leg to Taos.

Taos has not changed much from the first time we saw it in 1994. Still a sad place. I think fewer "artists" now and more wanna-be hippies. It now has Earth Biotecture colony. These are rammed earth structures that look like something out of Mad Max. They are built by plaited hair guys driving rusted out Mercedes that run on bio-diesel.

Bottles in mortar and earth

 The Earth Biotecture colony just west of lovely Taos

US64 east of Taos is a narrow winding road with plenty of tourist traffic following the Enchanted Trail Circle. We made it to Eagle's Nest which is a golf and ski getaway town in a wide valley. The CG was fairly new and the parking pads were level. You have a view of what's left of the lake, which is low like all lakes in the area.

Thursday, August 22 - The plan today was to get from Eagle's Nest in northern NM to Conchos Dam, NM in the east central part of the state. From 8,200 feet to 4,200. From mountain valley to desert scrub. From 72 degrees to 104 degrees. Had to be done. It's the way to Dallas. It's the way to Alabama. Glenda routed us on NM 434, which starts off as a narrow winding road through pasture. Then it gets more narrow. Then it's unstriped, 1.5 lanes narrow and winds down Coyote Creek. Then I gave an on-coming truck too much room and crushed the sidewall of a tire on a sharp rock. Blowout. Found a pull-off a 100 yards down the road where I could change the tire. No cell phone coverage and many miles to nearest town. I have not changed a tire in over 10 years. Did not know if I could break the air hammer tight lugs or not. Fortunately we had a flat gravel surface for the jack and in only an hour, we had it changed. Quite a few cars were on 434 with us, most with out-of-state plates following their GPS.

Don drove until we got to Storrie Lake SP at Las Vegas, NM where we had lunch.  You don't want to go there!  I started driving and it was a wide road with wide shoulders and straight.  UNTIL we started going downhill - lost about 1,000' elevation in just 5 miles.  And the road for the last 35 miles was a paved washboard.  Driving 50 mph was rough.  We were exhausted when we arrived at Conchos. The lake was not low. The COE is keeping their water. Not a drop was being released. Our outside thermometer indicted 105. Inside it was 74.    

Git er done!I like Llama's. We have seen more herds this year. This herd was about 80 to 100.

Friday, August 23 - From Conchos, NM to Littlefield, TX. The first day of the slog home through terrain we have seen too much of. Oh well, it will green up when as we get close to Dallas. Tonight we are parked in a city park that has some connection to Waylon Jennings as this was his home town. The price meets with our approval - free. Texas does not have any public lands but almost every small town has a city park for RV's. 

In two jumps we will be near Dallas where we will tour 'W's library and pick up some money from the printing press there.

We will post again after we tour the three presidential libraries in Texas.

 

 

Our Last Week In Silverton

Tuesday, August 13 - We decided to drive to Lake Emma.  We were told that this was a pretty drive. It was easy but not as scenic as Ophir or Red Mountain.  I think that we are jaded by some of the scenery - we want it all to be that good.  As we drove, I started reading our trail book.  The mine collapsed and Lake Emma drained in 1975!  So much for seeing a mountain lake.  On the plus side, it was a beautiful day and we did not have any rain.

Wednesday, August 14 - We drove to Stoney Pass.  Living up to the name, the road was very stoney.   From the road, you get a glimpse of the boarding house at the top of the mountain.  The tram lines are still visible and there is a suspended ore car on it giving a glimpse of what life might have been like in the late 1800's, early 1900'swith tram lines snaking up every basin.  I can not imagine the hard life that these people endured!  Could people survive these conditions today - I doubt it.  The afternoon was beautiful, with only a few clouds.  For some reason, I have fallen in love with the town of Silverton.  It's very small and I don't want to live here, but there is a certain romance that I feel with the town when I am here.  I will very much miss the view of the mountains when we leave. 

Cinnamon Pass and a cobalt blue sky

Thursday, August 15 - We continued driving the mountain roads.  We were anticipating Cinammon Pass, but it did not impress us. Rocky road, full of bikers, etc. all on the way to Lake City. The scenery was not as majestic as on the previously mentioned drives, but still worthwhile. [Some day we will go to Lake City, but not from this side on the mountains. It's a long drive and then you have to come back. Right Mike and Liz?]  After we returned I decided, on a whim, to do Picayune and Placer Gulch trails, which turned to be just more roads up a basin to a saddle and then back down. Another day without rain!

Friday, August 16 - My next wife will drink beer and be able to read a map. We had been saving the northern part of the Red Mountain trail for a day like this one. All my navigator need to do was tell me the mile marker for CR31. She could not do it. She put us at the northern end of the trail and there were numerous spur roads to mines off it and every damn sign had been removed by tourists. Glenda was on no help, she only knew of one road and she did not have a name for it. Short on gas, I returned to 550 and back to town for gas and then to camp for lunch. Meanwhile the afternoon clouds filled in.

