OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE June 3, 2014

Kevin thought it would be appropriate if I did the entry today, so here I am. Our plans were to tour some of the Cliff Dwellings in the park. Kevin did the Balcony House because it had tall ladders to climb and a tunnel to crawl through. Both were out of my comfort zone. He had a ball. The ranger who led the tour made it very interesting, so when Kev got done he was psyched to do the next tour which would be the Long House Cliff Dwelling. We had discussed this when we purchased our tickets. It sounded pretty easy so I said Yes, I would do it with him. We got to the meeting place early and as we were inquiring whether we were in the right place the ranger who was about to leave with a group told us to join them. Our tickets had a 1:00 time slot and it was just 12:00 I didn’t have time to prepare. Off we went. There were 17 of us in this group including a man who said he had one lung. The ranger leading our group is young and very knowledgeable and passionate about the area and the cultures. He explained that his mother is Pueblo and his father is Navaho. We start down the path and as we round a bend all I see is sky and a sheer drop into a canyon. At this point I am ready to turn around and head back, but Kev said “you can do this” so he took my arm and as I looked at my feet he lead me down some steep steps and a steep grade pathway, some more steep steps and another steep grade pathway till it leveled out and we were at the “Cliff Dwelling”. Now, all I can see is the sheer drop down into the canyon. I had to turn my back to that and concentrate on the dwelling. And then I see a ladder.  No Way…. Everyone else in the group climbed the ladder, even the man who said he had one lung. I stayed at the bottom and just listened to the interesting talk that the ranger was giving from there. All together our group was there for about 40 minutes, than we all started the ascent. Kev stayed on the sheer drop side as we made our way back up to the top. All I know is I would not have been a very good cliff dweller. This truly was an experience that was out of my comfort zone. We toured The Archeological Museum which was also very interesting. On our way back to the campground we saw a black bear which was not too far from where we were staying. I kept looking for him but never did see him again. Later that evening we went to the amphitheater for a star gazing talk. We actually got to see the International Space Station as it went by overhead. Beautiful sight. The evening got chilly so it felt good to get under the comforter. More adventures tomorrow…

San Juan Skyway (6/2/14)

Today, we drove over some of the most outrageous terrain ever! We left the Black Canyon of the Gunnison around 7:30. Just getting down to Montrose from there is an adventure – you keep the car in 1^st gear the whole way. After that, we started heading South on 550. We went as far as Ouray and then had to turn west as they have been clearing up a rock slide for the last few months. We went up, and then up some more. We eventually came out of the highest elevation and then down into Telluride. That was kind of a neat old town. Barbara picked up a wind chime for the trailer and a couple tee shirts for the boys. After a light lunch in our trailer (great place to find a bathroom and restaurant when you’re traveling!), we headed on to Mesa Verde – Colorado NP. That part of the drive was even more exciting. We hit 10,000 feet and saw mountains all around us that were 14,000 feet high and covered in snow. We followed rivers that were swollen with snow melt. Eventually we got to the park and checked in. We were amazed to find that the campground has Wi-Fi! I believe that other than the one commercial campground that we stayed at in California, this is the first. We signed up for a couple tours of different cliff dwellings tomorrow. Barbara and I had to separate from each other on the first as it includes multiple ladders and she doesn’t do ladders! Tonight, we will head over to a ranger program and then be up early for a full day tomorrow.

Goodbye Highway 101! (5/16/2014)

This morning we continued south on 101 and finally started heading east. We picked up 101 when we started driving the Olympic Peninsula on Sunday, May 4th just outside of Tacoma. We continued around the Peninsula, down the coasts of Washington, Oregon and then through the coast of California including the many Redwood Forests. In fact, we have towed the trailer for 1788 miles already and most of them on 101! Tonight we are camped in Clear Lake State Park with a large lake to the north and surrounded by vineyards and various fruit trees. I guess that it hit us today that there is an abundance of wine produced around here. Tomorrow we will be staying at Jessie’s Grove Winery just outside Lodi. So, if we over imbibe, we just have to make it over to our camper which will be staged on their property. Some people talk about “camping” in Walmart lots or Casino’s. For us, why not a vineyard? This is how we are taking part in an organization known as Harvest Hosts. For an annual fee, you can stay at wineries, vineyards, orchards, organic farms, etc. Barbara has been enjoying using her ipod and Audubon app that Steve gave her. (Acorn Woodpeckers, Cliff Swallows and we found an Osprey Nest) We are staying right on track with about 120 miles averaged per day of driving. We expect to be in Yosemite National Park by Sunday! And the adventure continues – stay tuned for more. (Sorry about the lack of pictures, but Wi-Fi has been scarce and extremely slow.

