Day 40: Still heading east on I-64

I had hoped to snap a photo at our last campsite for the trip, but, as expected  given the weather forecast, it is rainy and foggy as I type.

The day started out cool and sunny in Kentucky, and the decent weather continued up to Charleston, WV.  The drive through the windy, hilly portion of I-64 between Charleston and the Virginia border was done through rain, with low clouds over the mountain tops. 

Our stop for the night, in Dawson WV, is at another privately-run campground, right along the highway.  It's a set of graveled parking spaces, with all utilities, in a family's farm---very basic.  Ranger enjoyed a walk during a brief reprieve from the rain, with calves and cows to see and lots of green, green grass.  This evening, it's very quiet, as people are staying inside.  Upper 50's, rainy, foggy....a miserable night to be camping, but we are snug in our Navion.  It was a good night for hot soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  

Just over 200 miles to drive tomorrow, going home!


And after an evening of rain and a night of high winds, we awoke to a beautiful morning in West Virginia.

Day 39: Continuing eastward

Okay, Illinois and Indiana are pretty boring.  The southern stretch, which we crossed on I-64, is a bit nicer than the north, but it's still not interesting.

But we covered about 300 miles today, and here we are....

Specifically, we are at a private campground in Frankfort.  It's a Friday night, and the place is full.  Quite a few of the sites appear to be seasonal (with decks, plants, and golf carts), but we managed to get a nice long pull-through site that is not terribly close to the one next to us (with the road on the other side).  

It's still in the 80's and Ranger does not look happy. I think he's ready to go back to the cooler temperatures and the great dog park in Wisconsin.  

One more night on the road, tomorrow in West Virginia, and then we'll be home!

Days 37 and 38: Last day in Wisconsin and first (and last) day in Illinois

Yesterday, under cloudy skies (again), we drove to Waterford, about and hour and a half east of Madison.  We visited with (cousin) Dugan and his wife Lu and Dugan's dad Doug Robbins.  We were fortunate on the timing, as they will be leaving soon for their other home in Mesa, AZ, where they spend the winters.  (I will stop in for a visit with them when I go on my next Road Scholar hiking trip in January.)   Doug treated us to a fine lunch at a local restaurant, and then back to their home for dessert. 

By mid-afternoon when we were ready to do the drive back to the RV (and to rescue Ranger from a long day inside), the sun came out.  We took Ranger back to the dog park that he enjoyed so much earlier in the week, and again he had a ball!  He found a dog about his size to chase and be chased by, running and running at top speed.  He also made friends with a black-and-white dog that could have been his cousin---lots of play wrestling and other dog play.

Kak and Susan came for dinner, bringing left-over chili and salad, and we spent a pleasant evening, last one, with them.

In the morning, we headed south, crossed the border into Illinois, and drove most of the day through flat farm fields.  Our site tonight is at a private RV park in Effingham, Illinois.  It's not scenic, but it's clean and flat and we got a pull-through site so that we did not have to unhoook the car.  And surprisingly----it is HOT!  Upper 80's in early October---who would have predicted that, especially after I was in several layers of clothes the whole time we were in Madison.  

Tomorrow, we cross Indiana and should get half-way across Kentucky.

Day 36: Richland Center

After getting cleaned up and picking up Kak, we headed west to Richland Center.  We had arranged to have lunch at (Aunt) Ruth's house with (cousin) Mike and Mary, plus their son Christopher and his daughter Doria.  As has been the case in the past, Mary prepared a large and varied lunch (several excellent salads, sandwiches, and carrot cake for dessert), and we enjoyed Doria (age 3 1/2) who is starting to talk up a storm (both English and Chinese).

Then we made a short visit to the cemetery to take a look at the monument that Dan had ordered but never actually seen.

We had dinner at Dobhan, an excellent Nepalese restaurant in Madison, where I had tarkari made with acorn squash---delicious!

Day 35: Madison, Wisconsin

While Dan went out to get a part for the RV's headlight, Ranger and I took a long walk in the park.  The campground is part of the larger Capital Springs State Recreation Area, and it has a long bike trail and walking paths through the wetlands.

We went into the city to meet Kak for lunch, between her appointments with patients.  In mid-afternoon, we took Ranger to the dog park just a short distance down the road from our campsite, and he had a GREAT time, running and playing with the other dogs.  We were so impressed at how well behaved he was, coming back to us when called and generally playing nicely.

Then back to the RV to grill burgers for dinner with Kak and Susan.  

Day 34: Back in the East again?

