The Grand Tetons!

The Best of the Best! The Tetons
June 28th - July 7th

Once the pass over the Rockies opened up, we headed north through Wyoming to the Tetons.

We love this park and there are many reasons. It is physically beautiful, its facilities are plentiful and well spaced throughout the park and the people who manage it understand the visitor. It offers a variety of options for lodging, restaurants, groceries, laundry, showers, trails, sites to see and plenty of parking spaces for viewing each spectacular site. We were also able to grab a nice, spacious FCFS (First Come First Serve) campsite without hassle on the Sunday before July 4th! The Tetons continues to be our favorite park in the US.

The only downside to the park and camping there is that it has been discovered by all the campers who have HUGE RVs (30 feet plus) and they literally pack the road in the campgrounds with all their vehicles and stuff. It is difficult to drive down the road and the narrow opening in between these rigs without hitting something (a child's bicycle, a slideout bedroom, a dog, a generator, a tent). Simplicity no longer exists in the camping world and it is wildly apparent now.  It's really a shame. Obviously these folks all desperately need these huge rigs, their ATVs and motorcycles, numerous dogs, multiple huge slideouts, outdoor BBQs, Sigh! But I though the purpose of camping was to enjoy nature - not stuff????

We were lucky to have been assigned a tiny campsite at the end of the loop with plenty of trees and bushes around us (because we had a small footprint). Each day - these huge RVs would drive by and would quite literally try to take out a tree or two on the sharp turn. Few low branches remained after they passed. It's nice that the park accommodates them - but a shame that all this excessive need of luxury and stuff impacts the rest of us who choose to camp more frugally and quietly. The tent campsite loops are amazingly quiet and spacious in comparison. A good reason to try tent camping again if it wasn't so uncomfortable when one is over 60.

A little red fox joined us in our site for the first few days - but headed for the bushes when a family with two barking retrievers decided to put down all their stuff next to us on Tuesday. Oh well! We spotted him elsewhere later in the week (over by the tent sites). 

It's interesting what people don't see because they are simply too noisy and too distracted by all their stuff and needs for creature comforts!

Rocky Mountain High!

The Rockies!
June 23 - June 27th

From the San Juans, we decided to explore the Rocky National Park, since we had never before visited there for more than a day. Our plans had been to stay there a week, but due to the fact that the Independence day celebrations would begin the following weekend, we decided to leave the park a few days early in order to arrive at the Tetons on the weekend before the holiday.

Fortunately, we had already made advance reservations (which had even been tough to get even in January) and our campsite was a good site for us.  Unfortunately, the Rocky National Park is one of the first western national parks seen by easterners and it is always very popular and crowded. In addition, many of the roads around and within the park were under construction or closed due to snow and the traffic was significant and frustrating at times. Several things we experienced while there:

• The Visitor Centers were absolutely packed with people asking for information and trail guides. We could barely get in the door.  Go early or late or don't bother.
• The trailheads were impossible to access if car access was needed. The parking lots were packed and visitors were turned away before you could even get close to the trail or the parking lot. We were fortunate, since we had camped in the Moraine CG and several of the trailheads were accessible by hiking directly there from the campsite. Again - go quite early or late, or don't bother. Be sure to take rain gear, since showers are common in the afternoon. The trails were packed with hikers. Not too much serenity and quiet here. But people were nice and friendly and they advised us about elk or moose up ahead near the trail, which was helpful, so we had our cameras ready.  But lots and lots and lots of people.
• The Moraine CG was nicely spaced and not very noisy. Plus, we had nice views of the mountains from our site. The tent-only sites are quite spacious and have lovely views and privacy. Come here without an RV and you will score a lovely site.
• Estes Park was very very crowded with tourists and a visit there involved gearing up mentally for all the traffic and people we would experience there. We would never bother to do that again!
• Our luxury night and dinner out at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (supposed to be a special treat) was a joke. An expensive joke. No ghosts; just scary prices, poorly maintained rooms (frighteningly so) and exceptionally poor service. Our non-air-conditioned room (85 degrees - with a view of the parking lot) cost near $400 and took us over an hour to access since there were so many people there checking in at the requisite 4:30 p.m. The hotel is literally falling apart (windows, doors, carpets, etc.) and the owners clearly have only profits on their minds.  Save your money and spend it elsewhere (e.g. the Tetons - where there is a much better value per dollar spent).
• The Trail Ridge Road pass over the mountain is extraordinary (once it is open) and the views are exceptional! We were stuck on the eastern side until it opened up 3 days after we arrived. Lots of people were stuck on the east side and were frustrated and frantic - trying to find something to do - an available hike, a place to park their car, a place for a picnic, etc. We would never advise visiting this park until after the pass is opened, because it is hard to park and get our of your car. The best time to visit may be in the fall, after all the kids are back in school and all the trails are open. 
• The bear boxes are shared with many other campers. Don't expect that the box in your site will only be yours. 

