More Bryce!

Yesterday (6/28) I started the day by doing 5 loads of laundry.  Was going to work on the blog while I waited, but for some reason the wi-fi was even worse in the laundromat, which is right next to the campground office.  So, I got to read my book some.  When I got back to the camper, the boys were all watching World Cup (exciting Brazil/Chile game).  The game went to extra time and then penalty kicks, so we got a little later start to our day than we meant to.

Chuck wanted to do a hike in Red Canyon, where he had been mountain biking.  It's about a 15 min. drive from us, in the Dixie National Forest.  Why is there a Dixie National Forest in Utah?  We stopped in at the Red Canyon Visitor Center and Chuck talked to the guy working there about the trails.  He was a little annoyed that the guy hadn't hiked the trails there, so he wasn't sure how it would be.

The trail was much more narrow and rocky than the ones in Bryce NP, but we didn't see a single other person the entire time, which Chuck liked.  I stayed busy looking out for rattlesnakes and mountain lions.  I figure if there's no one out there making a racket, they may not know we're coming. ;-)  The trail was marked in spots with cairns (yes, I just looked up piles of rocks marking trails so I could appear smart), and Zack kicked over the first one he saw.  Then we had to explain what it was doing there and why it was important.  Later on the trail went in a dry riverbed and there were 2 cairns there which led us to where the trail came out.  At least that's what I thought.  The boys said they didn't even see those 2 piles of rocks in the middle of a riverbed - they just kept walking until they saw the trail.  It was a nice little hour hike, but I preferred the one in the park.

Similar, but less spectacular views

Zack unintentionally recreating the iconic Bigfoot pose

After some rest, we played a little soccer on the lawn.  I think the boys beat me & Chuck.  Not unusual these days.  Then they rode their bikes to get ice cream.  After dinner, we went to try and see a sunset in the park.  All the viewpoints would make great sunrise spots, but we are not morning people, so that hasn't happened yet.  I read on the NPS website the 2 best spots to see the sunset, so we picked one and went to it.  There were some incredible (I really need to get a thesaurus for here) hoodoo formations, but we could tell the sun was going to just drop behind a hill before we saw it set.  So, we moved on to the other one.   That was even more spectacular than the last.  We had to climb pretty high to the top of the viewpoint, so there were no trees or hills blocking the sunset.  The sunset itself wasn't anything special, but the colors in the sky across the canyon were really pretty.

What are they looking at?

Oh, just that.

Those were the actual real colors in the sky.

At 10:30, the boys and I went back to the Astronomy Festival and left Chuck behind.  The lines were shorter and we got to see some cool some things we didn't see the night before.  We left about midnight.  Zack is really getting into astronomy.  I enjoyed it, too. I think Ben did as well, but he just likes it in shorter stretches.  

This morning (6/29) was more World Cup watching and laziness.  It's a little hotter today.  We're planning on doing the scenic drive through the park to see all the viewpoints we haven't yet and maybe do another short hike.  

Tomorrow we will hit the road for Salt Lake City!

Loving Bryce!

After several days of R&R, I'm okay with Utah.  We had 2 lazy days of just hanging around the campground before even making it to Bryce Canyon NP.  We are staying in a big campground just outside the entrance.  We were going to go to Zion for a few days (which is like 83 miles away), but it was supposed to be 101 degrees while we were there, while Bryce, at ~8k ft. is a lot cooler.  We didn't even run our AC yesterday.  It has been really windy at times here.  It's like our rain curse has turned into a wind curse.  This campground, as the majority of ones we've been at, is super dusty.  But the sites are big.  There is a lawn with nice grass that we have been playing soccer on.  We also have cable here, so we've been able to watch World Cup.  There are about 20 wifi networks to choose from, but finding one to work for more than 5 min. at a time is a challenge.

Yesterday (6/27) we finally made it to Bryce Canyon NP.  Beautiful!!  We stopped at the Visitor Center and there was a TV showing various hikes.  I saw one that said it was the World's Best 3 Mile Hike or some such claim, so I thought we should do that one.  We talked to a Ranger and got the scoop on which direction to go, etc.  The first part went down into the canyon among a bunch of "hoodoos". The second part was through pine trees.  The end was straight back up to the rim between 2 walls via about a million switchbacks.  Zack & Chuck powered through like it was nothing, but Ben & I were definitely out of breath.  But it was an awesome hike!

