Outside of Fort Scott, MO to night at Crawford State Park. Fees are a bit high but a beautiful campground on a lake. Lots of birds, redbuds blooming and hardly any people. Other than the camp host we are the only people in this section of the campground.  Very quit.

Drove something over 300 miles today. Had intended to be farther east but we had a long detour to make and by the time we got here I was ready to get off the road. The only thing of note today was there were a lot fires where fields were being burned off. Gets rid of the dead grasses that weren't eaten during the winter and allows new grasses to grow.

You know, you can drive across most of these states without going on an interstate and still make decent time. Little towns that you have to slow down in, but that breaks up the monotony.

Hope to be in St. Louis tomorrow night.

Now in Dodge City. Long straight fast roads today. Not much worth writing about.

We are now in Raton, New Mexico. I picked a rather circuitous route to get here. Trying to stay at lower elevations to get thru the mountains. Our highest elevation was 9100 feet. No brutal climbs for the car and a level I can handle. In fact our campground last night was at 7200 feet and I experienced no real problems. Maybe I am getting somewhat acclimated. We hav been at 5000+ feet for a couple of weeks now.

Anyway, as we came out of the town of Espanola we noticed this small river alongside the road. To our surprise it was the Rio Grande. Stopped at the visitors center and talked to the young man there. He had at one time worked in West Virginia as a raft guide. We discussed sections of the Gorge and what types of rapids there are. He told us about the bridge that crossed the gorge and how to get there.

Drove into Taos and had Easter brunch. Then went to see the bridge. As bridges go the New River Gorge Bridge is much more impressive. But the gorge itself was steep and deep.

Picked up Rt. 64 and continued into and over the mountains. A narrow, winding road. But not terrible. After we crested at 9100 feet it dropped down into the Cimmaron Canyon. Beautiful drive.

But the best part was as we were approaching Cimmaron. A herd of Elk were in a field beside the road. Joyce counted 25 but then we could see more in the shrubbery across the stream. Got some pictures. As we were leaving town there were three mule deer grazing on the side of the road. Next were the prong horned antelope and Bison.  We had been seeing small dead animals being eaten by the ravens on the side of the road. We discovered that they were prairie dogs. At one point we saw about 30 or more doing a face plant on the side of the road. What they were doing was getting salt left over from chemicals for snow removal. Our squirrels in virginia do the same thing.

We have now made the turn for home. Will stop and see friends next weekend.


April 19

Left Cortez and headed south to see the Four Corners Monument. Owned by the Navajo Indians so we pd our money. Went in, looked at it, stood in 4 states and took the obligatory pictures.   Next was Shiprock. A huge Butte that from a distance looks like a sailing ship. There was no road to it, so all we could see of it was from the highway.

From there we went thru Farmington where we stopped for a good lunch. We ended up at Heron State Park , outside of Chama, for the night. A very quiet campground with electricity, water and restrooms. The remarkable thing to us was how much water there seemed to be.

Laid over here in Cortez, CO today so we could do chores. Laundry and groceries. Also went thrift store shopping. Got a couple of pieces of clothing, a slid on coaxial connector that I had been looking for, a puzzle and a set of clippers. A total of $4.01.

Joyce has been wanting a new card for Kroger. They have nice ones out here and w hike we were in City Market she got one.

She also likes to play the slot machines, so we went to Ute Mountain Casino. For the first time she lost. $7.00 for her and my usual $5.00.

We had gotten a power strip with a flat plug in it. We have these two outlets that we could not figure out how to use. Met a couple here who have been using a Trailmanor camper for years. He gave a couple of tips and one was about a flat plug. I found one at Wal-Mart yesterday. We now have a place where we can hook up the microwave.

Yesterday we spent the day in Mesa Verde National Parks. The old dwellings of the Pueblo Indians are something to see. It was a tiring day, but worth it. I have loaded pictures to Facebook since I am unable to load them to this.

Tomorrow we will go thru Four Corners and Shiprock and into New Mexico on Rt. 64 as we head east. Not sure exactly where we will end up but that's not unusual for us.

Another day of sightseeing and driving. Since it was a short drive to Cortez(if I had listened to Joyce) we drove 40 miles back the way we had come to see Natural Bridges National Memorial. It consists of a welcome center and a loop drive. It goes along White Canyon and there are viewing areas fo three different natural bridges. One, Saipapu, is among the largest in the world. Under its deck you could set the US Capital Building. There are trails to each of the bridges. I chose not to attempt any of them.

