Year 3 Week 44

April 15 to 21, 2007

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado to Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Year 3 week 44

 

Sunday ; Mesa Verde National Park

Today was sunny and mild.

This morning we unhitched and drove to Mesa Verde National Park. The campground we're staying in is only half a mile from the park entrance, but from the entrance to the Far View Visitor Centre is 16 miles, then it's another 8 miles to the Chapin Mesa Museum and trailhead to Spruce Tree House. The road was a narrow, winding mountain road. We stopped briefly at the Far View Visitor Centre to look around. At the Chapin Mesa Museum we watched a 20 minute Mesa Verde National Park orientation video, then went over to a nearby picnic area to have the picnic lunch Joanne had prepared. What a spectacular view ! We sat at a picnic table on the edge of a sandstone cliff.

After lunch we set off down the trail for Spruce Tree House, one of the many Anasazi / Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwelling ruins in the park. It was very interesting, but we've seen cliff dwellings before at Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico a little over a year ago. Seeing something for the first time is always more exciting. Well, the trail to Spruce Tree House was downhill going, and uphill returning. Oh, my goodness ... is it ever difficult to hike uphill at an elevation above 7000 feet. After Spruce Tree House ruins, we drove the 6 mile Mesa Top Loop, stopping frequently to see ( and take photos of ) a variety of cliff house villages.

We returned to Mesa Verde RV Resort late in the afternoon. I did some work online, sending e-mails, updating my blog, and retrieving mid-month investment data updates. Joanne did laundry. After supper we watched Amazing Race, then went to soak in the hot tub for awhile before watching The Apprentice.

 

Monday ; Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado to Moab, Utah

Today was sunny and mild.

Every day, I read aloud my journal entry from the same day last year. This evening when I read last year's journal entry for April 16, it struck us as an eerie irony that last year on this date we drove by Blacksburg, Virginia, the site of today's horrendous Virginia Tech massacre.

This morning we departed Mesa Verde RV Resort, and headed west on Hwy. 160 to Cortez. We stopped at Wal-Mart to replenish groceries and supplies. While Joanne started shopping, I phoned my investment broker in Ottawa and made arrangements to acquire the funds we need to pay for our new property in Keremeos, British Columbia, in a couple of weeks. After shopping we left Cortez heading northwest on Hwy. 491 towards Utah. We crossed into Utah, and at Monticello we turned north on Hwy. 191. As soon as we crossed from Colorado into Utah, the geography changed from flat topped mesa mountains, to red rock canyons and cliffs.

We stopped for the night at Moab Rim Campark on the outskirts of Moab. We got set up in our campsite, then chatted with the elderly gentleman camped in the site beside us, along with his Yorkshire Terrier, Buttons. We took Bo for an obedience training walk, then I processed my photos taken in Mesa Verde National Park while Joanne prepared supper. I spent the evening updating my investment files. Looking very good !

 

Tuesday ; Canyonlands National Park & Dead Horse Point State Park

Today was a perfect "June 18" weather day. Some days it's great to be alive ! I feel so privileged to be living the lifestyle that we live, seeing the things that we see, doing the things that we do.

This morning we unhitched, and headed northwest on Hwy. 191 through the city of Moab, past the entrance to Arches National Park ( where we’re going tomorrow ), to Hwy. 313, the road leading south to Canyonlands National Park. We drove about 24 miles on Hwy. 313 to the Island In The Sky Visitor Centre where we stopped briefly to get a park map and watch a short park orientation video. We drove through the park, to the end of the road at Grand View Point Overlook, stopping frequently to view scenic overlooks, and take photos. What astounding red rock cliffs and canyons. Describing them in words is difficult. This area is the proof that “a picture is worth 1000 words”. So I would probably need 30,000 words to describe the 30 photos I took today.

We had our picnic lunch at a picnic site between Orange Cliffs Overlook and Grand View Point Overlook. After viewing Grand View Point Overlook, we drove back towards Island In The Sky, turning off towards Upheaval Dome. We drove to the end of the road at Upheaval Dome, then on the way back we stopped at Green River Overlook, and finally, at Mesa Arch. We hiked about half a mile to see Mesa Arch.

Whew ... we were getting tired. We drove out of the park, back towards Hwy. 191. On impulse we decided to detour, to see Dead Horse Point State Park. Well, that was certainly a worthwhile detour. Gorgeous ! ! ! As we were standing on a wood deck platform looking out over Dead Horse Point, I remembered seeing this place before. I’m certain that the platform we were standing on was the location of a clue box on an episode of Amazing Race.

We drove back to Moab RV Campark, arriving back home about 6:30 P.M.. It was a long, tiring, but exhilarating day. I spent the evening working on today's photos.