Before

Yes, those are people up there, and that's where we're going.

A look down to where we started the awful climb out

We just happened to be here the same time as the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, so after dinner we went back to the park to check it out.  It started at 10, but surprisingly it wasn't really dark until like 10:30.  We must be close to the Pacific Time Zone.

They had a parking lot set up as the "stargazing site".  There were 20-30 telescopes that people brought and set up, from a $150 model up to some very big ones that looked like cannons.  You could walk around to each one (and stand in line) and the operator would tell you what you were looking at or what to look for.  We saw a few different nebula(s?), star clusters, galaxies, Mars, but what we were all most impressed with was Saturn.  You could clearly see the rings! It was really cool.  We could see the Milky Way again, and Chuck kept joking while we were in every line that we could see more stars if those clouds (i.e. Milky Way) would go away.  Also, the Ranger had told us while we were waiting in line to be let in to the stargazing site that a satellite would go across near the star Vega and would have a bright flash when its solar panels reflected the sun.  That was pretty cool.  We looked through most of the telescopes.  Zack & I wanted to stay and do all, but Ben & Chuck were ready to go. When we got in the Jeep, it was 11:50!

No, no - THIS was an epic GPS fail!

So, after the whole ferry thing we said we were going to double check our GPS routes against our atlas and maybe Google Maps.  But we missed something somewhere, and today turned into the worst day we've had so far.

We headed out about 9:30 this morning (24th) from Bullfrog to Bryce Canyon.  The maps on my iPad showed a different route than our GPS had.  It definitely looks shorter on paper, but the road looked a little sketchy to me in the atlas (dotted line).  But Chuck thought it must be okay since our GPS said to go that way.  So, we turned onto it.  It was unmarked, but paved, so we thought it would be okay. There were a couple of spots we could have turned around and should have, but we kept going.  After making it through a dodgy dip, that was pretty much the point of no return.

See, it doesn't look so bad.

We went probably 25 miles up mountains, down mountains, around curves, and then the road was not paved anymore.  It was dirt, dust, gravel and was extremely washboarded.  So, Chuck had to drive like 5-10mph.  The GPS was showing 11 miles to our next turn, and looking at the atlas, it looked like the road would be paved again there.  Nope!  We had entered Capitol Reef NP's backcountry.   We came to a fork and the GPS was telling us to go left. There was a sign that said there was a highway like 34 miles straight ahead.  We had unhooked the Jeep some time prior and I was driving it in front.  I said I would go left and see how the road was.  It looked pretty insane.  There was a pickup truck stopped that had come from that way so I asked the driver if he thought a motorhome would make it.  He said there were crazy switchbacks and a probably 20% grade downhill.  So, no.

Chuck decided to scout the 34 miles to the highway in the Jeep and then come back.  He met someone along the way who told him we should be able to do it.  So, we headed off again - me in front in the Jeep.  I would drive a little and wait for them.  I never got out of 2nd gear.  The washboard was so bad I fishtailed in the Jeep a couple of times.

We had a couple more scary dips and lots more bumps, and then finally I got to a sign that said "Leaving Public Lands".  The road was still not paved, but it was much, much better there.  Then we finally got to a real road.  I've never been so happy to see asphalt.  I even sang a little hallelujah.  I think we drove like 45 miles on a dirt road.  That our GPS is supposed to avoid.  At 5-10mph.

We drove to the Visitor Center and went in for a few minutes.  I talked to a lady who had just come from Bryce Canyon on the road we were planning on taking.  I asked if it was paved, and she was like, "yeah... it's a nice road."  But she sounded like she had a little hesitation.  It was a paved highway, but it was also marked a scenic road, so we were a little nervous.  It certainly turned out to be incredibly scenic, but there were some hairy parts!  And one point we were up on the top of a ridge, like really high up, with nothing on either side.  Another part was red rocks on both sides, like right next to the lanes.

