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Monday, August 22, 2011

From High Plains CG, Gillette, WY

We are still in the campground across the street from the Cam-Plex, the site of the 2011 Escapade.  Today is the 11th day we have been here, and the fun continues non-stop.  Several dinners with our friends, including a trip to Las Margarita.  A total of five couples including Joe & Marcia, Rich & Mary, Bob & Molly, Wallace & Wanda, and Donna and I.

The margaritas and the food were great..  not one negative comment from anyone.  In fact we had so much fun, the lady next to us said:  " Ya'll are having so much fun, where are you from?"  Of course the answer was Ky, Ga, Tx, Va, and Il.  -:)

 
The Las Margarita Dinner 

But before I get into all our activities here in Gillette, I need to mention a few things about our time back in West Yellowstone and then at Cody, WY.

While we were in West Yellowstone we managed to go see 3 plays at a couple of downtown theaters.  All were very entertaining and we enjoyed them immensely.  Of course, no photography was allowed so I have no pictures.

We also went to see a car show in West Yellowstone at a city park.  Was really a great turnout with maybe 300 cars in attendance.  I sure would have liked to have tried to buy this 1957 Chevrolet HT, that is until I found out it was appraised at $95,000.  Oops !

 
1957 Cheverolet HT

One day Donna and I drove over to Virginia City, Id, stopping in Ennis for lunch.  We ate at a really cute little diner that was part of a pharmacy.  After driving over the pass between Ennis and Virginia City, we spent a few hours exploring the old town and all the old original buildings.

 
Part of Main Street

 
One of the several bars 

Several of the old merchantile stores had been restored (maintained) as they were during the boom days.  Although you could not enter I mangaged to get a few pictures through the windows.

 
Grocery Store 

On the way back from Virginia City we took a little detour by Earthquake Lake and Higben Lake.  Earthquake lake was form in 1959 when and earthquake caused a landslide damming up the Madison River.  It seems I totally forgot to take any pictures of this area.

We moved over to Cody a couple of weeks ago.  We had a couple of great dinners there with just the two of us.  One nite we ate at the Proud Cowboy Saloon and had some huge portions of Prime Rib.  Then the next night was at a great little Italian place right on the main drag.

We spent a lot of our time at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

 
Buffalo Bill Historical Center 

This museum is absolutely fantastic with much more to see and do than can be accomplished in one day.

There was even an outside demostration of Chuck Wagon Cooking.

 
Checking the beans

 
Admiring the biscuits 

The museum was really fantastic, with actually 5 museum in one location.  Absolutely worth the trip.  Different areas included the Plains Indians, Western Art, Bill Cody info, guns from 1800, and Yellowstone Natural History.

I think this just about concludes our experiences up until we got to Gillette, which I will continue in the next blog. 

More From Island Park, ID

Friday, August 19, 2011

From High Plains Campground, Gillette, WY

While parked in Island Park and in between visits to Yellowstone, we had quite a few other adventures.

West Yellowstone Museum

One such adventure was to the West Yellowstone (the town) Museum housed in the old Union Pacific RR Depot that displayed a lot of the history of the area including information about the Union Pacific RR and its impact on Yellowstone NP visitors.

 

 
Pack Mule to haul supplies to Ranger Outposts.

Madison Hotel 

The Madison Hotel was built in the early 1900's and is still operated by two sisters who are the grand-daughters of the original owner.  Although the hotel has been expanded several times, the original six rooms of the hotel is still as it was back then, and furnished as they were originally.

 
The original staircase 

 
One of the six original rooms

 
The front of the Madison Hotel 

Top Of Mountain Trip

One day, with our friends Kevin and Arlene, we drove to the top of a 10,000 foot mountain where there is some huge radio (radar) installations.

 
The antenna installation

 
View from near the top 

 
Wildflowers along the road to the summit

Meanwhile, back here in Gillette, waiting on the Escapade to start, we are having a great time with some really good friends.  We arrived here at High Plains Campground a week ago today and that night had a great dinner with Bob and Molly at The Chop House in an old hotel downtown.

