It is hard to believe that we have been on the road for three weeks. This adventure only gets better with time. This blog post covers our time at Arches and Canyonlands National Park. The next post will be on Capitol Reef, Bryce, Natural Bridges and Zion. On the drive from Provo to Arches the landscape gave way to more and more red rock. Our reserved RV site was right in Moab. I must say it looked a lot better online than in person. The park was tight with small spaces and very crowded. Moab is a fun and a very bustling place. There are lots of off road trails for the ATV and four wheel drive enthusiast. Our RV park was filled with big rigs and awesome backcountry machines. There were also lots of bicyclist and hikers in tents.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK AT MOAB

We both loved the Arches National Park Experience. If you like red rock, interesting formations and natural arches, this is the place. The weather was excellent and we soon learned the drill. It is HOT during the day and cool at night. So the objective is to get up and get going very early. The thread of our experience was around every turn there is something new to look at. There were several great hikes and the drive through the park is phenomenal. Our time there was just right for us a day and a half.

The Park Avenue Trail was the first hike. It was fairly easy with lots of ups and downs with great views. A very nice initiation to the park and what it has to offer.

The main hike was the Devils Garden Trail. It is seven miles long with lots of scrambling over rocks. We got a work out that day along with introduction to life on the trail in red rock territory. The hike was a bit more technical than anticipated for us flatlanders Midwesterners. There are nine arches on the route plus significant elevation changes. The trail was busy. Please do not ask me to remember the names of all the arches.

After the hike we drove almost all of the park roads. There are lots of short hikes available along the way. We did as many as time would allow. As you can see lots more arches and many outstanding views. By the end of the day we were ready for a shower and to put our feet up.

DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK

The Dead Horse Point State Park was our next stop after Moab. This was to be our base camp for our first Canyonlands adventure. Our reserved site was for four nights. The park is outstanding. Check it out if you ever get the chance. It is called the Grand Canyon of Utah. Legend has it the locals would round up wild horses and use the natural points to corral them. Will spare you the details on how the park got its name.

The Colorado River is at the base of the canyon. It is 2,000 feet down to the river instead of 5,000 like the Grand Canyon. The sunrise and sunset views are breathtaking. There are great mountain bike trails. I did a couple which were way beyond my comfort zone for risk taking and skill set but I did them anyway. This park calls us back.

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK – ISLAND IN THE SKY DISTRICT

Canyonlands National Park – Island in the Sky district was next on the list. Canyonlands is large with three districts: Island in the Sky, Needles and The Maze. The Maze section was not on our list as it is not as developed and much more rugged plus it is hard to get to without lots of driving. Island in the Sky is only 30 miles from Arches but entirely different. It has its own look and feel. It is more rugged and less developed and not as busy. It has great hiking trails along with excellent scenic drives. Again we had a day and a half which was just the right amount of time for us.

The Neck Spring Trail was our one big hike. It was an eight mile loop again with lots of elevation change but little rock scrambling… It gets its name from being at the neck of the canyon and there is a spring or two along the way. As you will see the photos display a different image than Arches.

We took a day to drive the scenic drives. As you can see from the photos…there is lots to see and do here.

COLORADO RIVER DRIVE

The last day we were at Dead Horse we headed out for a drive along the Colorado River on Utah Highway 128 out of Moab. The drive was recommended and was a nice change from our aggressive hiking experiences. We spent most of the day sight-seeing along the river with a nice picnic stop on river bank at a BLM site.

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK – NEEDLES DISTRICT

The South Utah experience just gets better and better. Our RV site reservation was at a private campground in Monticello for two nights. There were no national or state Parks close by. Again same Utah experience, the park looked much better online than in person. The Needles district was a surprise as it was so much different than Island in the Sky. It was less developed hence less traffic and there was a surprise around every turn.

Here we took on our ultimate hike to date an eleven miler. The hike was the Chesler Park Loop which connected with the Joint Trail. Not only was it longer than we would normally do but it also was much more challenging. The trail was rocky with some drastic elevation changes. That being said it was one of the better trail experiences. We both came away with the same evaluation, glad that we had done it. The highlight of the hike was working our way through a slotted canyon where most of the time you could touch each side of the canyon. As you can see from all the photos the trail scenery changed a lot along the way.