Yankee Girl Mine - One of the few vertical mines in the area.

In the afternoon we went to Montanya's [rum distillery] for "farewell" drinks.  Dorothy says they have the best pina colada's. I enjoyed two Snake Oil Bob's and was snockered. We enjoyed a campfire with neighbors

Saturday, August 17 - The last day in Silverton was one of the best!  We drove to Clear Lake.  We remembered it as a short drive, but it was four miles.  That doesn't seem like much unless you are on a rocky trail and having to use granny low in places.  It took 45 minutes to get to the lake.  The scenery was worth the trip, but we could not stay long because we wanted to be back in town for the noon "Brass Band Festival."  This weekend is their 32nd festival.  Members of the band come for all over the United States and foreign countries.  They do not play together except for one weekend a year.  It's a really big deal.  They start off with the National Anthem.  I love seeing people with their caps off, hands over their hearts singing.  Call me old fashioned, but it always brings tears to my eyes.  The band plays a varied selection from Sousa to Tschaikowsky.  One of the highlights for me was an older gentlemen (even older than me), playing the xylophone.  The selection was "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".  As if that wasn't good enough, he then tapped danced to the turn - utterly amazing.  They ended the program with men and women from each of the armed services holding the service flag while the band play the service song and people in the audience stood up when their "song" was played.  It was inspirational.  The finale was Stars and Strips Forever.  This is a fantastic event and it was one of the main things that I wanted to see when we returned here. It is well worth the trip just to see the band and I will do this again.

Afterwards, we drove to the Hillside Cemetery.  The name indicates how the cemetery is laid out - on a hillside.  I don't think there is a flat spot in the whole cemetery.  The markers on the old graves are so ornate.  Very few people lived to an old or middle age that worked in the mines.  Children died at a young age from disease that would easily be taken care of today with a trip to see their doctor. Another thing that is interest about old cemeteries is that the graves are fenced in.  Was it just a fad to keep families together or was their another reason.  If you know, let me know.

It's time to move on, but I really had to leave the town that I have fallen in love with and this lovely area.

Headed south and east.

Miscellaneous Notes:

Great views of the red mountains here.

We have driven every Jeep trail we care to, so it's time to move along.

Camping here was different this time. We did not see one tricked out Jeep the whole time we were here. A few stock Wranglers and plenty of stock Liberty's. Quite a few came with no vehicle or one incapable to off-roading. Why did they come?

The weather prevented campfires most nights, but on the nice nights most folks came with friends, so they were not much into meeting strangers. 

Silverton is the only town in San Juan County. Not a store or gas station anywhere else. Radio and TV waves do not make it over the mountains. They have a public service radio station that broadcasts with a mighty 100 watts. The play list is diverse. They play a little of everything. While the song might be popular, the artist they pick to cover is no one anyone has ever heard of. 

People who dry camp may have friends who do not. It's always the dry campers who have to move to hookups so their friends are not inconvenienced. We have seen that here a few times. And there was the guy who bragged to me about how well his solar system worked. The next day he was running his main engine. Happened the next day too. Someone told me he had replaced the refer with an all electric one. His four batteries and limited solar could not keep the refer running so into town they went. Along with his SIL and his two generators. Yippee!

Also learned that they now make 5's and TT's that are all electric. That will keep the CG's with hookups filled.

Memo to us on Jeep Trails:

Last Dollar Road - No interest, too far away.
Yankee Boy Basin - Could not get past boulder field at start of trail. Next time.
Governor Basin - Decent, nothing spectacular. Red rated, but was fine.
Imogene Pass - Missed this one again.
Porphyry Gulch - Great amphitheater basin, but Dorothy nixed the narrow shelf road.
Ophir Pass - Easy road, decent views.
Clear Lake - We did it in 2009, and it was better the year.
Mineral Creek - Red rated
Poughkeepsie Gulch - Red rated
Corkscrew Gulch - One of our fav's
Red Mountain - The best
California Gulch - One of our fav's, connects to Corkscrew.
Engineer Pass - Missed it this time.
Cinnamon Pass - Not worth the time, unless you want to hike.
Picayune and Placer - If you have nothing else to do. Road was in terrible shape.
Eureka Gulch - Not worth the time.
Kendall Mountain - We did it in 2009, but passed this year. Great view of Silverton.
Arrasta Gulch - Missed this one.
Stony Pass - Decent, nothing spectacular.

The Second Week in the San Juan's

The rains continue. The rain, high altitude and lack of hookups drove our friends off the mountain to more agreeable and familiar territory. We decided to stay and wait out the monsoon. Frankly, right now there is no cool place within a thousand miles that we care to go. The next time we come to Silverton we will come in fire season and take our chances. Anywho, the chance of rain is less than 50% for the next six days and then goes to zero for a few days. And so it goes.