But we eventually made it here! (about 6:30, I think)  Hoping to check out the park tomorrow.   I am amazed at how there are such remote places left in this country.  We did not have cell service most of the day today.  How do these people live? ;-)  I told Chuck we are sticking to main roads from now on! And honestly, I will be glad to get out of Utah.

They like to let the cows roam free here.

Epic GPS Fail!

On Sunday we headed to Lake Powell, Bullfrog Marina.  I don't think I mentioned before, but we bought an RV-specific GPS (Rand McNally) before spring break and had been using it with no trouble. You enter your RV type, measurements, etc., and it routes you around stuff.  Anyhoo, this is one conversation we had part of the way there:

Chuck: Hmm, this shows us getting on a ferry.
Me: What?
Chuck: I don't know why.
Me: Are you sure the campground is on this side of the lake?
Chuck: Yes.
Me: Do they have a ferry big enough for a motorhome?

We finally get to the fee station for the NP (Glen Canyon) and we tell the girl we're going to Bullfrog. She says, "this is Halls Crossing. Bullfrog is 3 1/2 hours away."  But you could literally see it across the lake!  They had an RV Park there, which seemed inviting, but we had reserved a boat at the Bullfrog Marina, and the ferry was closed, so away we went to the other side of the lake.

Finally made it to the right place.  We had to register at the lodge, and it just so happened the US World Cup soccer game was on in the bar.  We went in to catch the end and got to see Dempsey score the go-ahead goal.  Oh, the elation!  Then we were all down when Portugal tied in like the 94th minute.

On to the RV Park.  The lady at the lodge had said we could pick any site that was open.  We tried several before deciding on one.  They weren't very level.  And there were 2 with one tree, and those were both taken.  It was so hot there!  And there were these spiky things that kept sticking in our shoes and feet.  I swear it is worse than stepping on a Lego barefoot.  My dad suggested they might be sand burrs, so I googled that, and that's what it looks like.  I would have at least 10 stuck in each shoe every time I went out.  Oddly, Ellie got one stuck in a pad back in OK, but didn't get any here.  Her paws must be getting tougher.

Got to see a nice sunset

That night we went outside to check out the stars.  Amazing how many are actually there that we can never see in our light polluted part of the world.  We could even see the Milky Way, which someone in our family didn't believe.

On Mon. we went to check out our boat.  Our plan was to get there at 8am.  Of course it was 8:30 or 9. Then it took forever for Chuck in the rental office.  Then we had to wait for an instructor to go over the boat with us, and then she discovered the last renters had not filled it with gas, so we had to go get gas. So, it was closer to 10 when we got out.  We were worried about leaving Ellie in the camper, so we found out we could take her on the boat (for a fee, of course).  We went and had lunch and went back out with her.  Everybody had a great time.  The lake is really cool, with the rock formations.  The temp is actually much cooler out there, too.  Chuck wakeboarded in a slot canyon, and was so excited he couldn't think of the proper word - I informed him he was "stoked," to which Zack added, "yeah, brah."

We turned the boat in early because everyone was tired.  The camper was 86 inside when we got back. It was 98 outside.  The 30amp electric just wasn't cutting it for our 50amp camper.  We had to turn the generator on until sunset.  It was supposed to be 100 the next day, so we decided to bag the extra day there and head to Bryce Canyon.

Zack is actually posing for pics now

Still heading west... (6/19)

So next stop was supposed to be Moab, but we decided to skip it and head straight toward Lake Powell with a stop on the way.  We were thinking Durango but couldn't really find a campground.  We found one right across from the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, so we thought we'd check this park out, too.  May as well - we did buy the National Parks Annual Pass back at Great Sand Dunes.

The trip here involved 6 miles of a very steep downgrade, a tunnel through a mountain, and some crazy switchbacks.  We saw several obviously insane cyclists riding up that mountain.

This campground is another dusty gravel parking lot, but we do have wi-fi most of the time and something like 87 antenna channels.  I even found a Spanish channel with World Cup games, but sadly the signal wasn't strong enough.

Today (6/20) we headed over to the park.  Mesa Verde has ancient Pueblan cliff dwellings.  It's a 20-some mile drive up the mountain where they have some driving tours, a museum, some ranger-guided tours, as well as some other stuff.  We did the Balcony House ranger-guided tour.  It involved climbing several really tall ladders and crawling through a tunnel.  Amazing that house was built like 800 years ago.