Next we move on to the Capitol Reef National Park. The next Blog Post will be the final phase of our south Utah adventure.

Life on the road is good…

God bless…

Larry and Jan

It is great to be back on the road. We crossed the Utah state line on day 12 as planned. To date the trip was gone well and the adventure that we expected. The RV park reservations and the weather all seem to be on our side. This post will be on the north Utah experience. Look for the post of Utah south to follow once we hit Nevada in late September. The first Utah stop was the Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, then Salt Lake City, followed by Brigham City and finally Provo.

As we left Colorado again we lamented that there was more that we could do if time allowed…

Utah port of entry was the northeast corner of the state a high desert area. The landscape definitely changed as we cross the border between the two states.

DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT

Our National Park RV site was the Green River campground in the Dinosaur National Monument. We were right on the river with a great view. The Green River Valley setting of desert, water and mountains set the stage for great visuals. Adding to our quality of life on the road, the Utah sun along with the new Solar panels did their job to keep the batteries charged and our quality of life on track.

Being from the mid-west, seeing farming operations in the desert along the river was fascinating. The Chew family farm has been in operations here for over 100 years.

The area still has limited cattle grazing but is mostly a thing of the past. The park showcased an old ranch owned by Josie Morris. Legend has it she had several encounters with the law over cattle rustling (never convicted), was married five times, furnished horses to Butch Cassidy plus other outlaws and ran the ranch to age 89. She died at 90 in 1963. The old ranch house built in the 30s still stands with most of the other out building long gone. She was creative on how she managed water rights and used the land. Evidently she made impression on many people as there is plenty of information documenting her life.

The area was a nice introduction to Utah. We knew we were in the west with lots of mountain and great scenery. Yes, even some red rock. The area has many Pictographs done by the Fremont Indians…some say could date back to 200 to 1,300 AD.

The reason we were drawn to the area were the dinosaurs. The museum and quarry we found very educational. There is plenty of good information on the how and why the concentration of Dinosaurs in the area. The excavation was over several decades and truly a passion for those who did it. It took us about three hours to tour the facilities and grounds.

SALT LAKE CITY AND THE GREAT SALT LAKE

Next stop was Salt Lake City the capital of Utah. We stayed about 10 miles out at North Salt Lake at a very crowded private RV park. We spent one day in the City. The Mormon influence is overwhelming. The city is laid out on a grid so very easy to navigate. The downtown area is clean and very nicely landscaped. There is a three story shopping complex which is well done. It covers more than one block and is both inside and outside with walkways over the streets. Has all the major stores plus places to eat.

I have always had a fascination with the Great Salt Lake. I remember a picture of my Grandmother Woodard wading in the lake from the 40s. She had great memories of a trip west with my Aunt and I remember listening to stories of her trip. We found a good way to experience the lake was by traveling to Antelope Island. It is connected by a causeway from the main land. It has lots of wildlife like Buffalo, Antelope and Deer. It is developed mostly for recreational use now. We had less than a half day so had to leave a lot of the island unexplored. After being in the lake, yes you need a shower soon! Not sure I can share my Grandmother’s memory as a neat experience.

WILLARD BAY, BRIGHAM CITY

Our next move was to Willard Bay State Park. The bay is actually a fresh water reservoir used by farmers for irrigation. There is a dike built around it as a barrier to the Great Salt Lake. The lake is also used for boating and fishing…very interesting concept. They are in the process of raising the dikes to hold more water. The RV Park was good although very close to I15.

While we were at Willard Bay we traveled north to Brigham City. The city had a very nice look and feel. The main street is lined with Sycamore trees…which are impressive. Close by is the Golden Spike Historical site. This is where the Pacific Railroad tracks from the West met the Union Railroad from the East. We had to check it out. There were two reproduction steam locomotives built in 1979 in action and on display. The stop was educational and the trip there was through ATK land (Rocket manufacturing and testing facility). There was a rocket museum which looked intriguing but passed due to time limitations.

From there we headed north to Logan to pick up the Logan Canyon Highway to Idaho. This is a very challenging winding and curving road through the mountains. The main objective was to spend some time in Idaho as that is one of the states still on our bucket list. Idaho looked good; we will be going back on our next trip west.