A Hike in the Yosemite Valley (5/19/2014)

This morning, we decided to make the “trek” back down into the valley. Although the trip is only 30 miles from our Stansilaus National Forest campsite to the valley, it is 1-1/2 hours each way due to the winding and steep roads. In addition to this, they are very proud of the gas burned in the park charging $5.00 per gallon! But when you are many miles from the nearest town, you gratefully pay it to keep the tank full. We left our by 7:15 in order to beat the crowds. What a pleasant drive it was! We were at the parking area early, hopped the free shuttle bus and got off for the Mirror Lake hike. It wasn’t long, but it was so pleasant to have the trail to ourselves. We did see a crew from the CCC (California Conservation Core) performing maintenance. Kind of ironic to see them removing rocks from the trail that have been there for over a century! After our hike, we stopped at the visitor center, had a light lunch, took care of some phone calls since the valley has cell coverage. We then headed back to our campsite. We took advantage of the afternoon sun shine to read for a while and then headed into the trailer. We decided to leave early the next morning so that we could tow through the park without traffic. Played some Cribbage and then hit the hay.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison (6/1/2014)

This morning, we left our last campsite in Utah and headed over to Colorado. Barbara took the wheel as she is paying me back for towing through the precarious mountain roads. A game we like to play when towing is to see how high we can get the MPG! I’m amazed that on the interstates we’ll be up over 15 towing. (We were down around 9 climbing into this park!) The other thing that amazes us is how the topography changes as you move from one state to another. As we entered Colorado, we started seeing snowcapped mountains – and it’s June 1^st! One of the interesting things on the drive was how swollen the Colorado river was. It was over its banks almost up to the interstate! I guess this is still spring snow melt. We were also amazed with how well the cell coverage is on the interstates. We caught up on phone calls and then stopped in the little town of Montrose. What a nice little town! We then headed the short distance out of town and climbed into the National Park. When you get to a campground and they ask if you need electric, it’s nice to say no! We were able to choose one of loops where the “campers” stay as opposed to the RV’ers. With a high temperature of 73 and a low overnight of 40, I’m really not sure why they have to have electric. Maybe to run their tv? We had a great site with a view over the canyon. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was just amazing. It drops 3000 feet from where we are looking down. Compared to the Grand Canyon, this is a little known park. It is every bit as astounding as the Grand Canyon without the crowds. As we walked around the campground, we came across many mule deer that were not afraid of the campers. You still have to keep your distance, but it is really neat seeing them!

Back to Original Purpose of Trip (5/31/14)

This morning we were able to have a leisurely breakfast and enjoy the campground before leaving since we had reserved our Saturday campsite. (I didn’t realize that ReserveAmerica had charged me $8 for that privilege!) While wandering around the campground and just taking it easy, we met a camper from Colorado. He literally talked our ears off telling us all the places that we “had to” go. After an hour of being talked at, I was literally reconsidering all the places that we “needed to” visit. I even got mad when I skipped a stop that two people had said we should go to. After getting to our campsite and setting up and looking over maps and talking to Joyce & Dom, we made some minor adjustments to our trip. And then, we sat down and discussed what our goal was for this cross country adventure.

1.       Use this trip as a “second honeymoon” in repeating the cross country drive of 1975

2.       Transition from work to retirement

3.       Use the $3400 that we would have had to pay for delivery of the trailer for our adventure

4.       Slow down, relax and chill!

So, tomorrow, we return to our original plan of driving 100 miles per day. Driving with our eyes open and the foot lightly pressed on the accelerator. If we see something we want to see, great. If not, that’s also great. Despite the above, the sights today were amazing. We are now camped next to a golf course, a wide river & a railroad. We are hooked up to electric and are enjoying the air conditioned air, I’m drinking a beer and Barbara is microwaving some popcorn! (This morning, we ran our blender on 110 volt without hookups!) So for now………..

The Early Bird gets the Campsite (5/30/14)

This morning we were up and out by 7:00 AM. We knew that we had about 120 miles of driving over mountainous terrain and wanted to get to the National Park early to get a camp site. So far, we have been on the road for 4 weeks and the days I’ve been most concerned with are Fridays and Saturdays as on those days we are competing with the “weekend working folks!” To put it mildly, the trip from Kodachrome Basin to Capital Reef NP was interesting. At one point, we were up about 9,000 feet on the ridge line of the mountain. The width was just enough to have two lanes of traffic with a drop off on each side. Barbara was leaning in towards my side of the car! Not only did we have outrageous climbs and descents, but we also came across some  outrageous run. We saw signs for runners in the road for over 100 miles! Once we started seeing them, they were running up 8 to 12 degree climbs! Well, we got close to the campground and saw a “campground full” sign but decided to keep going into the park and campground. Luckily, when we got here, there were still openings. We added freshwater to our tank, set up our camp site and had an early lunch. Within 1-1/4 hours of our arrival, the campground was full! Since we were at a national park, we went up to the visitor center, Barbara stamped her passport and we watched the park movie. (We do that at every National Park that has one) We wanted to walk the campground as there are bunches of historical exhibits, but the weather was threatening. Instead, we drove into the town of Torrey (about 11 miles away) where a restaurant had been recommended. We caught up on Wi-Fi and phone calls and had another fabulous meal. When we got back to the campground, we enjoyed some Jessie’s Grove Winery Wine and sat back and watched a thunderstorm move in. We can have a leisurely morning tomorrow as we have reservations for a State Park . So, for now, we sit back, relax and contemplate another great day on the road. We have now been in the camper for 4 weeks and have covered 3600 miles with it! No regrets!!!