Want to see some really great pictures of this area? Then you should spend some time on Box Canyon Blog. We got to meet the author, Mark, and his wife, Bobbie, last week at their home in Ouray. I wanted to find out if he talks the way he writes. [Only Bill Buckley and Victor Hanson come to mind] Mark and Bobbie are obsessive hikers and have the extremely poor taste to be both retired and physically fit. Here is his pictures looking down on Chimney Rock. Our view of the same was from below with clouds surrounding the upper part of the masts in the sky.

At the home of Box Canyon Mark in lovely Ouray. Nice View Huh?

Good eating in Dorothy's Kitchen Place. Cursor over picture to see what it is.

Wednesday, August 7 - The rain is here and I am not a happy camper at this time.  We had new neighbors come in yesterday afternoon.  One couple is very nice.  One turned on his generator and we were told they did not turn it off until midnight.  It was back on at 7:00 and when I talked to him, he said he plans to run it off and on all day.  How rude - if you have to run a generator all of the time, at least have the decency to move to a place where you don't disturb others.  We all moved away from them.

John and Mary Jane have to be back home in Nevada by the end of the month, so they plan to leave tomorrow looking for sightseeing in the sun - don't blame them.  They took us out to dinner tonight to the Brown Bear Cafe and it was very good.  They are good camping buddies and we are sorry that we are not able to spend more time with them.

Thursday, August 8 - We said goodbye to John and Mary Jane.  It really was good to see them again. We didn't do anything because it was overcast all day, but we only had light sprinkles.  More campers came in today but the weather is not conducive to sitting outside and chatting around the campfire.

Friday, August 9 - Woke up to blue skies!  We went jeeping on Black Bear Pass.  We can only go to the summit because the road becomes impossible after that in a Jeep like Pelli.  But we had great views.  There is another dirt road that I have been wanting to take.  It doesn't have a name, but we decided to go on the excursion.  It was interesting with a couple of water falls.  Also there are old mining relics, of course.

Looking east from Black Bear. You may have seen the Jeep commercial that was made here last year.

 

For the last two decades, I have spent 83% of my waking hours enjoying the freedom of not owning a cellphone, 5% feeling smug about it, 2% in situations in which a phone would have been awfully convenient and 10% fielding incredulous questions.

This spring I scumbed to my wife's need for me to have a cell phone so she could call me during those 20 hours a month we are not together. I thought it might be useful on our trips, but Sprint does not have much of a nationwide network. I suppose for $9 a month one should not expect much. The phone has not been turned on for two months.

For those addicted, I will quote Thoreau that things "are more easily acquired than got rid of".

Saturday, August 10 - Clear blue skies at 7am. We hustled off to Animas Forks. Dorothy likes to wander through old buildings and there are several there. Someone, Forest Service?, is restoring the homes. New roofs and siding. I scanned the ridges for goats while she got her ghost town fix. Then we repeated a drive we took the last time we were here. Up California Pass and down Corkscrew Gulch. It's not a technical drive, but route has great views, especially of the red mountains.

Along the way we saw three large flocks of sheep. Probably around 800 in each flock. They spend the summer grazing in the high hills. We only saw one sheep dog and no herders.

The sky was threatening as we came down. We had lunch in Ouray and drove back to Silverton. It was rainy until about 6, then it cleared up on our level, but sleeted above 10,000 feet leaving the peaks with a white coat.

 

This is a working dog?

Red Mountain #2

Corkscrew Gulch

Sunday, August 11 - Blue skies until 4pm. We tried the Porphyry Gulch trail. When Dorothy saw the narrow shelf road, she said no way. And I was not going to tumble down the slope without her, so we walked up, huffing and puffing, to this viewpoint.

As you can see there is plenty of room. I don't know why Dorothy objected or why this woman got out of the Jeep with her daughter. OK, OK, there would have been less room for us, as I would have had to put the wheels on the very edge to be able to get over some rocks in the middle of the road. The lifted Jeep in the photo did not have to worry about wheel placement.

We did laundry in the afternoon.

Monday, August 12 - A lot of clouds in the morning,  but I wanted to try to get some shots of the jagged peaks that can be seen on the east side of the Ophir Road. I figured that it would rain before long, but it would pass. I was half right. As we got to Ophir Pass we were in a hail storm. We almost felt a little sorry for the motorcycle riders who were massed with us at the summit. I was right in that it passed over in less than 20 minutes and we had an hour of wonderful sunlight before the next set of clouds arrived. We got back to base camp just as the next rain came.

Along The Ophir Road

We plan to leave here Sunday and meet our RV Tech near Antonito for annual maintenance and to figure out why the refer is mis-behaving. Then where? No clue.