We will probably pass on the Rocky National Park in the future. Nice mountains, but not worth all the hassle and crowds. There are plenty of other parks that are just as pretty. For this reason, we typically avoid Yosemite, Yellowstone and now have added this park to the "list to avoid" during the summer months. 

Here are some pictures from our stay there!

Our campsite.

View of mountains behind our site.

The infamous olde Stanley Hotel sans Jack. Scary poor maintenance.

Charming patio fountain area where we patiently waited
for them to find our "lost" room (took over an hour).

Trail Pass Road over the top of the mountains to the west.

A moose - being a moose!

More of Trail Pass Road. A much better thrill than the Stanley!

This is Heaven on Earth!

The San Juan Mountains and Ouray
Sun June 16 - Sun Jun 23rd

There is simply no place more beautiful than the San Juan Mountains in the spring and fall!  We were first introduced to this lovely place by family (Al and Doug) and each time we return here we cannot believe how gorgeous it is!  Even the national parks have a tough time competing with its natural beauty (the glorious snow-covered peaks, the abundant, vibrant wildflowers, the aspen, the active streams and rivers, and the combination of all of these.  It is one of the prettiest places in the world.
At one time, we used to wish it was a protected National Park and now, after visiting many over-crowded, bus-laden, abused national parks this summer, we are happy that it is not yet ruined by being loved by too many visitors. At least, here, a hiker can still hike to an un-named beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers and tall grass and see and hear nothing other than the birds!  We didn't even see any other hikers! Serenity still exists here! It remains as it was intended originally to be...

When we visit here, we have stayed at the little KOA in town.  The camping is modest, but they try very very hard to please their visitors and they work really hard to maintain the setting so that it is clean and nice and quiet.  A good owner attitude is nine-tenths of what we look for in places to stay now.  They work really hard to make this place a fun place for families and it shows!  No over-done flower pots and decorations, just nice little BBQ's served by the staff for family dinners, pleasant simple, home-spun music.... and nice, clean restrooms with plenty of hot water. What more can you ask for?

Here are some photos of some of the places we saw while in the area:

These are dandelions! Wild, untamed and out of control!  Gorgeous!

Sound of Music, anyone? Yep, the mountain peaks show up everywhere! No music; though!

Small agricultural canal fed from snow-melt off the top of these mountains.

We won't tell you where exactly this is, or how to get there, and we won't tell you where to hike. You will just have to figure it out by yourself! If you are a true adventurer, you will. If you are lazy, or don't know how read maps - well, you don't deserve to visit this place! Sorry...follow everyone else - somewhere else!

We are one of the few countries (other than Canada) that still has incredible wild places like this. Let's keep these places wild and untouched!

The Delores River - Priest Gulch RV CG

The Delores River, Galloping Goose and Priest Gulch RV Park
Sunday, June 9th - Saturday, June 15th

On the drive from Mesa Verde through Delores to Priest Gulch RV Park, we passed the location where the two huge rocks had crashed down on the road from the hill above, closing the road for several days while the maintenance crews decided what to do with them. They blew one up and the other, they were finally able to push off the road. When we looked up the hill, an enormous avalanche-sized path of destruction showed all the way down the hill!  Pretty impressive for two rocks! This had occurred several weeks before we arrived and they had just opened the road to visitors. Our timing was perfect.