Now, the part about listening to Joyce. We drove back to Blanding and had lunch and filled up with gas. We pulled out of the gas station and Joyce pointed left. I went straight because I knew that was the way to go. We pulled over and looked at the map. I showed her the way we were going and that it would get us there. She showed me her way but I convinced her my way was correct. It was supposed to be 81 miles. Much to my chagrin, 54 miles later, I discover she was right. Had I taken her way I would have saved 18 miles of driving. This doesn't mean that I will always defer to her judgement but I should check the options more closely.

We are now in Cortez, CO. Plan to explore Mesa Verde tomorrow.

I had three days worth to load and managed to wipe it out.

In essence, we have been taking all the scenic roads and seeing some spectacular scenery. Joyce has found flowers and taken lots of pictures. We are in Blanding Utah tonight and go to Mesa Verde tomorrow.

After I get over my peeve with myself I will try to reconstruct it.

After breakfast we took off to explore the Waterfold Pocket area of the park. To get there you take a dirt road for 20 miles. That's just to the park boundary. Then tou can drive another 30 miles to the roads end. Beautiful scenery, some wildflowers and lots of "washboard ruts".

April 13, 2014

Took scenic Rt. 12 from Cannonville today. Goes thru the Grand Escalante National Memorial. Why it's called that I don't know. This is one of the most awesome highways I have ever driven. Tall red rock mesas, deep canyons, narrow roads with steep ascents and descents. One section approaching the town of Escalante is a series of steep switchbacks. From the top it is called 35 Mile View. We could see much farther than that, I am sure. The sign board showed different mountains that were visible along the horizon and Navajo Mountain was visible and we had seen that from Lake Powell.

At one of the roadside exhibits we could see a granary by the Anasazi people. Must have been 500 feet up an almost sheer wall.  Stopped at the BLM welcome center at Escalante and looked at the exhibits. Discussed the road ahead. They said a steep climb and then a steep descent. Figured I wouldn't have to stay at that elevation, 9603 feet, for very long.

Moved on and stopped in Boulder for lunch. Had trouble finding a place to park and ended up in a lodge parking lot. Ate there which was a mistake. Very overpriced for what we got. A small bowl of watery soup and a tiny biscuit for ten bucks.

After lunch we started the climb over Boulder Mountain. Peak elevation of 9603 ft. Needless to say our car struggled to pull the camper up the mountain but made it just fine. As long as I was driving the elevation did not affect me more than if I had healthy lungs. I did get out a couple of times but was careful with my activity.

Arrived at Capitol Reef and set up camp. Wind blowing hard and temp was in 30s when we got up.

April 12, 2014

Headed up Rt 89 toward Capitol Reef. Up at 5:00. But that was OK. KNEW THAT WITHIN 5 miles we would be in Utah where we would go back to Mountain time. How confusing. We are now only two hours different than home. 

Utah is one of my favorite states. The scenery is gorgeous and the people friendly. Tho to be honest, everywhere we have been that has been the case, except for one old lady who gave me the finger in Page. She was blocking my way into the gas station and took offense when I pulled around behind her. 

Stopped in Hatch, UT for lunch. Colder and windy. We could see snow still on the mountains near us. Decided we would stop early in Cannonville where we had stayed before. That leaves us only a 100 miles or so to Capitol Reef.  To get here we came by the entrance to Bryce Canyon. Since we were there last fall will not visit again. 

Debating with myself how to go tomorrow. The easy way is to go back to 89 and continue on. The scenic way is Rt 12 thru the mountains. From what I have read quite steep and crooked. Just can't spend too much time above 7000 feet. Should be all right as long as I am just driving. 

I expect scenic will win. 

April 11, 2014

Up too early. We are on Pacific time and it has been bothering our sleep cycles. 

Booked a boat tour for Antelope Canyon and then went to visit the Hayden Museum at the dam. Fascinating, with lots go good exhibits and history. Dam tours were offered, but we did not book one. 

Took our hour and half tour and it was really nice. Went as far up the canyon as the boat could go. The canyon became quite narrow as we went in. So close we were warned not to reach out and touch the walls. Joyce took lots of pictures. I did not take as many, as is my usual thing. 

After lunch and a short nap I hiked the trail to the overlook at the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. Quite popular and a famous picture. With out a wide angle lens you can not get the whole thing in a picture. The trail is short but steep and sandy. They claim it is rocky, but they don't know what rocky is. 

Drove thro Page to see what it looked like. The typical tourist town with lots of hotels, eating places and other entertainments. Then to Walmart to pick up some needed items.