Joe and Marsha stopped by on Saturday.  We had a great visit, then we went for Chinese dinner.  Although Bob and Molly were gone all day, they managed to catch up with us at the Chinese place. 

More in my next blog... 

 

Yellowstone - Trip 3

Thursday, August 18, 2011

From High Plains CG - Gillette, WY

We took another day to further explore Yellowstone National Park.  It just takes a long time to see even the highlights.  This was our last tour of the park and there was so much we did not get to see.  Our plan was to visit the Canyon area and the Lake area, probably some of the most interesting areas of the park.

We first visited the Visitor Center at the Canyon area.

 
Canyon Visitor Center

We visited the Lower Falls viewpoints to get several perspective of the Lower Falls.

 
Lower Falls - Notice the greenish water and the folks at the brink of the falls.

 

 
Lower Falls from a farther distance. 

 
The canyon downstream from the lower falls. 

As we traveled toward the Lake area, we ran into a Major Buffalo Jam, with a hundred or more cars simply stopped in the road watching a huge herd of buffalo.  The park rangers attempt to keep traffic moving, but it still moves at a snail's pace.

 
Buffalo Jam 

This big dude decided to take him a big old 'sand waller' right by the side of the road as we passed by.

 
Buffalo Sand Waller 

Arriving at the Lake Area we crossed the lake at Fishing Bridge.

 
Yellowstone Lake at Fishing Bridge  

We returned back to camp by way of some 'pots' that we had visited before, but we got to see one of the geysers erupt.

 
Start of the eruption

While waiting on the geyser, we learned a new way to eat Cheeto's without getting your fingers all orange colored.

 
Use Chopsticks

Going to Yellowstone NP was not the only thing we did while at the Valley View CG in Island Park, ID.  We also ate out a couple of times in West Yellowstone, visited the Museum, saw three 'melodramas', visited John Sack Cabin, visited Virginia City, ID, even had a few happy hours with our fellow RV'ers. 

I will try to get most of that covered in my next blog or two. 

Yellowstone N.P. - Trip Two

August 15, 2011

We got up early to try and beat most of the traffic in the park.  We had only gone a few miles into the park when we met this buffalo walking right along the roadside.

 

We drove on up the western Loop Road toward Mammoth Spring, near the north entrance to the park.

 
Mammoth Springs

Because of road construction the Upper Loop road was closed, so we passed on trying to walk around the springs.

A little further down the road we spotted this thing.  Don't know just exactly what it is..  maybe a coyote or some coyote / dog cross.

 
Just what is this??

Around the visitors center and the commercial there were nearly a hundred elk just hanging around on the lawns and in the esplanade of the main road.

 
Relaxing in the Esplanade 

We also headed out to the northeast entrance through Lamar Valley where we saw hundreds of more buffalo, but I won't bore you with a lot of buffalo pictures.

 
The Classic Northeast Entrance

We also stopped at the Tower Falls Overlook to get a view of these real nice falls.  The visitor center at this location was fairly new and very nice. 

 
Tower Falls 

More on our third trip to YNP in the next blog. 

 

Yellowstone - Trip One

Sunday, July 31, 2011

From Valley View RV, Island Park, ID

We have been spending a lot time with our friends here in the park, with a lot of 'pot luck' dinners and 'happy hours'. 

One day Donna and I took off on our own and headed in the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, with Old Faithful as our destination.  But first there was a lot of things to see on the drive south on the Grand Loop Road.

 
Rapids on the Firehole River

 
Firehole Falls 

 
Eruption of Old Faithful 

 
Eruption of Beehive Geyser

Beehive Geyser is right next to Old Faithful, but only erupts about once per day, while Old Faithful erupts about every 88 minutes.  We were fortunate to be able to see both eruptions.

We also visited the Old Faithful Inn, the original lodging at Old Faithful.

