Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon

Oooo...Whee!  It is cold here in the mornings!!  Yesterday it was 27 degrees.  I'm not sure how cold it is this morning, but if I were home I'd be wearing gloves.  We are at Panguitch, Utah about 14 miles from Bryce Canyon at Red Canyon RV Park.  We left Thompson Springs, Utah a little later than we had planned on Wednesday.  When Harry tried to put up his murphy bed in his camper, it wouldn't budge.  Finally he disconnected the straps that pull it up and manually tucked the bed away.  These are the little challenges that we face along the way.  It is nice to be traveling with another couple.  It makes these challenges a little easier to handle.

On Thursday, we visited Zion National Park.  Each of the parks that we have visited feature canyons, but each is so different, that we are continually awed by the sights there.  At Zion we traveled to the bottom of the canyon.  These were some of the rock formations that awed us as we descended and then as we looked up.  A shuttle bus took us from one area to the next.  These canyons offer a wonderful opportunity for hikers to do their thing.

 This is my guy, waiting for Harry and I to get back from out little hike up to the rock mentioned below.

This is the weeping rock.  Harry and I took a little hike up to this rock where water seeps out.  With the little bit of rain Zion National Park gets water is absorbed into the porous rock and finds it way down the rock formation and when it reaches a part of the formation that cannot absorb it, it finds it's way out.  If you walk under it you will get wet.  I was not game for that.

Today, it was Bryce Canyon.  What a beautiful place, but then each day we are astounded by the beauty around us.  This park is heavily forested.  We traveled to the very top, about 9000 feet and viewed it first from that vantage point and then moved down and stopped at each viewing area to be amazed at this beautiful canyon.

 Look at the aspen tree in this picture!  So beautiful!

Tomorrow we travel to the Grand Canyon and will be there for a few days.  We are looking forward to that, as well.  As we travel and see the sights we have discovered that many internationals are  enjoying the beauty of our country, too.

Harry took this photo of our last night in Utah.  (Makes me sad to leave.)

 Harry has taken some great pictures and he has shared them with me, but I'm having difficulty getting them here in my post.  Maybe another time.

Blessings to you and yours.  As much fun as we are having and enjoying the company of our friends, Harry and Carol, we are missing family and friends from home.  I tried to do a little sewing the last few days on our down time.  I brought my little singer featherweight with me.  Today the belt decided to come off.  I didn't feel like figuring out how to fix it, so back in the box it went.  That's it till I get home.

Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park

I have mentioned in the past that we have had trouble finding campsites at the 11th hour.  We were so pleased to have found Desert Hotel & RV Park in Thompson Springs, Utah that would take us, but when we rolled up to what we thought was our campground, we couldn't believe our eyes.  The place looked like a dump and certainly not what we were expecting.  Harry and Carol who were driving ahead of us indicated that they were going a little further up the road to see if our campsite was there.  While we waited, I looked again at our GPS and was sure we were, indeed, at the right place.  Steve and I had a good belly laugh as we watched Harry and Carol come back to us.  There are ten sites in this campground; we are number 5 and Harry and Carol are number 6.  Here is a picture of our rigs at the campground.  Actually, this place has everything we need, even wifi, but there are definitely no frills. The hotel is suspect; it is a house and I'm sure I would not stay there.  Behind our campsites are shacks that are barely standing. (you can see them in the picture.)  What a hoot!  The first night here, there were three campsites used.  Tonight it looks like the campground is full.  We are grateful for these experiences because we know that God always provides, most often in unexpected ways.  His provisions are to be enjoyed.

Yesterday, after getting settled in our "new home" we headed to Moab for some lunch and then to Arches National Park.  We were in awe at the park.  If you have never been in this part of the country and can plan a trip here, it is worth it.  For lack of a better description...TOTALLY AWESOME!  We could just not believe what we were seeing.  I'm including some pictures, but again, they do not do justice to the real thing.  They are actually poor representations of what we saw.

Today we went to Canyonlands National Park.  I could rewrite the previous paragraph, but instead, I'll include some pictures here.  If you can come to Utah...come.  It's worth it.

Tomorrow we are heading out again to Pangwich, Utah to stay for three days.  We will be seeing Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon.  One thing we have been noticing is how many people are in the national parks.  It will be interesting to see how busy Bryce and Zion will be.

The weather has been beautiful, sunny, in the 70s with very low humidity.

Until the next time, may God richly bless and keep you.

Family Connection and New Vistas

Well, today finds us at the Basecamp RV Resort in Palisade, CO.  We traveled from Longmont, CO down I-70 today.  What a magnificent drive!  The view was spectacular.  We were thoroughly amazed.  I was snapping pictures all day long.  Pictures will not do the actual scenery justice.  What a beautiful country we live in.

This RV park has spectacular views.  I am in awe.

WHOO-HOO!  Our steps are fixed.  My brother, Bud, finally received the motor we needed and he brought it over after we arrived in Longmont and Harry installed it.  I will not take those steps for granted again.  That stool we used freaked me out!  Now it seems like a luxury to have our steps come out when we are ready to leave the RV.

We had so much fun with Bud.  On Friday when we arrived and after the steps were installed, Harry, Carol, Steve, and I and Bud ran over to his house for a little tour.  Bud and his wife, Carol have 45 acres in Berthoud, CO.  They have four horses.  Bud has done a lot of work to make their home beautiful.  We were impressed with the work he has done since we last visited in 2013.  I'm sorry I didn't take pictures.  I have to get better at that!  At least here is a picture of my dear brother.

On Saturday we toured Rocky Mountain National Park.  That was a great day.