The San Juan Mountains

We made it. It has been four years since we have been here. We have our fav states, Oregon and Utah, a fav road, US395, but the San Juan's are a special place to us. Nothing like them in the US. Barely 30 miles long north to south and a coupla dozen miles wide. Lots of 14's [peaks over 14,000 feet], deep narrow canyons, vista's and Jeep trails galore. Not much of a reason to come here unless you like to go up on trails to 12 or even 13,000 feet. Mining brought people here. You can see the remains of the old mines everywhere. From nothing  more than a dog hole, to mine shafts that go through mountains. Some mines are being reopened. Ever see a concrete truck on a one lane road? Well, we saw them and we gave them right-of-way. Holy Moly.

Tuesday, July 30 - We drove to Silverton, CO this morning. We heard that the Forest Service is strictly enforcing the 14 day limit.  Things change in four years.  The dispersed camping areas now have names, it's still dirt and rock, but it is fantastic.  We got a spot where we were before right on South Mineral Creek.  We drove to a couple of areas looking for places to stay before our friends arrive Sunday.  We don't want to get kicked out before they do.  We looked around town and it looks busy but everyone tell us that it is no busier than previous years.  Back at CG, we sat outside with our hors d'oeuvres and listened to the babbling creek and looked at the mountains in several directions.  It just doesn't get much better than this.

Wednesday, July 31 - Since the Forest Service is enforcing their 14 day limit, we headed out.  They had someone come in yesterday and take pictures of all rigs in CG, but they only do it occasionally.  So we have a witness to say that we left.  Also we have taken a picture of Koko in a different location with date and time to prove we were gone.  

It was a fun day.  We drove to Ouray to meet Mark and Bobbie Johnson, who live there.  Mark is the author of one of the blogs that we follow, "Box Canyon".  It was a pleasure to visit with them and they gave us helpful information about where we could hike and where we could take our Jeep.

When we arrived at Ironton, there were two fifth wheels.  When we returned from Ouray, a tenter had arrived.  Nice man and he told us that 30 Land Cruisers were arriving for the weekend for a mountain road rally and they would be in this area and the next large grassy area.  We said that would be fun.  I think that the "warning" was really a hint for us to move some place else, so they could have the premium spot that we were taking.

Thursday, August 1 - More and more people are arriving.  There are quite a few tents, but there are also tents that are off the ground, on trailers that carried the camping gear and on top of the Land Cruisers.  Two came in, one with a popup and one with a truck camper, to my way of thinking they are the sensible campers, after all, it's raining off and on all day.  We are having fun watching the different tent erections and the little children playing with all the dogs. 

Friday, August 2 - Arrivals were coming in as late was midnight Don told me - I was asleep, but the rain last night woke me up.  Thank goodness my "home" is nice, dry and warm.  When we awoke, the sky was clearing and a beautiful blue.  A little later a rain shower came.  We feel so sorry for these people that have driven from many different states to attend this rally.  Heck, we've driven from a long ways to get here and we feel sorry for us!

40% chance of rain today, but it was mostly partly cloudy. We delayed leaving until 10:30 to see how the day was going to develop. We took the Camp Bird road with the intention of driving to Yankee Boy Basin. We drove about 100 yards on the final turn to the Yankee Boy and encountered rocks we could not climb over. Recent rains had pushed some larger than basketball size rocks into the trail. Real Jeeps with 30 inch wheels could handle it, but it was not for the Liberty. We backed out and on a lark I took another road that I could see went UP. I did not consult the trail guide. Had I done that I would have not gone. Ignorance is bliss. Up we went finding ourselves on a narrow rock ledge with three Jeeps coming down. They hugged the inside and we did the outside with 4 to 6 inches to spare. WooHoo! Dorothy had a brief private conversation with the one of the women as we passed. She will not tell me what they exchanged. We continued up and came a fork where three more Jeeps were descending. I waited for them to clear the road. The last one asked if we were going to Sidney Basin. Dorothy asked "Could we"? He said "No, I had to use both lockers to make it. But follow us to Governor's Basin". And so we did. We we got to the end, and paused for lunch I consulted the trail book. Holy Moly, we had just done a Red rated trail, those are only for aggressive and skilled drivers. So much for trail books, we could not do the Blue rated trail to Yankee Boy, but we had no problems on the Red rated trail to Governor's Basin. Oh well, we got to drive a real rootin tootin Jeep trail today.

Former three story dormitory for miners

View From Governor's Basin - 12,000 feet

A chance of rain is in the forecast for the next 10 days.

Saturday, August 3 - It was not all that overcast so we again drove out Camp Bird Road to access the trail to Imogene Pass, a Blue rated trail that our guide book assured us that we could handle. We went about a mile before encountering stairs we bottomed out on. I reversed, got out and scouted and decided we could get down, but would not be able to get back up. And so ended out Jeeping adventure for the day. Before we got back to Ouray, the clouds covered the sky and a drizzle started. And that was the way the day remained until 7:30 until we saw the red mountains aglow with sun. Another day, we want to take the trail up the red mountains in the late afternoon.