PROVO AND UTAH LAKE

Our last stop in our North Utah segment was Provo, staying at the Utah Lake State Park. The objective was to catch up on the laundry and do some shopping before hitting the National Parks in the South. On the list was to check out Brigham Young University. The campus was much newer than I expected. We learned a little more about the Mormons and their way of life.

We are now more than ready to see some red rock. Our first stop will be Arches where the next blog will pick up. The trip is still on schedule, the equipment is holding together, the weather is outstanding and most importantly enjoying being on the road again. Loving the warm days and cool nights although as I write this it is 95 out…

God bless,

Larry and Jan

It is great to be back on the road again. A trip to Utah has been on the bucket list for several years. Finally things fell into place for us to take on the adventure. The trip planning started in January. This trip required reservation so the first part of the trip is pretty much set in stone. It is broken down into four sections: Getting to Utah, North Utah, South Utah and ending with Utah back to Gulf Shores. The trip plan is 62 days with some flexibility at the end to add more days.

This first section covers seven states in 12 days.

The trip started on Monday, August 17th. We got up that morning with no electric. This forced us to come up quickly with a “Plan B”. It was great that Marty was there to pick up the pieces that we had to leave behind. We were only an hour behind the planned departure time as we drove down the hill heading to Utah. The trip will end in Gulf Shores mid-October…

The first part of the trip is one that we have made hundreds of time over the years. We stopped in Petoskey for lunch and to relax a bit.

Of course a stop at the Mackinac Bridge is a must. I must have at least a hundred pictures of the bridge archived.

The first night we spent at the Lake Michigan Campground which is part of the Hiawatha National Forest. This is a great campground. It only has room for tents and small rigs. The new downsized RV fit nicely. Lake Michigan is up three feet over the last year. With the higher water level the beach has disappeared.

The next night we spent in Wisconsin. The next day was a conference call for The Ridge board of director’s quarterly meeting so we had to get up and get going early. The stop was near Minneapolis, Minnesota to catch the Mall of America. The Mall was impressive. We spent most of the day just wandering and taking in the sights. It was a nice onetime event, not sure we would need to go back. Our campsite was in the Lebanon Campground run by the city of Apple Valley. Highly recommend this as a RV stop.

Then we made our way to Missouri to the Thousand Hills Campground in Kirksville. This is a State park. There we visited Jan’s Brother, John and his wife Ginger. It had been awhile since we had seen them and was pleased at the opportunity.

One of our objectives is to take in all 50 states. One that was still missing was Nebraska so we headed back North a bit. The first night was Lincoln and then a night at North Platte. There we took in the Golden Spike Tower which overlooks the impressive Union Pacific Rail Yard. This stop was recommended by Larry Shimer our resident train enthusiast. The city also has a nice train museum. The stop plan was a half a day which was more than enough.

We scheduled three nights at the Rocky Mountain National Park at Estes Park, Colorado. My son Mark and I were there many years ago but Jan had not. My brother Duane lives near Denver so this was a great opportunity to catch up with him and his family.

The park is outstanding. We had time for one hike. We had planned a nice hike but after a bit of consideration went from a 3,000 foot climb to 1,200. The trail up Deer Mountain was a nice challenge for us and if we had another day would have taken on the bigger challenge. The weather was perfect, the views great from 10,000 feet although a lot of haze from the California forest fires. We found it interesting that the recommendation was to be off the mountain by noon as there are thunder and lighting storms most afternoons. As predicted a storm moved through just as we were coming off.

The last day we caught up with Duane and Bobbi. They treated us to a road trip up Evan’s Mountain, a climb to 14,000 feet. There was a picnic at the top and at the end of the day caught up with Mary Lynn, Steve over Pizza. Then there was Toby who kept stealing my napkin and would return it for a hand out. The trip into Denver was impressive as we climbed up and down the different grades. It seemed like I was always the slow one…takes some self assurance to drive in the mountains.

The day we left Estes Park there were two choices out, down and around or over the top. The road over the top is called the Ridge Road which tops at 12,000. Large RVs are not encouraged. After a little soul searching we selected The Ridge road. The old truck did complain a bit and got hot under the collars once or twice which slowed the climb out for us. There were gorgeous views but worth the white knuckle experience.

Next we take on North Utah with the first stop at Dinosaur National Monument. Stay tuned as there is more to come as we take on the next 10 days.

God Bless,

Larry and Jan