Well, at least we are east of the Mississippi again, having crossed at Dubuque.

This day's drive took us through  our old stompin' grounds, where we lived for the first three years after we married.

We awoke to sunshine and warmer temperatures in Iowa, but as seen in the pictures, we went back into heavy clouds as we got into Wisconsin.

We drove past typical Wisconsin scenery on our way to Madison.

We have set up camp at Lake Farm Park, a Dane County park just south of Madison.  The beltway around Madison is not far away, so we can hear traffic noise, and we must be in the path of planes taking off from the airport.  But the park feels surprisingly remote, with lots of open marshland and trees just turning color.  

Kak and Susan came over for dinner.  Actually Susan BROUGHT a delicious dinner, so we did not even have to cook.  Then we enjoyed a campfire before they had to head back, in order to get up for work tomorrow.

Damp and foggy this morning, but the forecast is for sunny and in the 70's---a beautiful fall day ahead!

Days 31, 32, 33....Relaxing at Tim and Pam's

We have been "camping" in Tim and Pam's driveway in Marion for the past three days. Thursday it was sunny and warm, so while Tim, Pam, and Dan went out shopping for various needs for their new pop-up camper, I stayed around and did a thorough cleaning of the inside of the RV, getting lots of red dust off of everything.  Friday and Saturday the weather turned cool and cloudy, with drizzle on and off, so it was really nice to have a house to spend time in----Ranger took over the kitchen, getting under Pam's feet while she cooked and cooked and cooked.  We have been eating great food, and way too much of it!  

Dan and Tim worked on their camper, checking out the water, propane, AC, refrigerator, etc. to see whether it's all in good shape for them to head out on the road.  Pam is already dreaming of a bigger travel trailer, but they sure got a good deal on this one as a starter.

Ranger would probably stay here in Iowa with Tim, Pam, and Lola if we let him.  They sure spoil him!  And he really seems to enjoy long walks, even in the drizzly weather, around Marion.  But today, Sunday, we need to pack up and move on.  Next stop:  Madison, Wisconsin!  We leave here with a clean RV, inside and out, with laundry done, grocery shopping done, and with full stomachs  

Day 30: Ranger is a happy dog

We continued east on I-80 through Iowa and about 200 miles along we turned north toward Cedar Rapids.  They had serious flooding there in the past few days, and coming through the downtown area on I-380 you could see LOTS of sandbags around houses and stores. The water  is receding now, but many roads are still closed.

And then we arrived at Tim and Pam's in Marion, and Ranger is SO happy.  He loves their fenced in backyard where he ran and ran in circles when we arrived.  He loves having a house to go into, especially since it's a house with lots of dog toys (all Lola's property).  And when Megan came over for dinner last evening with her kids, and they played fetch with him in the yard, well, that was the best.  Lily (grade 3) and William (grade K) were willing to throw the ball over and over and over, and Ranger played until he was exhausted.

Lola and Ranger seem equally jealous of attention, however, so they are constantly pushing in when one is getting petted by anyone, like "My turn, my turn!".  They do seem to get along pretty well, otherwise, especially playing "chase me" around the yard.

Pam had prepared an excellent dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, and corn---a real treat.  Dan is looking forward to messing around with Tim's new pop-up camper, testing out systems and fixing whatever is needed.  

Day 29: Across Nebraska and into Iowa

Leaving North Platte in the morning, we hopped back onto I-80 and continued east.  I could simply post yesterday's photo of the Nebraska countryside: the view was the same, mile after mile.  There was a brief change going through Lincoln...but not much.  After a lunch break at a nice rest area, we traveled on through Omaha, crossing the Missouri River.

And then we were in Iowa---Hurray!   A little prettier, with rolling hills, and yes, plenty of corn.

We stopped in late afternoon at Prairie Rose State Park, between Council Bluffs and Des Moines.  We actually had stayed at this park before, about five years ago, but driving in, neither of us had a clear memory of it.  It is nice, not at all crowded on a Tuesday night in late September, with our site just across the road from a small lake.  The weather is sunny and breezy, and it is oh, so quiet outside after dark, compared with the sound of all those trucks along the highway in North Platte!

Day 28: Leaving the West behind

This morning we had to leave our comfortable site at Cherry Creek State Park and start heading east.  We took I-255 and I-70 to connect to I-76 which goes northeast toward Nebraska.  Eastern Colorado is boring: flat, dry, very little vegetation, a few cows.  Entering Nebraska seemed almost exciting by contrast:

From here, we will travel along I-80 for the next few days, heading for Tim Dorgan's place in Iowa. (It's right outside Cedar Rapids; we hope the predicted flooding does not cause a problem getting there.)