 
The Massive Fireplace in the Inn 

The section of the park that we visited on this trip is noted for all the geysers and hot springs.

 
 

 

 

Although this quadrant of the park is not noted for its wildlife, we did manage to happen upon a couple of examples.

 
A young bull elk with a huge rack

 
A young bison from a long distance with telephoto lense.

We had a great day in just a small portion of the park and will view another sedtion in a day or two.

A Few Days In Idaho Falls, ID

Monday, July 25, 2011

From Snake River RV, idaho Falls, ID

We have been enjoying our stay here in Idaho Falls, ID.  We were surprised to learn that we are still in Mormon country.  Far over 50% of the population are Mormon.  There is even a Mormon temple here, shown below looking at the rear of the temple, across the Snake River.

 
 The Mormon Temple

Of course, no visit to Idaho Falls would be complete without a visit to the falls.

 
Part of the Falls 

One night we were invited by Larry and Melissa of 'One More Time' to join them at a show they were doing at a local assisted living facility.  We met Larry & Mellissa a couple of years ago, and got more acquainted at last year's Escapade in Goshen. 

Larry and Melissa are quite talented, have a great show, and do a great job of keeping the audience attentive and involved. 

 
 Larry & Melissa - One More Time

This past week-end the Eagle Rock Art Guild held an Art Show on the Greenbelt along the Snake River.

 
Crowd at Art Show

We also visited the Crater of the Moon National Monument, a drive of about 80  miles from Idaho Springs.  Not sure how the name came about, as there are no craters.  The area is filled with Lava Rock from volcanic activity over thousands of years.  Eruptions have occured about every 2000 years, and it has been 2000 years since the last one..  HUH ???  

We didn't tarry too long, but did take time to do the 7 miles driving tour of the area.  Besides the next one is actually predicted to occur in Yellowstone National Park.

 
A tree encased in molten lava, the exposed.

Our trip took us through an area where there are a number of Nuclear Research Labs in operation, some dating back to the 1950's.  In fact, as an experiment, the little town of Arco was the first town in the world to be completely electrified by nuclear power.

 
Former City Hall, I think 

We will be leaving here tomorrow and moving up the road closer to Yellowstone and join up with some of our RV Friends that we haven't seen in a while.

And Lots of exploring of Yellowstone.

 

Moved to Idaho

Thursday, July 21, 2011

From Snake River RV Resort, Idaho Falls, ID

We moved to Idaho Falls today.

But first I have to bring this blog up to date on our stay in Thayne, WY.  We had a great time sharing our stay with Bob & Molly, Mac & Lynette, and John & Bridgette.  We had quite a few 'Happy Hours' and cook-outs and a great many games of 'Chase the Ace'.

One day we all drove over to Afton and drove about 3 miles up along Swift Creek to view the intermittent spring.   After reaching the parking area it was a 3/4 mile walk (slightly uphill) to the spring, and I finally made it...  quite a walk for me..  -:)

This spring is like a cold-water geyser that accumulates the water inside a huge cave, then spouts it out about every 18 minutes.  

 
The Spring Flowing Right Out of the Mountain

 
Donna and I in front of the spring

 
The group at the spring

Donna and I did a lot of driving around the Grand Teton National Park and saw quite a bit of wildlife.

 
A young cow elk 

 
A large herd of elk 

But probably the most exciting sighting was that of a Grizzly bear and her two cubs.  They were stalking a small herd of elk, but never were able to attack.

 
Grizzly Number 610 with her two cubs 

The above photo was shot with a 400mm at a distance of about 1/2 to 3/4 mile. Jackson lake is in the background.

 
The same Grizzly

The above photo is the same photo after cropping the first one to show a close up of the bear with her cubs.  There is also one of the cow elks to the right of the bear in the photo with her head up being careful of the bear.

We watched this drama unfold for most of an hour.  Eventually, the bear led her two cubs back into the bushes and seemed to leave the immediate area. 

The scenery in Grand Teton is nothing short of spectacular.

