We left Ay and Em's house on Sunday heading across Colorado and then northern Kansas to St. Joseph Missouri. Driving across Kansas on US Route 36, "The Pony Express Highway", the landscape made a radical change as did the elevation. Colorado and western Kansas was pretty barren - high desert, dry and lacking a lot of green vegetation and trees. As we continued east, though, we descended about 2000 feet in elevation. By the time we got into eastern Kansas, the fields were green and there were lots of trees. Another observation: one may think of Kansas as relatively flat. NOT!!! At least the northern part along US 36 had lots of rolling hills. It was quite a change from the mountains of Colorado and the mesas and buttes of Arizona and Utah.
We stopped about two hours into the state of Kansas at the Prairie Dog State Park near Norton, KS. This was a beautiful location - no prairie dogs seen, but the campground was on a large reservoir, was well-maintained, and quiet. It was a nice break to relax and enjoy some leisure time.
We left Prairie Dog on Monday morning, continuing across US 36 into Missouri, crossing the Missouri River around 3:30 PM. We arrived at the AOK RV Park outside St Joseph shortly thereafter. AOK is a family-owned and operated Good Sam Park, sitting on a small lake with lots of grass. The RV pads and roads are gravel. We were concerned as we turned off the highway as the entry road was also gravel and the campground sign was a bit faded, so we were not sure we were turning at the right place. A phone call to the campground alleviated our concern and we proceeded down the hill and into the AOK. The staff has been wonderful, even personally guiding us into our campsite. The sites are configured so that two RVs sit utility side to utility side. We share the electrical pedestal and water connection and each have a separate sewer fitting. The upside of this is a larger "front" yard with grass and a picnic table. The downside is that our slide and the slide of our neighbor are just a few feet apart. Our elevation has decreased some more to just under 1,000 feet. We can breathe again.
On Tuesday we picked up a rental car and did some grocery shopping. Then we relaxed in camp until dinner. On Wednesday, June 28 we headed east on US 36 to Hamilton, MO. This is the home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company and the boyhood home of J. C. Penney. There are 12 quilt shops that are part of "Star", all on the main street of Hamilton. Each shop contains a different style of fabric: vintage, seasonal, batiks, etc. One of the shops is in the location of the first J. C. Penney department store. We spent about 5 hours walking through the shops and looking for fabric for a quilting project Em is going to do where we get home.
Thursday will be another "in camp" day - we need to do some housekeeping and prepare for the next phase of our adventure. On Friday, we head back into Kansas to visit El's sister and her husband. We'll be there through July 4.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Rocky Mountain National Park
Our next stop was at our friends Ay and Em's home in Lafayette, CO. We broke the trip into two short-drive days, stopping in a small town in Silt, Colorado en route. We stayed at the Silt/Colorado River KOA - right off I-70 and in a valley with the river running just a few yards from the campground. This was a beautiful spot and an extremely nice (albeit young) campground. The youthfulness of the facility meant that the trees were small and did not offer a lot of shade. But, the proximity of the river, cleanliness of the facility and friendliness of the staff made up for that. Temperatures were in the 90's on arrival and our A/C had difficulty cooling down our rig once we had everything connected. We made use of the nice laundry facility and ordered pizza for dinner from a local pizzeria. It was good.
During our stay we say a lone elk on the opposite bank of the river, grazing on the vegetation and drinking from the swift-running water of the Colorado. Later, we saw a lone bald eagle perched in a dead tree, also on the opposite side of the river. I've provided some photos of the elk and eagle. As darkness set in, we took a look a the sky and were wowed by the clarity and number of stars visible. I've been wanting to get a photo of the Milky Way and thought this might be a good opportunity. Photo provided below - it was amazing!!!
We left at a reasonable hour the next morning for the 4-hour drive into Lafayette. I-70 passes through amazingly beautiful canyons along the Colorado River before climbing through 10,000 feet over the Continental Divide. Our RV had some trouble climbing these steep hills - but we made it over the Rockies, through Denver and Boulder and into Lafayette. On Friday, Al and El made the drive through Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park, the second most-visited national park in the US (the most visited park is Great Smokey Mountains NP). RMNP was gorgeous - rugged, wild, and beautiful. Photos follow.
This is my first attempt at astrophotography. Conditions were not ideal as you can see the affects of lights from the town of Silk in the lower left corner of the photo. But, otherwise, the Milky Way shows nicely in the rest of the photo.
During our stay we say a lone elk on the opposite bank of the river, grazing on the vegetation and drinking from the swift-running water of the Colorado. Later, we saw a lone bald eagle perched in a dead tree, also on the opposite side of the river. I've provided some photos of the elk and eagle. As darkness set in, we took a look a the sky and were wowed by the clarity and number of stars visible. I've been wanting to get a photo of the Milky Way and thought this might be a good opportunity. Photo provided below - it was amazing!!!