With the time change (Mountain to Central) we lost an hour of travel time today.  We pulled into Holiday RV Park in North Platte in late afternoon. Not fancy, a bit old, but basically clean and satisfactory for one night.

Days 26 and 27: Exploring the Denver area

We are spending the weekend at Cherry Creek State Park, and it is one of the nicest parks we have visited on this trip.

We had a lazy Saturday, staying around the park.  Both mornings were chilly, low 40's, which Ranger really enjoyed.  I was able to get laundry done---much needed, requiring four washers in the park's clean and spacious laundry.  We lazed around in the afternoon, talking about plans for the remainder of the trip and making necessary reservations.  In late afternoon, we checked out the "DOLA": Dogs off-leash area.  It is HUGE and much-used.  We did not actually take Ranger in but had a nice walk along one of the many walking paths in the park before clouds moved in, making it uncomfortably cooler.  We scurried back to the RV for an evening spent warming up around a campfire.

At dinner on Friday night, Beckie gave us some suggestions for places to see around Denver.  So on Sunday morning, we started with Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

You can tell that Ranger would have liked to stay around for this evening's show by Gregg Allman.

From there, we drove to the top of Lookout Mountain:

Looking west, you can see high mountains, some with snow at the top.  Looking east, there's the city of Denver.  And closer in, just below, the city of Golden.  Yes, that's the Coors brewery in that third picture.  What else is Golden famous for?

We traveled down into Golden, where we had lunch and browsed the main street.

And finally back to our campsite, to enjoy the last few hours before we head out again, driving east.

Day 25: Over the Rockies

Yesterday afternoon, we visited Rifle Falls State Park, just four miles from where we were staying.  The ranger at our park said that we MUST see the falls.  And they were very nice.
There were also limestone caves to explore.

While there, the wind started gusting up, so back at our campsite, we had dinner inside and skipped the campfire we had planned.  Having checked on the weather, which indicated rain during the night, we also put everything away---chairs, mat, etc.  

.... which was a good thing, as the rain moved in during the wee hours.  At 3 am we were awakened by the flapping of the cover over the slide-out, and to be safe we pulled the slide in, giving us a much smaller space but without fear of a tear in the cover.  And at 7:00, it was 41 degrees with steady rain.  Even Ranger refused to get out of bed for his walk.

The rain let up a little around 10:00 and we set off to cross the mountains to Denver, following I-70.  What a drive!  Miles and miles of uphill, with rain continuing for the first 100 miles.  We went over two passes, one over 10,000 feet (at Vail), the other 11,000 feet (at Loveland).  The poor RV chugged along at 25 to 30 mph, working as hard as it could to pull the CRV up those mountains.  (And of course, poor Dan was shifting and watching the RPM and so forth, while trying to be patient with our slow progress.)

It was definitely autumn in the higher elevations.

And of course, then it was down, down, down....through miles of curves.  Two hundred miles of stress and we arrived at our site for the next three nights---Cherry Creek State Park, on the east side of Denver.  Being east it is flat and open.  But we have an excellent site, tucked back in the trees.

We are now awaiting the arrival of Kelly's friend Beckie Walter who lives in Denver and is coming over to have dinner with us. 

Looking forward to the next few days with good Wi-fi, hot showers, and a very nice laundry!

Some photos, finally

We are sitting at a Starbucks in Rifle, Colorado, catching up on business that requires Wi-Fi.  For the past few days, we have had little to no phone service (so can't use the phone as a hot spot), though occasionally some emails came through on the phone.  

The car was totally filthy after being towed through rain, picking up lots of road dirt, so we took it through a carwash and I'm now enjoying a Pumpkin Spice Latte, to celebrate the first day of fall.

So here's where we have been:

 Goblin Valley SP, Utah

Dead Horse Point

 

Rifle Gap

Day 22 and 23: Dead Horse Point State Park

We are now at Dead Horse Point State Park, just outside Canyonlands National Park.  It was hard to get a reservation here, so the site we managed is a small one but it has a covered cooking area (which given the weather---first rainy day of the trip) is a good thing.

It was a hot afternoon when we arrived.  We left Ranger for awhile in order to check out the visitors center at the state park and also the one at the national park, about ten miles down the road.  On the way back to the campsite, we drove up to the actual “point” from which you could see for miles, including the very green Colorado River way down in the canyon.

While taking a late afternoon walk, Dan and Ranger saw a kit fox crossing the road in front of them!