 

Wednesday ; Arches National Park

Today was sunny, warm, and windy. By late afternoon, the wind was extreme.

This morning we drove northwest on Hwy. 191 through Moab to Arches National Park. Arches National Park is filled with odd sandstone / red rock formations ; buttes, spires / needles, fins, and of course, arches. We spent the day slowly driving through the park, exploring as we went. At our first stop, The Windows Section, we hiked a mile to see North Window Arch, South Window Arch, and Turret Arch. From the same trailhead we then hiked another mile to see Double Arch. Whew ... I need a new right knee ! If the stock market continues to perform well, maybe in a few years I'll follow the lead of some of our American "Snowbird" friends. We'll head to Texas for the winter, and I'll buy a new knee as a Christmas present to myself, at one of the renowned orthopaedic hospitals in Houston. HA HA HA !

I just took a break from typing this at 6:30 P.M., to go outside and hitch Lanoire to Harvey. The wind has become so severe, and Harvey was rocking so hard, that we felt there was a risk of being flipped over. But when hitched together, I think the trailer is much more stable because of the low, wide profile of a dually. It would take much more wind to flip a dually and trailer hitched together, than just the trailer alone.

Our next stop was to view the Garden Of Eden area, and Ham Rock. A short drive later we were at Balanced Rock. We drove to the end of the main road in the park, and had a picnic lunch in the Devils Garden Picnic Area. Next we hiked < sigh > to Skyline Arch. We drove to the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, then the Delicate Arch Viewpoint. From the Delicate Arch Viewpoint we walked over to take a look at the remains of Wolfe Ranch, a homestead established by a middle aged, injured Civil War veteran, in the late 1800’s. The wind was increasing, and the sky was darkening because of blowing sand. We were tired.

We drove back down out of Arches National Park to Hwy. 191. We refilled with diesel in Moab. Doggone it ... by the time we stopped in Moab in the afternoon for diesel, the price had increased 5 cents a gallon from this morning ! Once again, I spent much of the evening processing and labelling today's photos.

 

Thursday ; Moab to Layton, Utah

Today was sunny and mild. We covered a lot of ground today, driving further than we had intended.

We departed Moab this morning, heading north on Hwy. 191, then west on Interstate 70. At Salina we turned north on Hwy. 89, then north on Hwy. 28 to Interstate 15. We were planning to make it to Provo, and find a PetsMart or Petco to buy some pet supplies, as well as refill with diesel at a Flying J. When we got to Provo, I had enough diesel to make it to Flying J in Salt Lake City, so we kept on going.

At Salt Lake City we manoeuvered through a maze of freeway interchanges and finally found our way to the Flying J. We refilled Lanoire with diesel, and refilled a propane tank. We got directions to PetsMart, and Wal-Mart. After shopping at PetsMart and Wal-Mart we were going to boondock overnight in Wal-Mart's parking lot. We drove through city rush hour traffic to find the PetsMart. We bought cat food, dog food, and dog biscuits. If we hadn’t needed pet supplies, we would have taken “back roads” towards Wyoming, instead of fighting all this urban rush hour traffic, in the city and on the Interstate. We continued fighting our way through city rush hour traffic to the Wal-Mart. Oh, for crying out loud ! The Wal-Mart was in a congested area of the city, with a multi-level parking garage. Not really suitable for a 47½ foot long, 12¼ foot tall RV rig. We headed back to the Interstate, planning to drive about another 50 miles before stopping for the night at a Wal-Mart in a smaller city or town.

We continued north on Interstate 15 to Layton. We got off the Interstate and found our way to the Wal-Mart. Oh, gee whiz ! ! ! Beside the Wal-Mart were ... wait for it ... a PetsMart ... and a Flying J ! ! ! All that fighting of traffic in Salt Lake City could have been avoided. Oh, well ... who knew ? We drove about 550 km. / 330 mi. today. And we were already a bit tired when we started, after 2 days of hiking in National Parks.

While Joanne prepared supper, I set up our new, nifty little AC/DC LCD TV that we bought in Harlingen, Texas, and watched Survivor. After supper Joanne went shopping in Wal-Mart while I worked on the computer. My investment broker’s assistant Rhonda had phoned from Ottawa today with details of the investment transactions I requested a few days ago, to acquire the funds to pay for our new lot at Riverside RV Park Resort in Keremeos, B.C. in a couple of weeks.

 

Friday ; Layton, Utah into Idaho, into Wyoming, and back into Idaho to Victor, Idaho

Today was mostly cloudy and cool. We drove through a bit of rain, and a bit of snow.