We left at a reasonable hour the next morning for the 4-hour drive into Lafayette. I-70 passes through amazingly beautiful canyons along the Colorado River before climbing through 10,000 feet over the Continental Divide. Our RV had some trouble climbing these steep hills - but we made it over the Rockies, through Denver and Boulder and into Lafayette. On Friday, Al and El made the drive through Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park, the second most-visited national park in the US (the most visited park is Great Smokey Mountains NP). RMNP was gorgeous - rugged, wild, and beautiful. Photos follow.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Arches National Park - Last day in Moab, UT
Tuesday, June 20 was our final day in Moab, UT. The temperature rose to 104 to 110 degrees, depending on location in the park. But that did not deter us - we were determined to see as many arches and features in the park as we could in our single day there. We walked the trails (very little was viewable from the auto-accessible overlooks) for a total of over 5 miles to get a glimpse of these marvels of nature. We were awed. See the photos below for a short tour of this magical place.
On Wednesday, we continue east into Colorado planning to pause in Silt on the Colorado River.
Now that we have left our Moab campgound, I can feel free to say a few things about it. We camped in Canyonlands RV Park on the south end of town. It was very convenient to many services including groceries and restaurants. But, the campground itself was not quite what we had grown used to during this trip. We have stayed in several Good Sam and KOA properties and never have we felt so crowded and jammed in as in Canyonlands. While the park was well-treed with considerable shade (welcomed in the desert heat), the sites were narrow and short. The original site we were assigned was right next to the bathroom. OK - we can deal with that. But the six foot tall steel post installed to protect the bathroom (on the right of the site) and the tree on the left of the site, made it impossible to turn our 30-foot vehicle safely onto the pad. We were going to hit the post. So, we asked for another site and received one, reluctantly after a "we have a situation" call to the manager or owner of the campground. At the end of the road we had to drive down to get re-positioned for the new site was the dump station. If there is a RV at the dump site, other traffic through that area had to wait or risk damaging their rig on one of the large trees or worse on another RV. Our alternate site (and many others) was designated for a 40 to 45 foot RV. The pad was not long enough for all four wheels of our 30-foot vehicle to be on it. 2 were on concrete and 2 were on gravel. The "porch" portion of the pad had huge cracks in it. The "front yard" was just a bit wider than the picnic table. Setting aside the quality of the site, we were dismayed at the continued disregard for campground rules. Vehicles were parked in vacant sites, as well as in the road, making passage by large vehicles difficult. I'm surprised there weren't multiple accidents. All of the roads were two-way. Some sites had multiple vehicles - trailer, ATV and pick up truck. It looked like chaos. At least the bathrooms were clean; but they were a little outdated and small. One evening when we returned from our day of touring, there was a long line of vehicles waiting to get in the park making passage by our rental car impossible. The entrance was only wide enough for one vehicle to pass through - and there was very limited space at the registration office for vehicles to park. No one could get out either. The staff was friendly. Sorry to spend so much time on this - but given this was the highest-priced of our campgrounds so far, it was by far the most disappointing. There simply was not enough room for comfortable maneuvering and parking of large vehicles. Our recommendation is that anyone with a vehicle longer than 26 feet should choose another location.
Before we get to Arches - here are some photos from the campground. The building on the right is the bathroom, note the vehicle parked in the site. Also note the tall post that made a right turn with a long vehicle impossible.
Arches National Park: The "Park Avenue"
This formation is named "The Three Gossips". Cute.
This photo shows an overview of the petrified sand dunes. Sand was covered in a concrete-like layer and compressed into rock. Then the concrete layer eroded away, leaving the petrified dunes.
Double arch was spectacular. It was impossible to get photos of these formations without people milling around - but the people provide a size reference. These arches were huge.
The next arch is called "North Window". Around the corner was "South Window".
Near the two windows was "Turret Arch".
This is the famous "Balanced Rock". The large boulder on top is harder than the underlying supporting rock. Unfortunately, the support is eroding away so eventually, Balanced Rock will come crashing down.
The home on "Wolfe Ranch". Established by John Wesley Wolfe in the late 1800's.
Petroglyphs near the Wolfe Ranch.
Delicate arch was reachable only after a 3-mile hike along a rugged trail. Instead, we walked to the upper overlook and viewed it from afar. Again, people in the scene provide a perspective of size.
The last arch we saw was "Skyline Arch".
Finally, we visited "Devil's Garden" - a dramatic series of rock sculptures carved by nature.
On Wednesday, we continue east into Colorado planning to pause in Silt on the Colorado River.