Sunday, August 4 - We arrived back at Kendall CG along South Mineral Creek.  We love this place because you can sit outside, have Happy Hour, look at the babbling creek and the mountains - WOW! We were very surprised to find so few people here.  Last Tuesday the place was full.  We got our pick of where we wanted to be. Our neighbors greeted us. They were from Alabama (Mtn Brook). It's good to see someone from home and we think that they are the only Alabamians that we have seen on this trip.  Also fellow LDer Ken Fears came to chat with us.  We love meeting new people and renewing friendships.

Our Place on Mineral Creek

Monday, August 5 - We sat outside and had our morning coffee and were in awe of our scenery.  Our friends, John and Mary Jane from Nevada, joined us today, along with Lucy, their well-mannered dog.  In the afternoon we took a trail to Red Mountain to observe and photograph the mountains.  We could not tarry because it was close to Happy Hour.  Once we arrived back at CG, they made margaritas for us.  I don't think we could ask for more.

Tuesday, August 6 - I have been planning this since we left home - spend my birthday at the rum distrillery!  They make the best pina coladas I have ever had and I have been wanting one for four years.  They were as good as I remembered; so good in fact, I had two, but since I wasn't driving it didn't matter.  I chatted with our daughter, my brother and as a special treat, my very very good friend, Ann, called to wish me a Happy Birthday.  For many years, Ann, Vicki (another very very good friend) and I celebrated our birthday month together - great memories!  Count me blessed that I am still kicking and have a great time.

We really like the exposed red mountains. If the weather improves next week, we hope to get some better pictures.

Telluride is just over the snaggled toothed mountains. Short distance by Jeep trail, a LONG drive on macadam.

Topped out at 12,000, so those are 14's in the background.

MJ, John, Dorothy and Lucy

Colorado

Heber City, UT. Mt. Timpanogos in background. The valley with granite walls reminds me of Carson Valley in Nevada

I expect we will be seeing more of these as private companies take over the management of Forest Service campgrounds. No charge for campers, but enforced payment for non-campers. Unintended consequences - illegal dumping.

Sunday, July 21 - We left Utah today which always makes me a little sad.  It was a long drive for us (5 hours) to get to Grand Junction, CO.  We are going to spend the night in the driveway of fellow Lazy Dazer, Dale Ellis.  We thought that the heat in Grand Junction was unusual, but Dale said that it was normal for this time of the year.  It's in the high 90's and low 100's.  After we arrived, Dave took us on a tour of Grand Mesa National Forest for 4 hours.  It's 10,800' at the summit. This place is large with lots of camping opportunities and it's cool. The daytime high averages 70 degrees.  We went out to a Mexican dinner and by the time we arrived back at Dale's we were exhausted.

Monday, July 22 - We drove  hour to Grand Mesa and are camping at Little Bear CG. The sites are well spaced which provides privacy and we have a fantastic view of the lake.  We got set up and after lunch I took a long nap because I still have not recovered from the sinus infection and the trip yesterday.  After nap, we toured some other CG's along the different lakes and decided our spot is the best.  If we decided to leave here, then there are a lot of very nice dispersed campsites, but they don't have the lake view. This is a nice place to sit outside and have Happy Hour. Looks like we may stay here a week as rains are forecast for here the area south. Great to put out the fires. Not good for us going up a dirt road to a dispersed parking location near Owl Creek Pass.

We did not have much of data signal yesterday, but it's fast today. We have three ABC stations here in the forest and a CBS station that comes and goes.

Good eating in Dorothy's Kitchen. Cauliflower with Turmeric, Chayote Squash with Tomatoes and Green Chile, Avacodo and Tomato salad

Tuesday, July 23 - We lazed the morning away surfing, then napped. Dale came up to visit in the mid-afternoon. We took a late afternoon drive looking at the variety of wild flowers blooming.

Wednesday, July 24 - Some clouds moved in and we got 3 minutes of mist, but the forecast rain did not get here. We paddled the yaks around the island in Island Lake. Yesterday, we had a really hot cell signal. Today, nothing. We decided to take a look at Island CG, found it had some sites with a view of the mountains and two bars of 3G, so we moved. On arrival the cell coverage was gone.  But the CBS station was rock solid. Of course, the only the thing of interest to watch is the news, which is not that interesting.

I had hoped that I had cured the problem of the refer cutting off every day or so by cleaning the jet. It went out last night. It relights without a problem. Conflicted on what to do. We could go back to Grand Junction and try for service. Which might or might not work. It would be several days until we would know if the tech did anything but take our money. And without phone service, we don't even know if they could look at it.

Thursday, July 25 - We have wanted to return to Silverton ever since we were there in 2008. They say you can not go back, but we want to try. It will be a new cast of characters this time. It may be crowded. And there is now a 14 day stay limit. Dorothy said this morning this trip was all about Moab, the Palouse and Silverton. The rest is just filler.