This truck-sized rock had just recently been moved off the road.

Priest Gulch wins the award for the most-decorated private RV park/resort with the largest, most elaborate RVs and RV spots we have ever seen.  A sense of pride of RV ownership is definitely on display here. Simple camping and enjoying nature - it is not; living an elevated, over-the-top communal RV lifestyle - it is. We prefer simple and understated natural settings. With our tiny, unadorned little white Casita sitting next to the grass, we clearly stood out here as "different!" Most of these RVs cost far more than our home in DF is worth! A very different set of priorities!
Unfortunately, I failed to take pictures of this place. It was so overwhelming and excessive, I was a little embarrassed to photograph peoples' personal choices. Here's a small list of what we observed:

• People took flagstone from the canyon walls near here to decorate the dirt walls and paths next to their RVs.
• Along River Walk, potted plants from local nurseries were hanging everywhere surrounding their RVs - the colors all matchy- matchy with lawn chairs, rugs and shade awnings. People actually planted flowers along the rock pathways leading to their RV. How long were they staying here...All summer? I believe so. It was quite attractive, but a bit surprising.
• Attached outdoor-wide-screen-TVs, fancy built-in exterior barbeques on the back of of their rigs and even slide-out porches adorned some RVs. Uniquely decorated windmills, flags, woodcut designs, bird feeders and blinking decorative lights added to the effect.
• This was a destination "resort" for retirees, many from New Mexico and Texas - all of whom are escaping the heat of the desert at home. They come up here every year to recreate for the entire summer with their friends. 
• The engorged Delores River - rushed by our back window and helped to mask noise from the many activities that were occurring in the park and, thankfully, it enveloped us in our own little balloon of quiet.

Our neighbor's rig with bits of garden art.

Our tiny rig au-naturale...sans slide-outs, BBQ's, TVs, flowers, yard art, etc.
All we need to survive 3.5 months!

Ernie contemplating a dip??? The Delores River

A few brave souls rafted down the river that day!

During the week there:

We took a nice 4 mi RT hike up Bear Creek and back into the aspens. The sun was shining and warm - a welcome change from our many wet rainy days so far. It was good to get out to exercise!

Little Bear Creek Trail

Aspens where we ate our lunch - wonderful!

We drove up to Telluride several times to explore that area. Beautiful, ragged  peaks and rolling hills, but very posh and expensive rentals due to the ski resort. Had lunch in town one day at the bakery (since the little taco place we had enjoyed so much with Al and Doug had since closed down). Walked along the river and poked our heads into various shops. 

Driving over Lizardhead pass toward Telluride. Still covered with snow.

Spectacular mountain ski-scapes!

Posh homes and stores

On another day, we explored the side roads in the Delores River area - including the West Delores River - which had gorgeous ranches and river bottom land. What a place to live! Lisa and Eric would absolutely love it here! It was all green and lush.

"Garden of eatin" for cows!

The campgrounds up the West Delores River looked tempting for future trips. Smaller and much quieter, these might offer a better option for us for camping based on our preference for the natural environment. A number of the sites, though, were flooded this trip due to the high water table and the amount of snow-melt coming off the mountains.

The Galloping Goose Museum and RR - One day we stopped at this little museum in the town of Delores and met a charming host who provided a detailed narrative of the history of this well-known converted rail car (converted from steam to diesel) when a more cost effective vehicle was needed to transport mail over the mountains. The rail car was named the Galloping Goose. He even let us climb into the rail car itself.  Such a wonderful name for a rail car!

Our charming Galloping Goose guide.

The Galloping Goose - renovated diesel engine and transport car circa early 1900's

Our next stop - we move on to Ouray - our favorite place to visit!

Mesa Verde - Green Table

Exploring Mesa Verde
Thursday June 6 - Saturday June 8th

We continue to enjoy visiting Mesa Verde for a couple of reasons:

• The town of Cortez - just a few miles away - has a wonderful trading post which offers an excellent selection of Native American jewelry at a fair price - the Notah Dineh Trading Company.
• The campground still offers first-come-first-served camping - where the sites are fairly quiet.
• The old museum there has some wonderful artifacts showing the life of the ancestral puebloans. Many of the museums in the area have been stripped down by the experts to just showing the basics. We like detail and lots of information and this museum is fun because of all the weird and wonderful things they display!
• The cliff dwellings there are reasonably accessible and are well-preserved and protected.