Chuck found time for a mt. bike ride this evening.  He said it was a very good one and did not mention any hike-a-bike.

It feels pretty hot here in the sun, but as soon as the sun goes down, it is really chilly.

Great Sand Dunes

The Great Sand Dunes National Park was awesome!  The first night we ate dinner and decided to go check out the sand dunes.  The park is open 24 hours.  We went to check out the visitor center (which was closed), and I was telling the boys to get next to the sign so I could take a pic.  Then I noticed Ben was still in the Jeep.  Went back to see what was the holdup, and he was having a nose bleed.  Took him back to clean him up and finally made it out to the dunes.  It was so cold out there with the wind.  The dunes are incredible.  It's hard to believe there are these giant sand dunes in the middle of the mountains.  I did stop to read a sign in the parking lot about the geology, but I was literally attacked by mosquitos. 

The next day we rented a sand sled and sandboard (like a snowboard) to ride on the dunes.  The sandboard was the bigger hit.  The boys had no problem doing it, and Chuck did pretty well on it, too.  I, on the other hand, had a little trouble working up the nerve to go down the dune.  Something about being accident prone and breaking bones makes me a chicken in my old age. I did do a smaller dune and went a little way before falling.  My hip was sore the next day.  Did I mention I'm old?  I have some videos of everyone sandboarding, but I can't get them to work here, so I'll just put more pics.

Waxing the boards

One day we took the Jeep on the Medano Pass Primitive Road in the park.  There are signs everywhere saying high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles only, but we went in behind 2 minivans (which we quickly passed), and we even saw a Mini-Cooper at a parking area along the road.  We went pretty far along the road.  There was deep sand in spots, many creek crossings, rocky roadbed, and some really cool scenery!  

There was one wilderness area we parked at on the way up the road.  There was a really steep dune that the boys went over to check out.  I found out later it is 399' tall.  We only let the boys go up about 15'.  On the way back down the road, they wanted to stop there again.  There was a Girl Scout troop (Ben's age), and some of those girls were all the way at the top!  We had given the boys a time limit but told them not to go any higher than before.  Of course when they saw those others, they just kept going.  We talked to the adults with the girls and they assured us it was completely safe.  Zack & Ben turned around just shy of the top so they could make their time limit.  We went back our last night after the thunderstorm and they made it all the way to the top.  Chuck made it pretty high up but I think psyched himself out about coming down.  That certainly was my problem.  I probably made it 15'.  It's so steep it looks like if you fall coming down you are a goner, but since it's sand you just sink in.  The boys ran all the way down.  They did not tell us that the sand makes a crazy noise when you are running down.  I was like, is there a bear up there?

That's a long way up.

I may have overused the saturate button on this one.

One day we went to Zapata Falls, which is on BLM and state land.  It's a fairly long ride up the mountain on a very bumpy road, and then 1/4 mile hike to a creek.  Then you have to walk in the creek through a crevasse to see the waterfall.  We went along the edge of the creek until we could no longer, then used stepping stones in the creek, and then we had to wade in the creek the last little bit.  Did I mention there is still snow on the mountains?  The water was pretty numbing on the feet, but it didn't take too long to warm back up.  We did a little exploring around the creek, and Ben & I headed down to the parking lot.  We waited and waited, and finally Chuck & Zack came down.  Apparently Zack had stuck his hand on a cactus and Chuck had pulled all the spines out he could.  We could still see some, but they are not coming out any time soon.  

On to Colorado! (Mon. 6/16)

So, the crazy wind lasted all 5 or 6 hours of our drive to our campground at Great Sand Dunes.  I think our fuel economy was 5 mpg!  

We had a little problem about an hour and a half away where almost everything shut off, except the engine (for some reason the Xbox had gone off but came back on, but I used that opportunity to make the boys turn it off).  Chuck kept driving and we were going through all the things we could check - breaker, fuse, reset the inverter.  When we pulled into the campground and he turned it off, there was a loud beep that wouldn't stop.  He went and checked in and when he came back, it hit me that I had been storing my tall SmartWater bottle in front of the battery disconnect switch that turns off everything.  Whoops.  Problem solved!  