When Ranger and I headed out the next morning around 7:00, there was Mr. Fox again, this time about 25 yards from the door of the camper.  He and Ranger stared at one another for a few moments; then Ranger barked.  This did not seem to frighten the fox, as he moved a few yards closer.  Then, as if having second thoughts, he turned and headed off. An hour or so later, he was back, this time right in front of the RV.  He sat nicely while I took his pictures, not intimated at all.

Dan, Ranger, and I went out for a hike in the state park in the early morning, figuring on that being the cooler part of the day. (This proved wrong----more on that later.)  We took the 1.5 mile East Rim Trail, which had great views of the canyons below.  The trail took us back to Dead Horse Point, which Dan and I had visited the previous day.  From there we picked up the 2.5 mile West Rim Trail which led back to the campsite.  Enough hiking to leave all three of us ready for a rest and lunch.

Dan and I left Ranger in the RV in early afternoon so that we see some more of Canyonlands.  However, by now, clouds had moved in, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped into the mid-60’s.  Not having carried along a jacket or rain gear, we visited a few overlooks and then headed back to the RV.  We did manage to see Mesa Arch, one of the more famous parts of the park.

Although I have been able to pick up email on my phone in this location, it’s still too weak to post photos.  Hoping the next location (in Colorado) will allow me to go back and put some of the pictures up from the past three or four days.  

Day 24: Rifle Gap State Park, Colorado

We had talked about checking out of our site at Dead Horse Point, hooking up the car, and---on the way to Colorado---stopping at Arches National Park, about 30 miles away.  However, we awoke to clouds and drizzle.  Checking the park website, it noted that there was little parking for oversized vehicles, and the webcam from the entrance showed a long line of cars waiting to get in.

So…we headed back to I-70 to travel to Colorado.  We DID see some of the arches in the distance from the highway as we came down off the mesa from Dead Horse Point.

There was not much to see along the interstate except desert and sign and after sign at exits “No services”.  Once past Grand Junction, CO, things started looking greener and much more dramatic as we approached the mountains.  The highway follows the Colorado River, which flows right through the town which was our destination: Rifle, Colorado.

We fueled up and picked up some needed groceries, then drove north of town to Rifle Gap State Park.

First impressions were not positive.  The park is built around a reservoir which was only half-full (or half-empty?), leaving expanses of rock and mud along its edge.  Our site in the “Lakeview” section is high on a hill, in an open area with no trees.  And the ranger said that there are no hiking trails in the park.  I guess during the summer, people come here to swim (beach closed at this time of year) and to fish (and we later saw the red and green lights of a boat out on the reservoir as we sat around our campfire). 

On the other hand, the campground seems almost new: level site with a concrete pad and covered picnic table, full hookups (electric, water, sewer), hot showers (as long as you bring along your quarters---4 minutes for a dollar).  And there are mountain bluebirds everywhere!  I saw more birds, and more different types of birds, in the first hour here, than I have in the past two weeks.

The weather remained overcast all day, with occasional light showers, lasting only a few minutes each.  At one point in late afternoon, as I was just returning from my shower, there was a full rainbow to the northeast, very bright.  But after dinner, there was a long enough break for us to have a campfire, as did a number of campers around us.  (Note: It’s off-season and mid-week, so only about a dozen of the many sites here are occupied, which is quite nice.) 

It was a very quiet night, up here in the mountains.  I awoke early this morning to the sounds of coyotes barking, yipping, and howling, as did Ranger, of course!  Foxes at the previous campground, coyotes here; he is well-entertained, though he really looked puzzled about this morning’s chorus!

Day 22: Goblin Valley to Dead Horse Point

We had a relatively short drive today, just about 100 miles, to our next destination.

Along the way, we stopped in the very small town of Green River, UT to pick up groceries. Before leaving Goblin Valley, we dumped and made sure we had full tanks of water, as the next place specified that they did NOT provide any.

So here we are at Dead Horse Point State Park, about 35 miles from Moab.  We are just outside the entrance to Canyonlands National Park.  This was a tough site to reserve:  When I looked for a site, back in May, there was only one available, and it said it could accommodate up to a 24-foot unit.  Ours is 25.  So I called on the phone and spoke to a ranger who said "no problem".  And it is a small site, but we managed to get in, along with some space to park the car.  It has junipers along the side, providing quite a bit of privacy, and it comes with a covered picnic table with wind-break.  The downside is that they are renovating the campsites, so there is much construction activity, and our site has obviously been worked on by a tractor or Bobcat of some sort: piles of red dusty dirt on one side and much of the previously-graveled area is now just dusty dirt.