Now that we have left our Moab campgound, I can feel free to say a few things about it. We camped in Canyonlands RV Park on the south end of town. It was very convenient to many services including groceries and restaurants. But, the campground itself was not quite what we had grown used to during this trip. We have stayed in several Good Sam and KOA properties and never have we felt so crowded and jammed in as in Canyonlands. While the park was well-treed with considerable shade (welcomed in the desert heat), the sites were narrow and short. The original site we were assigned was right next to the bathroom. OK - we can deal with that. But the six foot tall steel post installed to protect the bathroom (on the right of the site) and the tree on the left of the site, made it impossible to turn our 30-foot vehicle safely onto the pad. We were going to hit the post. So, we asked for another site and received one, reluctantly after a "we have a situation" call to the manager or owner of the campground. At the end of the road we had to drive down to get re-positioned for the new site was the dump station. If there is a RV at the dump site, other traffic through that area had to wait or risk damaging their rig on one of the large trees or worse on another RV. Our alternate site (and many others) was designated for a 40 to 45 foot RV. The pad was not long enough for all four wheels of our 30-foot vehicle to be on it. 2 were on concrete and 2 were on gravel. The "porch" portion of the pad had huge cracks in it. The "front yard" was just a bit wider than the picnic table. Setting aside the quality of the site, we were dismayed at the continued disregard for campground rules. Vehicles were parked in vacant sites, as well as in the road, making passage by large vehicles difficult. I'm surprised there weren't multiple accidents. All of the roads were two-way. Some sites had multiple vehicles - trailer, ATV and pick up truck. It looked like chaos. At least the bathrooms were clean; but they were a little outdated and small. One evening when we returned from our day of touring, there was a long line of vehicles waiting to get in the park making passage by our rental car impossible. The entrance was only wide enough for one vehicle to pass through - and there was very limited space at the registration office for vehicles to park. No one could get out either. The staff was friendly. Sorry to spend so much time on this - but given this was the highest-priced of our campgrounds so far, it was by far the most disappointing. There simply was not enough room for comfortable maneuvering and parking of large vehicles. Our recommendation is that anyone with a vehicle longer than 26 feet should choose another location.
Before we get to Arches - here are some photos from the campground. The building on the right is the bathroom, note the vehicle parked in the site. Also note the tall post that made a right turn with a long vehicle impossible.
This was our campsite - note the size of the concrete pad and the proximity to other sites. The pedestle for the adjacent site is behind the tree.
Arches National Park: The "Park Avenue"
This formation is named "The Three Gossips". Cute.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Canyonlands National Park
Monday, June 19 - we drove back toward Dead Horse Point and continued another 4 miles into Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands has two mail canyons, one carved by the Colorado River and one carved by the Green River. The rivers join forces and continue as the Colorado in the middle of the park. Canyonlands consists of three districts: Island in the Sky: the region between the two rivers, Needles: the region south of the confluence of the rivers and The Maze. All three are unique, distinct and disconnected from each other. The Maze, on the western part of the park and west of the Green River, is only reachable by 4-wheel drive vehicles. There are no improved roads into that part of the park. Needles is 70+ miles from Moab. So we restricted our visit to the Island In the Sky District - it took us most of the day.
After stopping at the Visitor's Center, we drove to the Mesa Arch trail and walked the 1/4 mile to view Mesa Arch. We then continued down the park road to visit several other overlooks and viewpoints and then hiked the trail to the Upheaval Dome. This was about a mile round trip and the trail was a bit rugged as we scrambled over rocks and up and down terraced hills. The Upheaval Dome remains a mystery as geologists are uncertain about how it was formed. Modern beliefs are that it was caused by a meteorite strike, but this has yet to be proven.
While not as colorful as Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands has a beauty all its own. The canyons are narrower than Grand Canyon and not as deep. So features at the bottom of the canyon are more visible and easier to see.
After stopping at the Visitor's Center, we drove to the Mesa Arch trail and walked the 1/4 mile to view Mesa Arch. We then continued down the park road to visit several other overlooks and viewpoints and then hiked the trail to the Upheaval Dome. This was about a mile round trip and the trail was a bit rugged as we scrambled over rocks and up and down terraced hills. The Upheaval Dome remains a mystery as geologists are uncertain about how it was formed. Modern beliefs are that it was caused by a meteorite strike, but this has yet to be proven.
While not as colorful as Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands has a beauty all its own. The canyons are narrower than Grand Canyon and not as deep. So features at the bottom of the canyon are more visible and easier to see.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Utah has so much to see and such large parcels of public lands. There are 5 national parks and numerous national monuments and state parks.
Saturday, June 17, was a transit day as we moved east from Torrey into Moab, UT. Our base camp for 4 days is Canyonlands RV Park on the north end of Moab. I'll provide a review of this campground in a few days.