I also realized the beeping was because Chuck had turned on the headlights, which he hadn't been doing, so it was just warning us they were on.  Another problem solved!  

Alas, our luck was not to last.  We were setting up camp, putting the long slide out when we heard a noise and realized it wasn't going out all the way.  We went outside to check it out, and noticed the slide topper (which is a little awning that rolls out with the slide) was buckled up in the middle and popped out of its casing. 

Chuck got on the roof to check it out, and when he took the end of the casing out, it turns out those things are spring loaded!  So there was no rolling it back in.  It was so windy - I think it was steady 20-30 mph with gusts of 50+.  We had a rock brigade handing him rocks to weight it down.  Of course there was a chance the wind would blow them off, but we really didn't know what else we could do.

The next morning Chuck called the Coachmen roadside assistance number.  They found an RV mechanic who said he could come out on Wed.  On Tues., we ended up taking the rocks that hadn't been blown off yet off and Chuck was able to slide the whole thing off.  We got it rolled up and stored underneath us so it wouldn't blow away.  I'm not even joking when I say the wind was still that bad. The mechanic made it out and agreed it was not fixable, cleared that with the company, and hauled it away.   

Our campground was in a wide open space on the side of the mountain, so there was no wind protection at all.  It was basically just a parking lot, but it did have incredible views of the sand dunes.  There was also no wi-fi, no cable, and no antenna channels, but we did have cell service.  The wind was so bad we couldn't eat outside, put out our chairs, or anything.   And my mouth tasted dusty the entire time.  The dust is also making us all sneezy.  

The last night there we had a storm, just to keep our rain streak alive.  We were heading out and saw a very black cloud overhead so we quickly changed our minds and stayed in.  There was a lot of very loud thunder  and a double rainbow but only a little rain.  After the storm the wind actually died down!

My next post - the good stuff about this stop!

  

Oklahoma! (and a bunch of other lyrics I don't remember)

Sat. (6/14) we left Memphis and drove across Arkansas headed to our next stop, Greenleaf State Park near Braggs, OK.  I think it is in the foothills of the Ozarks.  The people there were a little bit rednecky and a lot unfriendly.  Or maybe that was a little bit unfriendly and a lot rednecky.  Chuck found the park on a mt. biking website and wanted to try it out.  The campsite was huge.  We had a big grassy space that the boys played soccer in.  We rode our bikes around the park, did some fishing in a pond (and caught nothing).  Chuck rode part of the trail and then ran into a park ranger.  He seemed surprised Chuck was thinking about riding the other part and told him it was too late to start it that evening.  

Our soccer field at our campsite

So, Chuck got up early the next morning and set out.  Of course it was sprinkling and there was faint thunder rumbling.  He said I should tell the ranger if he wasn't back by 1:30.  Luckily it didn't come to that.  He showed up about 10:50.  But it did storm the entire time he was gone.  And he said he had a lot of hike-a-bike (he swears that is proper mt. bike lingo and the boys laugh every time he uses it.)  He had quite a tick infestation (Happy Father's Day!) which led to tick checks on everyone.  

After everyone was cleaned up and ready to go, we got on the road again.  We didn't have a stop planned beforehand, but Chuck found a campground on Sat. night with my iPad.  It was the Corral Drive-In in Guymon, OK, which is in the panhandle.  Yes, they had an actual Drive-In movie screen with local cars that came and watched.  The campsites were kinda around the perimeter of where the cars park.  The lady had told Chuck the night before that there were two movies, with the box office opening at 7.  We pulled in around 8:30.  It was still like full daylight, so there was no worry of the movie starting anytime soon.  

They had a pizzeria, so Chuck went over and put in an order.  The pizza looked and smelled delicious!  The first movie (How to Train Your Dragon 2) finally started at 9:40, and it was still kinda light out!  The second movie was X-Men: Fast and Future Present.  Zack was the only one who made it through.  I woke up when the credits were rolling and I think it was 1:50am.  The campsites were basically gravel parking spots, but there were full hook-ups, wi-fi, and laundry (Chuck had to wash those nasty bike clothes!), so it was perfect for a quick stopover.  The Drive-In/ RV Park is a perfect idea if you ask me.  It was in a giant, flat field, and this morning we woke up to some crazy wind gusts.  There was a windmill farm next to us, so we figured they get a lot of wind. 