We drove 19 miles to get a cell signal so we could surf a bit. We are addicted. Still wondering where the two bars of 3G we saw Tuesday go?

I don't want you to think that we don't do anything but have fun or shop or lay in our sick beds.  We felt good today, but the elevation of 10,500' prevents us from doing anything but a little walking.  So we were constructive today - we cleaned the rig.  Now we have clean floors, windows, mirrors, bathroom and kitchen.  It's a lot easier cleaning Koko than a house.

Friday, July 26 - We sleep until 7! Lazed around, reading, drinking coffee. My blood pressure is 135/100, higher by far then ever. Perhaps it's the 10,000 elevation, but I have zero "breath" to hike. Ditto Dorothy, but her blood pressure is fine.

This has been one of our better days.  Don suggested that we take a walk around the CG. We are on the highest level, so I knew coming back up would be challenging.  But after a couple of stops so I could catch my breath and rest, we completed the walk.  We saw the sign to Land of Lakes and I wanted to see it. In the afternoon the drove there but discovered that it was a trail not a drive.  I decided to blow it off, but thank goodness, Don wanted to walk. It was a half-mile hike on a paved trail to an overlook. But, what a view to the south. The same view we have from our campsite, but with seven small lakes in the foreground. We sat on the rocks for an hour or so taking it all in. We also chatted with a group of LDS students. That always a pleasure.

We stopped by a lodge on the way back to ask if we could use their wi-fi. Sure, no charge, and would we like a free cup of coffee. 

Saturday, July 27 - We surfed at the lodge and spent the rest of the day reading. We heard thunder in the distance and the sky clouded up from time-to-time. But no rain until after midnight. The forecast calls for an 80% chance tomorrow - the day we plan to head south.

Sunday, July 28 - We woke to clouds all around the horizon and occasional rain. We watched Sunday morning TV and suddenly the skies cleared. We took off down the Mesa to Delta where we found a City Market and bought $200 of groceries. We have stuff crammed everywhere. We continued south and paused at Montrose to wait out a shower. The vehicles are fairly clean and I just did not want to mess them up for no good reason. Well, we had not gone far when another shower overtook us and in 10 miles we got a little slimy. And so it goes.

Not wanting to go into the forest in the rain we opted to stay in the BIG state park at Ridgway. Electric for $29. Holy Moly. Oh well we can see the San Juan's all around and perhaps tomorrow we can find a suitable spot near Owl Creek Pass.

For any history buffs, this being the an anniversary of the Korean War, we are in Ridgway and it was General Ridgeway that saved South Korea after MacArthur botched the war all around. The general is all but forgotten now, but it was the force of his maverick personality that rallied the troops and prevented a disaster.

Heat Wave and it ain't tropical

What's the proper response to one or more motorcycle riders with their tires just inside the yellow line, and their left handle bar over the line? I have started to put my outside rear tire close to the line. This leaves several inches of the rig on or over the line. Just want to make sure I am doing right with these picket riders.

We note, with pleasure, that our friend Jim now has clean bill of health. We were worried about him. I mean all he gets to eat is vegan food and IPA. Plus forced high altitude hikes. Dorothy's brother is also vegan and his health is on the skids. I am telling you guys, the only way is processed pork for breakie and prime rib for dinner. Sure you can eat rabbit food for lunch if that will make you think you are eating right. Me? I would rather have a greasy pork chop.

Saturday, July 13 - We continued driving east on US26 this morning. This is a great highway because it is semi-scenic through the high desert and has very little traffic. It could compete with US50 in Nevada for low traffic. We camped at Bully Creek Park near Vale, OR.  Oregon has many city & country parks, which is one of the reasons we love this state. This is one of the best. The sites are very large, level, grassy with lots of shade trees - what more can could you want in a campground. Oh yes, we have a view of the reservoir. This is the desert and in the current heatwave the daytime temperatures are hot, but it cools off in the evenings.  You can sit outside in the shade and be very comfortable.

Sunday, July 14 - Since we are not in a hurry and this is a nice spot, we decided to stay another night. Almost every one was gone by noon, so we moved to a site with more shade.  Very nice sitting outside in the shade with a little breeze.  Our last night in Oregon. Just haven't spent enough time here this trip, so we will have to return. I am finally feeling much better.

Monday, July 15 - We said goodbye to Oregon and hello to Idaho once again. We are again camping in a county RV park. This one is on the Snake (everything in Idaho is either on the Snake or named Lewis & Clark) and has full hookups for $21. A deal.  It's hot and going to get hotter, 95+ for the next week or ten days.  Very few people here so it is extremely quiet. I feel so much better that I drove for 2 full hours so that Don could rest. I find it much easier to drive on the interstates because I can use the cruise control. We think Don is coming down with the cold stuff that I had. We did a big shopping trip at Walmart and got lots of veggies which we really need.  