I hated to say goodbye to Bud.  I see him so seldom, that I treasure the time we do have together.  We missed seeing his wife, Carol; she was at a conference.

That brings us to today and where I started this post.   Here are some pictures from our drive today.

We are enjoying our time with Harry and Carol.  At dinner tonight Harry said we are nine days into this trip and are still friends.  They spend a lot of time waiting for us.  We are slower at everything than they are.  Even our RV is slower...going up hills.  They have patience and that is a good thing.  We told them before the start of this trip what to expect, so they were expecting.

One thing we have discovered is that RV parks are filled up.  We have had so much trouble finding places to stay.  Today we made reservations at least 10 days out.  It's a relief to know we will not need to be scrambling.  This needing to plan ahead for a place to stay is a new phenomenon.  We used to be able to call an hour ahead and find a place.  Not anymore!

Blessings to our dear friends and family.  We love and miss you and wish you could be experiencing with us the magnificent beauty of this great country of ours.

Frustration and Anticipation

We are now in the little town of Brush Colorado.  We are "camped" in their city park.  It is not fancy, but we are grateful  to have a place to stay that is close to our destination today.  I am looking forward to spending time with my brother, Bud, today and tomorrow.  He lives in Berthoud, Colorado.  Unfortunately, Carole, his wife, has a conference this weekend so I don't think we will get to spend time with her on this fly by visit.

We, as of now, have no place to stay this weekend.  We spent much of yesterday looking for a place to accommodate us, but all the campsites we contacted (and we contacted all that we could find) are filled for the weekend.  This is a new development for us.  We have never had this happen; baby boomers with RVs have flooded the camping world.  We are hoping to get a spot at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.  It is first come, first served so we plan to be there early to, hopefully, snag some spots.

Yesterday, I was in contact with the RV place that had ordered our motor for our steps.  I was concerned because they were to have it drop shipped to Bud, but he had not received it yet.  When I talked to the dealership yesterday they told me they had the motor and would be shipping it out and we would have it in three or four days.  That had not been the deal when we talked to them last Saturday and three or four days would not cut it, as we will have already moved on from Bud's and, hopefully, will be in Utah.  I was VERY angry.  Watch out when I get angry, but it didn't really help.  As Steve says, the person with the greatest need loses.  We had to pay an extra $59 to have it overnighted to Bud's so we would have it this weekend.  Hopefully, when it arrives it will be the right motor and will fix our step problem.

As for our dash air conditioning.  We have struck out there.  I have called many places to see if we could have this fixed; all have said no.   It's okay now; the weather has turned cooler, and in fact, we had the heat on in our RV this morning.  The problem will be when we reach Arizona weather and sun.

Yesterday, Harry and Carol and Steve and I stopped along our way to have a little lunch at a local roadside cafe.  The food was excellent.  Most of the people eating there appeared to be locals.  Again we had very friendly service.  Before we left we couldn't resist getting pictures of the jail built in 1910 and used until 1947.  We thought it was a hoot.  Imagine being incarcerated here.

I don't know how this weekend will go, but I'm sure it will be filled with some more adventure.  We plan to go out to dinner with Bud tonight, and maybe, spend some time in Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow.

Blessings to all who are reading this.  In all the frustration, we know who is in charge and are depending on Him!

Love you all,
Kathy

On The Road Again...Well, still.

We have spent an interesting few days.  On Sunday, we were in Hannibal, Missouri, boyhood home of Mark Twain at the Mark Twain Cove and Campground.  It is a small little town where everything is Mark Twain oriented.  I loved the quaintness of it--made me want to read a little of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  While there we swung up to Lover's Leap.  The view was spectacular.  The story behind it is that a young Indian maiden and a young brave fell in love, but were forbidden to marry by the chief, who I think was her father.  He sent other braves out to kill him, but she decided that to live without him would not be acceptable so the two of them leapt to their death from the ledge.    Here we are at Lover's Leap.  That's Harry in shadow:)

A short drive from Hannibal, Missouri, we spent two days in Maysville, Missouri at the Pony Express RV Campground.  I was thrilled to be there because I got to spend some time in Hamilton, Missouri at the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  It's a wonderful little town that has been revived by the Doan Family's on line quilt business and with Jenny Doan's You Tube Quilt Videos.  They were busy getting ready for their 10th Anniversary celebration this weekend.  I had fun shopping, but I missed the camaraderie of my quilt buddies.  They have some lovely murals downtown.  I captured a couple of them.

Here are a couple of pictures from our stay at the Pony Express Campground

Yesterday was a long day of traveling.  We went from Maysville, Missouri, across Kansas and into Nebraska.  I am truly amazed at the vastness of this country.  We often traveled miles without seeing a house, but lots of open prairie land.  Harry says we went through the area where Home on the Range was written.

Yesterday was a very hot day.  A couple of days before we had noticed that our dash air conditioning was not functioning properly.  Well, yesterday, with the heat in the 90s, we really noticed it.  We turned on our generator for the cabin and ran the air conditioning there, but it did not cool us off up front.  We stopped at a Chevy dealership, close to their closing time and they were so gracious to take a look at it for us.  Verdict is that we need a new compressor.  We will try to get one when we get to Colorado.  Hopefully, today will not be such a hot travel day.

One thing I have been so impressed with is the friendliness of the people we meet along the way.  We have noticed how kind people are.  They truly want to help.

Last night we camped at a US Army Corps of Engineers Campground at Harlan County Lake.  It is gorgeous here and the price per night is $14.  We would love to stay here a little longer, but today we are off to Brush, Colorado.

 Stay tuned for more adventures.