The view from our RV

PS - Oklahoma is just about the flattest place I've ever seen.

Friday the 13th

Fri. morning we set the GPS for Chuck's old house and neighborhood tour.  He wasn't lying about being from the wrong side of the tracks.  Remember in Vacation when Chevy Chase says to the family, "roll 'em up"?  That's what it felt like.  Only we couldn't roll 'em up because we were in the flashy (some have called it rednecky) Jeep with the windows out.  At one point he asked me what high school we were next to and then said, "oh, crap," when I told him.  Anyhoo, it was good to see where he went to school and rode his bike around causing trouble, and he was glad to see it all again.  

After lunch at the campground, we walked over to Graceland.  We had a 45 min. wait before we could get in line for the shuttle over, so we did some of the exhibits while we waited.  Then when we could queue up, there was still quite a wait for the shuttle.  I think Chuck was impressed with the house, but I'm not sure the boys were.  

Jumpsuit, anyone?

Zack & Ben with their cousin Margo

Fri. night we met Chuck's sister and her daughters on Beale St.  We walked to the Peabody and tried to watch the walking of the ducks to the roof.  The lobby was so jam-packed it was hard to see the actual ducks.  We had dinner at the famous Rendezvous BBQ Ribs place.  Chuck loved it.  I'm still partial to NC BBQ.  We walked on Beale St. and down to the river.  The Mississippi River is quite impressive.

Motorhome pulling a Jeep pulling a boat.
Chuck wishes he could do that.

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...

Below is my email I sent on June 12.  Our trip started June 11.

Greetings, y'all!  Day 2 and Stop 2 on our cross country adventure.  

Yesterday morning we left home and made it as far as Statesville before stopping.  Had to stop at Camping World to buy another Perfect Chair by Coleman (I just coined it that, but my fellow campers know which one I'm talking about), so that we wouldn't fight over the one we already had.  

We missed the LEFT turn back onto I-77 N, so we were looking for a place to turn around and saw a gas station.  Turned onto that road to find it was closed and roped off, and the street we were on was of course a dead end.  After a few minutes of trying to figure out what to do, we ended up having to unhook the Jeep.  I was moving it out of the way when I noticed Chuck was pretty much just backing into someone's front yard.  Luckily, no one shot at us, even though every house I saw had someone watching from the front door (does no one work during the day? ;) 

Our first stop was Caney Creek RV Resort & Marina in Harriman, TN, just west of Knoxville.  We got there just in time for a rain shower.  In case you didn't know, it has rained pretty much every single time we have camped, starting way back when Zack was in cub scouts.

After dinner, my Uncle John, Aunt Patti, their grandkids Jay & Amelia and their mom (my cousin-in-law?), Celeste, who all live in Knoxville, came to visit.  We had a good visit (pictures of course, by Uncle John), and the kids had a good time playing together.  Chuck built a fire and the kids made s'mores.

It was a nice campground and right on a lake. There were lots of full-timers there. We brought the boys' fishing poles, but the only tackle we have with us is one spinner.  They fished for a few minutes and didn't catch anything, but they did feed a mama duck & 6 ducklings some bread.

This morning we headed out toward Memphis.  I started out driving and got to drive down a steep grade.  Little bit stressful.  Then I had an oversized load pass me and had to drive on the shoulder a little (which is scarier with the grooves in it.)

We are staying at the Graceland Campground, which is right behind the Heartbreak Hotel and right across the street from Graceland.  We got here, got set up, and got supper grilled just in time for a big thunderstorm.  We are nice & dry inside, but there are tent campers out there!  I think there are more storms coming overnight.  

We are planning on touring Graceland tomorrow morning.  Can you believe Memphis native Chuck has never been? And then we are going to meet up with his sister and family tomorrow night.  He also wants to take us by his childhood home, that he assures us is in the ghetto.  Sat. we are heading towards OK.