Tuesday, July 16 - Today we resumed our usual method of camping - boondoocking or dry camping. That means that we do not have hookups.  You can do this when the weather is not hot!  We are in a Forest Service CG 18 miles from Heber City, UT at 7,800 feet.  We are situated in a lodgepole pine and spruce tree forest.  We had "Happy Hour" outside yesterday afternoon and the temperature was around 78 degrees.  Slept great!  

How did lodgepole pines get their name?  Indians used the tall straight pine trees to build their lodges - clever name, right.  More tree trivia - how do you tell the difference between a fir tree and a spruce tree - spruce tree needles will Stick you and the fir trees are Friendly.  Now you know that our trips are educational.

When we go to Oregon and Utah,  I feel such a sense of peace.  I don't know what it is, maybe it's the scenery but it certainly makes us happy - it's like coming home again.

Wednesday, July 17 - I won't say that the day was wasted but we didn't do anything fun.  We went into Heber City and made an appointment the Heber Valley Clinic because I was not getting any better.  The appointment was for 2:00 so we had time to kill.  We found a beauty shop and I got a much needed hair cut, then went to the library and to Tony's Mexican Restaurant, where we had a good meal.  It's so good to see people still using libraries.  Finally got to the clinic where I saw Dr. Tullis.  He's a young man and very pleasant.  We started talking about traveling and I told him we like Moab and we did some jeeping there.  He told me about going in March and leaving at 5:00 am in 10 degree weather to go on a 100 mile bike ride.  He said it got up to 20 degrees during the ride - I told you he was young.  I have a sinus infection - haven't had one in years, so I have medicine and should be better in two or three days.  And to top it off, Don is not feeling very well either - runny nose, sneezing, etc.  We got medicine for him also.  We MUST get well and soon.

Thursday, July 18 - This is not the day we are getting well.  The camp host said that they have been getting afternoon rain each day for about a week.  Had a light rain Tuesday, just enough to mess up the windshields.  Yesterday, we had very light rain, thunder and lightning.  But it is keeping the temperature down so that it's comfortable.  We stayed in our sick bed almost all day. Bleah!

Friday, July 18 - We were not in top form, but felt good enough to take a drive. First to Cascade Springs. Not worth our time, but the views along the way were OK. Then Mount Timpanogos Cave. We knew we could do the cave tour as you have to hike up 1,000 feet to the entrance. When we pulled into the parking lot around noon, there were teenagers laying down all over the place that had made the hike and survived - just. That confirmed to us that it was way beyond our best effort on a good day.

Saturday, July 20 - I will once again say that this has been a most unusual trip.  We have spent more time in cities and shopping than ever before.  Today was no exception.  We went into Orem to shop at Costco.  Then we had to buy a new phone.  My phone is in the throes of death and would not hold a charge.  I did not want a new phone and certainly not a smart one.  I just want to be able to talk on the phone, like in the old days. We had the great luck of getting a very knowledge sales lady that was most helpful and did not try to get us to buy any upgrades.  We rounded out the day with Walmart and laundry.

Our park host has a little dog that seems to suffer separation anxiety and has never been disciplined, so there has been a lot of yipping going on.  It was pretty bad yesterday.  The host site is fairly close to us and his family is camping here also.  Tonight the family had a cookout and they did not want the dog to bother them while they were eating, so they tied him up at the vacant site next to us.  We were sitting outside trying to read when we heard this dog crying.  Don went to see what was going on and came back and told me about the dog's situation.  It was breaking my heart, so we took our chairs over to the site and sat with the dog trying to keep him calm.  He's a cute little dog and very sweet, even let me hold him several times.  If you aren't going to take care of your dog, why have one.  

Moving to cooler Colorado tomorrow.

Back To Oregon - Again

This trip we have been back and forth between Idaho, Oregon and Washington several times. Not a lot driving, as many of our destinations were just across a state line.

We have had hookups and stayed in more private campgrounds this trip than ever before. Washington state parks are pricey, not as much as California's, but getting there. As we head south we hope to get back to parking where there is nothing but horizon and the cost is low or free. The stats so far:

• Private - 13 nights at 6 places
• Public - 54 nights at 19 places
• National Parks - 10 nights at 5 places
• Free - 13 nights at 9 places

Dry camped 40 nights. Hookups 42 nights. A BIG change for us.

 

Our last free parking place

Wednesday, July 3 - One of the things we like to do when we travel is to visit state capitols. The outside of the capitol in Olympia is less than impressive, as they used local sandstone which discolors quickly. But once you step inside, it's breath-taking in it's grandeur. They used three different marble's and all the chandeliers are one-of-a-kind by Tiffany. The main chandelier weights 7,000 pounds made of bronze. Obviously they are priceless since Tiffany no longer does that kind of work. The capital was started in 1920 and only took a couple of years to complete.  It is the most impressive we have visited.  In the afternoon, we took a kayak trip on the Hood Canal.