Our quiet little campsite - private and secluded.
Only the cicadas knew we were there.

The museum

Gampground hillside bloom!

Clothing made of cactus fibers and feathers. Eileen Fisher would love it!

Warm booties made from turkey feathers. 

Cactus fiber sandals

A recipe for an already-chewed, aged, and buried treat. Yum?
Chew it up, spit it out and roll it into a pie to bury, cook and age for next month's luncheon!

Black on white pottery

Woven fiber sandals

So much was made from simple materials from the area.

Simple hand print says - "I was here!"

From Mesa Verde, we next drove up the overflowing Delores River Canyon to Priest Gulch RV Park. We had originally planned on camping at Molas Lake at 10,00 ft in the San Juans. When we realized that snow was still at 3 feet deep and the lake frozen over, we modified our plans to stay at a lower elevation, 

Blanding, UT - Canyonlands, Natural Bridges & Hovenweep

Blanding, UT - Natural Bridges, Moki Dugway, Southern Canyonlands and Hovenweep
Sunday June 2 - Wednesday June 5th

Took off from Capitol Reef, drove through Hanksville, turned right on Hwy 95 which we followed south across the Colorado River, past the White Canyon, past Natural Bridges and headed toward Blanding.

Crossing the Colorado River

Views of the Colorado River

The White Canyon - a fascinating canyon just east of Natural Bridges

White Canyon - another place to explore

At the Blue Mountain RV Park, where we stayed, we were assigned Site #5 which had a little grassy patch and a small tree. That evening, we did our laundry and ate a tasty dinner out at the Homestead Steakhouse in Blanding. This was a nice little park, with an authentic trading post, big hot showers and decent-sized laundry facilities.  Its biggest benefit was its location near a number of national parks that we wanted to visit on this trip including: Hovenweep, Natural Bridges and the southern section of Canyonlands.

Our cozy little camping spot at the Blue Mountain RV Park.

Natural Bridgeso

On Monday, June 3rd, we visited Natural Bridges National Monument. The park is small, the camping sites are ideal for small tents and tent trailers only, and the overlook sites look down into the canyon and the natural bridges there. It's a beautiful little park and we had always enjoyed visiting there when we were still camping in tents. For this trip, we wanted to do a little hiking in the canyon, so we hiked down to the Owachomo Bridge with the intention of hiking back up the canyon to see several of the other natural bridges up close, but unfortunately, our efforts were thwarted. Any animal trails or other human-made trails that we found to follow were taped off or blocked with trees. We went back and forth attempting to located the trail up the canyon - to no success. So we finally gave up, ate our lunch, then drove out of the park. We remember that years ago, following the trail had been easy and we had basically hiked the entire canyon, but the NPS has changed that now - very likely for visitor safety.  We were frustrated, but we are old-timers and like to have things kept the same as before. We don't adapt well to change!

Cedar Mesa

We next decided to explore the Cedar Mesa area to find some trails to hike there. We had heard from our neighbors at the RV park that the Cedar Mesa is well-known locally for its multiple cliff dwellings and interesting trails. We were advised to pick up a detailed trail map at the Kane Gulch National Forest Service office. Unfortunately, after our Natural Bridges fiasco, by the time we stopped at the Kane Gulch - Cedar Mesa Ranger Station on Hwy 261 to get a hiking map, it was closed for the day (open only from 8 to 12 a.m.). Poor planning on our part. This is definitely a place to remember and return to in the future. We like to discover new, less crowded places and this is one we will add to our list.