Sunday, June 18, we took a break from the National Parks to visit Dead Horse Point State Park. Sitting between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse presents multiple viewpoints of another Colorado River-carved canyon rivaling Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon but on a much smaller scale. Dead Horse Point is a 30-yard wide mesa high above the river - mostly rock and scrubby trees with gorgeous views of the canyon below. There is a legend about this place: Years ago, cowboys would round up the wild Mustangs that grazed the range at the top of the mesa and use the narrow point as a way to coral the ponies. They blocked off the narrow part of the mesa with dead trees and brush. Between the rim and the "fence", the ponies were contained within the coral. The stories vary, but on one occasion, for an unknown reason, the cowboys left the ponies in the coral and did not return for them. Without food and water the Mustangs died. Sad story- if it's true.
One unique thing about Dead Horse Point: it provides the broadest view of the Colorado River from its rim trail as the river meanders through the canyon it created.
In the background, beyond Moab, are the La Sal Mountains.
Saturday, June 17, was a transit day as we moved east from Torrey into Moab, UT. Our base camp for 4 days is Canyonlands RV Park on the north end of Moab. I'll provide a review of this campground in a few days.
Sunday, June 18, we took a break from the National Parks to visit Dead Horse Point State Park. Sitting between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse presents multiple viewpoints of another Colorado River-carved canyon rivaling Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon but on a much smaller scale. Dead Horse Point is a 30-yard wide mesa high above the river - mostly rock and scrubby trees with gorgeous views of the canyon below. There is a legend about this place: Years ago, cowboys would round up the wild Mustangs that grazed the range at the top of the mesa and use the narrow point as a way to coral the ponies. They blocked off the narrow part of the mesa with dead trees and brush. Between the rim and the "fence", the ponies were contained within the coral. The stories vary, but on one occasion, for an unknown reason, the cowboys left the ponies in the coral and did not return for them. Without food and water the Mustangs died. Sad story- if it's true.
One unique thing about Dead Horse Point: it provides the broadest view of the Colorado River from its rim trail as the river meanders through the canyon it created.
In the background, beyond Moab, are the La Sal Mountains.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Capitol Reef National Park
Hurricane and the National Parks we visited while there marked our western-most location. We left Hurricane on Friday June 16 and headed north up I-15 and east through more beautiful scenery to the tiny town of Torrey, UT and Wonderland RV Park. We passed through miles of desolate ranch land, beautiful rock formations and very little by way of services and population. Traffic was non-existent on this much less traveled byway. On arrival at Wonderland, we checked in, parked our RV rig and rode in Ay and Ems RV to begin our exploration of Capitol Reef National Park, just a few short miles from Torrey. Once again, nature as sculptor and architect went all out creating a spectacle of color and texture. This park also contained some ancient petroglyphs.
Wonderland RV park was nice - clean and efficient. Sites were well maintained but pretty close together. Roads and pads were gravel but level. Restrooms were clean.
On leaving Torrey on Saturday, we once again drove through Capitol Reef and ventured onto the Scenic drive with both RVs. This was a bit daring as we were not certain where we could turn our big rigs around to go back to the main road - but it worked out. We drove most of the scenic drive and did a three-point turn-around at one of the narrow pulloffs. It was well worth the gamble as the scenery down this road was wonderful. Continue reading below ...
This is part of the waterpocket fold - a towering rock wall that blocked progress of early settlers. This gave the park the "Reef" portion of its name.
The scenic road was narrow - but wide enough for 2 RVs to pass; slowly.
These next two photos are of some of the petroglyphs and pictographs carved into the rock wall. This wall was several feet straight up. The carvings were high off the ground. They are a little faint, so look carefully in the rock.
This next photo is of the "capitol dome" - the feature that gave the park part of its name: Capitol Reef.
After visiting the petroglyph part of the park, it was time to bid farewell to our friends Ay and Em as they were starting their trip back home in Colorado. Em and I stopped at a few more overlooks to enjoy more of Capitol Reef, but at lunch time where we pulled off the road, there at the turnout were Ay and Em - so we joined them for lunch and said good bye again; knowing that we'd see them next week when we stop by their home for a visit. These rock features were prominent at the pull off we used for our lunch break.
Wonderland RV park was nice - clean and efficient. Sites were well maintained but pretty close together. Roads and pads were gravel but level. Restrooms were clean.
On leaving Torrey on Saturday, we once again drove through Capitol Reef and ventured onto the Scenic drive with both RVs. This was a bit daring as we were not certain where we could turn our big rigs around to go back to the main road - but it worked out. We drove most of the scenic drive and did a three-point turn-around at one of the narrow pulloffs. It was well worth the gamble as the scenery down this road was wonderful. Continue reading below ...
The scenic road was narrow - but wide enough for 2 RVs to pass; slowly.
These next two photos are of some of the petroglyphs and pictographs carved into the rock wall. This wall was several feet straight up. The carvings were high off the ground. They are a little faint, so look carefully in the rock.
This next photo is of the "capitol dome" - the feature that gave the park part of its name: Capitol Reef.
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