Of course, Ranger is very happy to lie in the red dust, and he is filthy; his legs are all red, as was the tip of his nose, before I wiped it off.  

Once set up, we had lunch, then left Ranger in air-conditioned comfort while we toured the visitors center of the state park and then drove to Canyonlands.  We watched the movie and picked up print materials to look over, to decide how we want to spend the day tomorrow.

Grilled pork chops for dinner.....Ranger and Dan saw a kit fox while doing an after-dinner walk around the loop of the campground....now just relaxing.  So nice to have electricity again though given the shortage of water out here, there are no showers for campers.  We have plenty of water, so it will be sponge baths for the next couple of days.  

Still hoping to post photos soon, but this wi-fi is just too weak for it today.  

Day 21: Relaxing at Goblin Valley

It was a chilly night with a full moon that lit up everything like daylight.  We awoke early and after breakfast we went out to hike the Curtis Bench Trail.  This trail was an easy one that followed the ridge line (bench) over the valley.  Within a short time we were looking down onto hundreds and hundreds of goblins!  

Coming up a small rise, Dan stopped me to “Look!”.  There, right ahead, was a buck antelope---beautiful.  He did not seem particular spooked by us, but as we approached, we moved off, and as we got closer to where we had first seen him, we realized that below, in a little depression, was a herd of females and young.  He must have given a signal because off, they all went. 

We lounged most of the afternoon.  With no cell phone service (to use as a hot spot) and no Wi-Fi, we just read books and looked at the scenery.  We had a repeat of last night’s dinner:  burgers grilled over our campfire.  With no electric hookup and dark coming earlier and earlier, we were soon in bed.

Hoping to reach a place soon with stronger Wi-fi so that I can put up some of my photos.  I have been taking plenty of them!

Day 20: Arrival at Goblin Valley

We left Torrey and continued along Hwy 24.  The first part of the road went through Capitol Reef, so we enjoyed the amazing red rock formations for awhile.  Then the road followed the Fremont River, lots of vegetation and quite pretty.  Once past Hanksville we were out in a very dry, barren stretch,  not much to look at.  We turned off the highway, still in rather ugly environment, past Temple Mountain, and arrived at Goblin Valley State Park.

The advantage of state parks is that they are dog-friendly: Ranger can hike with us.  The disadvantage, at least of this one, is no phone service, no internet. 

Our site is a pull-through in a small campground of about 25 sites, tucked into a hollow with huge red cliffs along the west side and a LONG view across the desert to the east.  It has a covered table, so we have some shade---Hurray!  This being a Saturday, the campground is full, with quite a few families with small children who seem to love climbing up the brown, dried-mud hills and sliding down.

We took a short hike to the actual valley to see the goblins.  The trail was in a gully between the dried-mud walls, not much of a view, but Ranger seemed to enjoy himself, climbing up onto the side walls and sliding down again.  The end of the trail was at the overlook of Goblin Valley, where we saw the weird, rounded, mushroom-like towers for which the park is named.

Day 19: Visit to Capitol Reef National Park

We awoke to a temperature of 38 degrees with high wind.  Brrrr!  Ranger was very happy on his morning walk but I certainly was not.

We have had intermittent problems with the refrigerator, and since there was an RV repair service next door to the campground, Dan got in touch with “Biggie” who came over in late morning and maybe….maybe…fixed the problem.  We’ll know for sure when we camp at the next place, which does not have electrical hookups.  (The problem was only evident when the fridge is supposed to be running on propane.)

So it was about noon when we headed out to Capitol Reef.  What amazing scenery!

We started with a short hike at Goosenecks Overlook and then Sunset Point, where the red rock formations were almost hard to believe.  We then proceeded along the ten-mile scenic road through the park, passing all sorts of weird shapes along the way.  The paved road ended at a 2 ½ mile dirt road that led to Capitol Gorge, where a mile-long trail went between the huge rock walls.  The walls had some very old petroglyphs on them, as well as names inscribed from the late 19^th/early 20^th century when this path was used by Mormon settlers who set up a community along the river.

At the end of this trail, we opted to continue onto the Tanks Trail, which led to large round indentations in the rock that collect rainwater and become home to tadpoles and other small critters.

Strangely enough, after such a cold start to the day, by late afternoon, we felt hot and a bit dehydrated from our hiking.  (It got into the low 70's, but that sun was HOT.)

Back at our campsite, we had dinner and planned on an early bedtime after a busy day.