Moki Dugway

Our surprise gift for the day was Moki (Moqui?) Dugway. We hadn't done our research and knew absolutely nothing about it - only that pictures of it reflected stunning views of the Monument Valley below. From Kane Gulch, we headed there on Hwy 261 and when at Muley Point, the road turned to gravel and dirt, we suddenly started down a very steep switch-back road headed straight down the hill toward the Valley of the Gods. It quickly became a one-lane very narrow road with no shoulders and no guard rail, The mountain on the driver's side curved outward over our truck (which was in the outside cliff-edge lane). The cliff on the passenger side dropped straight down several thousand feet - with NO shoulder. OMG! The gravel provided very little purchase for our tires as we took the sharp hair-pin turns and Ernie had to battle for room on the road to pass the huge gravel trucks that were lumbering toward us up the hill at top speed (they had to accelerate to keep up enough speed to make it to the top). These huge gravel trucks were big and had to weave in and out to avoid hitting the rocky overhangs above. Tioga Pass is nothing compared to this road! I let out a number of squeeks and Ernie white-knuckled it all the way down! Thank heavens he is such a good driver.  Later, when we finally saw the description, we gasped:

 "The Moki Dugway is a staggering, switchback road carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa. Muley Point offers stunning views of Monument Valley

If you have a death-wish or are an adrenaline junkie - take this road. If not, watch a video and laugh.  We definitely will not make this mistake again!  I don't have many pictures, because most are a mess - totally blurred. I was terrified! There was also zero opportunity to pull over off the road. NOPE; never again! Following is an aerial view from the internet - the best I can do to provide a visual. Remember - it's all a single lane road for 2-way traffic, at an 11 percent grade and all dirt and gravel with sharp switchbacks. A thrill. BTW the term - Moki Dugway - comes from a Native American name (Moqui) and Dugway (from when trails for horse-drawn wagons had a track for the two wagon wheels dug out of the roadway so that the wheels would not slip out on steep inclines). Similar to Xcountry ski tracks. That was in the past, though. These tracks no longer exist.



So, our best advice - plan well ahead. Just because a vista is spectacular, doesn't mean it's safe or even sane.

BTW - Chris S, Eric.C, Doug Hughs, Carlos and Ava  - you would love it!

Following are a few pictures that we could salvage:

A quick peek down over the edge to Monument Valley

The road twisting back on itself

More Valley view - if you dare!

Finally on flat land! Monument Valley

Looking back on  the colorful Monument Valley

We were thrilled to reach the bottom.  Next time, I'll stick to the ferris wheel!
BTW, MJ and Chris - you are sooooo lucky we did not have this on our list in 2014!

Canyonlands - Southern section with the Needles

We haven't spent much time down in Canyonlands, particularly in the southern end of the park and we had a wonderful opportunity to drive there from Blanding. Being in the southern section of the park, we were actually down in the canyons and we could look up to the mesas and needles of rock towering above. This was a totally different perspective from what we experienced on our other trips and the colors and light changes on the rock faces were spectacular.

Newspaper Rock at Indian Creek. Notice the horse - which dates this
individual drawing as post - Spanish visitation - a much later date

Canyon characters!

My faithful travel partner!

The Needles

Hovenweep

Hovenweep is a small National Monument located about an hours drive east from Blanding on a somewhat rough dirt road in the middle of the Navajo reservation. The community was built by the Ancestral Puebloans aproximately in 750 AD and remains of the structures are visible along the top of and down in a small narrow canyon. These ancient people were related to the Chacoan culture in New Mexico. We were able to take a short hike in and around the area. The visitor's center is an excellent source for books on the area. We were quite surprised that these structures blended so well into the topography and were not easily visible from a fairly short distance. These people would not be discovered easily!

Numerous structures and partial buildings are still
standing, even after 1000 years and tons of weather.

The Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum

Just on the edge of the Blanding township, ancient dwellings built by the Ancestral Puebloans remain. A wonderful little museum is located there and it provides an excellent overview of the migration and movement of these early Americans along with displays of numerous artifacts of weavings, pottery and clothing. This is another favorite small museum of ours.

An amazing display of black on white and red on black pottery were there.

A friend for Amelia and Ava

Museum Garden Art. Coming up for a breath of fresh air!

Colorful Macaw feather sash sewn by Ancient Puebloans - cir 1000 AD. 
Feathers from Central/South America were part of their trade tradition.

A blanket made from turkey feathers. They raised turkeys 
and then wove these blankets for warmth using these feathers. Another take on down.