We departed Layton, Utah this morning heading north on Interstate 15, through Ogden. Because Ogden is the head office location of Flying J, there are frequent Flying J Travel Centres in Utah. At Willard, shortly before we were going to turn off Interstate 15, we stopped at a Flying J to drain the shower holding tank, and refill the fresh water tank. Because of the frequent mechanical breakdowns of Dee-Dee in the past, we have become somewhat paranoid about ensuring that we drain the holding tanks and refill fresh water on days when we're driving. We don't want to be forced by circumstances to have to boondock somewhere due to a truck breakdown, with less than full fresh water, and a shower holding tank partially filled. While we were at Flying J, we figured we might as well top up the diesel fuel.

We turned northeast onto Hwy. 89, heading into the Rockies, and Wyoming. We spent a lot of the day driving on narrow, winding, steep mountain roads. It was tiring driving. We crossed from Utah into Idaho, and stopped for lunch in Montpelier, the favourite town for robbing banks of Butch Cassidy and his gang, The Wild Bunch. Seeing the rugged mountains around Montpelier, it was easy to imagine that it was easy for them to rob banks, then escape into the surrounding hills. We continued northeast on Hwy. 89, and crossed from Idaho into Wyoming.

Joanne found that the nearest reasonably priced campground to Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park was 30 miles away, in Victor, Idaho. We turned northwest on Hwy. 26, and crossed back into Idaho again. At Swan Valley, we turned northeast on Hwy. 31 to Victor, Idaho, where we stopped for the night at Teton Valley Campground.

 

Saturday ; Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Today we experienced a variety of weather, from sunny and mild to blizzard conditions.

This morning we departedour campground in Victor, Idaho, heading 30 miles east on Idaho Hwy. 33 / Wyoming Hwy. 22, over Teton Pass to Jackson, Wyoming. Teton Pass has a 10% grade for 5 miles. No trailers allowed over Teton Pass ! It was snowing heavily as we drove over Teton Pass. We stopped to refill with diesel at Wilson, before arriving in Jackson. Once in Jackson we headed for the Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks Information Centre. Good thing we did ! Spring has not yet arrived here in the National Parks of Wyoming, and most of the roads are still closed. The road north from Grand Teton National Park to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park is still closed. That was the route we were planning to take tomorrow.

We spent most of the day exploring Grand Teton National Park and area, by road. We saw a lot of wildlife ; many buffaloes, many large herds of elk, mule deer or antelope ( Joanne and I couldn't agree ), and a large Grizzly Bear with 2 small Grizzlies ! We drove north through the park as far as we could, to Colter Bay on Jackson Lake. We had a picnic lunch on a pebble beach still covered in snow, beside a lake still frozen. We spent the afternoon slowly driving back south towards Jackson, exploring the roads within the park that were open. We left the park, driving east on Gros Ventre River Road through the town of Kelly, to the site of the Gros Ventre Slide of 1925, and a bit beyond that, Lower Slide Lake, formed by the landslide that dammed the Gros Ventre River.

The Southwestern Natives ( Navajo, Apache, Shoshone, etc. ) consider wild sagebrush to be a "sacred" plant, and the smoke from a sagebrush fire to be sacred. At powwows we have attended, vendors have small bundles of dried sagebrush available, by "donation". They consider it sacrilege to "sell" sacred sagebrush. As we approached Moab, Utah, recently, the smell of fresh sagebrush growing in pastures alongside the highway was so strong we could smell it in the truck as we drove. I decided I wanted to gather a bundle of wild sagebrush to take to our new home in Keremeos. Once the lot is developed, and we have purchased an outdoor fireplace ( no fires allowed in our RV park unless fully enclosed ), I would like to symbolically "bless" our lot by burning some wild sagebrush. The only places that I have been able to see wild sagebrush recently has been in National Parks. Joanne strongly disapproved of me gathering any wild sagebrush in a National Park. Finally, today, up by the Gros Ventre Slide site, I found wild sagebrush ... outside of a National Park. I cut about 10 small branches, to dry and bundle. Unfortunately, because spring has not yet arrived here in Wyoming, the tiny little "leaves" on the sagebrush plants are last year's, and nowhere near as fragrant as what we found in Utah.

We drove back into Jackson, where I wanted to shop at a specialty meat store, the Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Company. I bought an elk steak, a buffalo steak, elk burgers, and buffalo burgers. YIKES ... expensive steaks ! We started heading back towards Teton Pass on Hwy. 22, then diverted north onto Hwy. 390 to see Teton Village, the ski resort. Nice village, relatively small ski mountain, incredibly expensive homes up in the hills surrounding the town. We drove back to Hwy. 22, refilled with diesel ( again ! ), then headed back over Teton Pass to Idaho. YIKES ... BLIZZARD !

Once we were back at our campground, it continued to snow heavily for about another hour, then the sky cleared ... again ! The weather kept changing all day. Don't like the weather along the Idaho / Wyoming border ? Wait an hour !

 

DSK