All of the lighting in the Washington Capital is by Tiffany. These are two examples. This is said to the heaviest chandelier in the world. It's larger than it appears as the room is huge.

 

Thursday, July 4 - We arrived in Portland and have "camped" in our friends driveway.  They are at their beach house and won't be back until Saturday. We are certainly glad to have a place to stay since everything is full for this week.  They have a very beautiful home and you can tell that a lot of time has been spent in the yard.   

 

Friday, July 5 - We went to the Rose Gardens and the Japanese Gardens, which is the reason we are here. There were so many types of roses so I didn't even try to remember the names. There was a Cambodian couple having their wedding pictures made and were wearing the traditional bridal attire for the occasion - lots of gold on the bride.  The groom was less than happy about the whole thing, but he smiled and posed when necessary.  

 Taken In The Rose Garden Of Portland's Washington Park 

 The Japanese Garden in Portland's Washington Park 

 

Saturday, July 6 - Another grocery shopping day.  We have been to Costco, Barbur World Market and Safeway.  I am amazed that our small refrigerator and freezer can hold everything we bought, but we will eat well for the next week or so. Don replaced backs of the kayak seats. Good thing as mine has been broken since I first fell in it a long time back. 

We ate dinner with Mary Ann and Debra at the Thai Orchid Restaurant. I had Evil Jungle Noodles. I could not resist the name. Chicken, bean sprouts, in a curry over a bed of cabbage and rice noodles. Yum

Sunday, July 7 - I needed to do a little laundry and Mary Ann & Debra did it for me - how's that for wonderful hostesses!  I cooked dinner for them and their friends, Merl & Jerry.  It was a little more difficult cooking a large meal along with dessert when you only have one mixing bowl.  But everyone seemed to enjoy it.  The broccoli salad was a big hit.  Jerold Packard is an author of nine books.  The one I want is "Victoria's Daughters", that's Queen Victoria.  I told him that we were going to the Maryhill Museum the next day and he told me that one Victoria's granddaughters was a contributor to the museum.  We had great conversations all afternoon and evening.

Monday, July 8 - We bid goodbye to Mary Ann & Debra, but not before they gave us blueberries and thick sliced bacon.  They are absolutely the best!  We met fellow campers, Ken & Cora.  The Maryhill State Park is extremely expensive - $41 and I can't say that it was worth it.  It is along the Columbia River, which seems to always have wind.  Our campsite had Cottonwood trees which were really dropping "cotton".  My throat was a little scratchy and I had a dry cough - maybe pollen related. [Peach Park CG adjoins the state park. $25 for W&E. No reservation fee, no dinging out of state people $6 to stay at a state park.]

Tuesday, July 9 - We all went to the Maryhill Museum.  It was built by Sam Hill who had a friendship with Marie, Queen of Romania, one of Queen Elizabeth's granddaughters.  There is a collection of royal memorabilia which includes her coronation gown, crown, silverware, ornately gilded furniture and jewelry along with other memorabilia.  They also had an area dedicated to American Indian artifacts.  There was much that we had never seen before.  It was even better than the Neah Bay Museum.  One thing that they had that I had never seen before was a collection of chess sets - talk about ornate!  By this time I was getting tired and coughing a lot more so we made a brief visit to the Auguste Rodin Collection of drawings and back to the RV.  

Wednesday, July 10 - I was really sick and probably only awake about 3 hours all day.  Don cooked spaghetti and I was even too sick to enjoy that!

Thursday, July 11 - We had been wanting to return to John Day National Monument for several years. It is divided into three units, Clarno, Painted Hills and Sheep Rock.  The Painted Hills are spectacular at the right time of day and we got there at the right time.  We thought that we would need air conditioning so we went to the Mitchell City Park to spend the night.  Mitchell, OR is another small eastern Oregon desert town that does not have much going for it, but we did appreciate the park.  Of course, the weather was perfect and we had no need for electricity.  Oregon has a lot of city and county parks where you can camp and they are usually reasonable.

The Painted Hills in late afternoon

Friday, July 12 - We continued our John Day tour at Sheep Rock unit. We were most impressed with Cathedral Rock.  We had no idea where we would spend the night, but found Grant County Fairgrounds in John Day. It has dry camping for only $11 and a much needed Verizon signal. We parked under a large shade tree and surfed the afternoon away.

Cathedral Rock at the Sheep Rock unit of John Day NM

It looks like we are going to be using private campgrounds on our way to Colorado. Highs in 90's are forecast for all the valleys in the surrounding states the next few days. Oh and gas prices are going up, again. Our printer died. Curse Canon. I did not get to paddle the Deschutes River. If it's not one thing it's another.