 
From Jenny Lake viewing the Tetons 

 
The Tetons 

 
Close up of one of the peaks

We also saw lots of deer and buffalo.   

One night the entire group went to the Bar J Chuckwagon Supper for some great food and entertainment.

 
The group at Bar J 

 
 Ronnie serving up his Dutch Oven biscuits prior to the supper

 
The Bar J Band

We also toured a couple of factories in the area, the first being the Aviat Aircraft factory, best known for their aerobatic Pitt Special.

 
Pitt Special 

The company makes very few Pitt Special these days, but mostly builds the Husky.

 
The Aviat Husky 

Another really interesting tour was of the Freedom Arms Pistol factory.  Occupying a very non-descript building in the little town of Freedom, this company is known for its .454 special pistol.

 
Freedom Arms Crest 

Oops, I forgot to get any pictures of the pistols.

On Monday, John & Bridgett and Mac & Lynette left for Island Park in Idaho where they will be for a month.  The gang gathered up to see them off.

 
Departure Time

On Tuesday night Bob and Molly joined us for a great 'parting' dinner at the Nordic Inn in Alpine.  A great menu and excellent food for our last night together until we get to Gillette for the Escapade.

 
Brenthoven's Nordic Inn 

We had a fantastic time for over two weeks with some great friends, and are looking forward to seeing them again over the next 6 weeks.

 

Near Jackson, WY

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

From Star Valley Ranch RV Resort, Thayne, WY

We arrived here on Sunday, July 3, after an all-day trip from Cheyenne.  Bob and Molly met us at the gate and led us to the site they had obtained for us.  We are staying on a site owned by Tom and Judy Tillery, who occupy the site next door.  They are great folks.

We have done a little exploring, finding the road up Swift Creek that leads to an 'intermittent spring'.  More on that at a later date.

Mac and Lynette arrived a couple of days after we did, along with John and Bridget the same day.

 
 John and Bridget

One day Donna and I drove into the town of Jackson, about 50 miles from where we are staying.  About 35 miles of the drive is along the Snake River, where lots of rafters enjoy a trip down the snake.

 
The Big Kahuna 

In Jackson, we spent a while just perusing a few shops and admiring the town.  Donna and I were here on a skiing trip in 1974, and of course, some things have really changed, and some are much the same.  Much more touristy now, of course.

The Wort Hotel was built in 1942 and was restored after some fire damage in 1981.  We used this hotel as headquarters when we were trying to return to Houston during a snowstorm at the end of our ski trip.

 
The Wort Hotel 

 
Outside view of the Cowboy Bar

We stopped in and had a snack at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar...

 
Million Dollar Cowboy Bar

where the barstools are saddles...

 
Saddle Barstools 

The downtown plaza square has an arch at each corner made of Elk horns.  These structures were built in the 50's, I think.  I know they were there in 1974, when we were here.

 
Elk Horn Arch

We also drove out to Teton Village where we and a group of friends went skiing in 1974. 

 
Teton Village Tram Lift

When we were here in 1974 we stayed at the Alpenhof, the only Lodge at Teton Village at that time. 

 
The Alpenhof 

With our trip to Teton Village we also got to see part of the Tetons Mountains in the Teton National Park. 

 
Teton Mountains

We went back to the park another day for more mountain viewing and searching for wildlife.  But more on that visit in a later post.

 

Cheyenne Days

Monday, July 4, 2011

From Star Valley RV Resort, Thayne, WY

Time to get caught up on our travels.  We headed out of Arlington Tuesday morning continuing our trek to the west.  We made it to Dumas, where we stayed in a new park called Dumas RV Resort, located about a mile south of Dumas.  Brand new, all gravel, but with full hook-ups and 50 amp service.  You really can't call this a resort, but it met our needs. 

From Dumas we headed on toward Raton, NM to hit I-25 north toward Colorado Springs and Denver.  Since we were making such good time, we decided to surprise our good friends Mac and Lynette, who were staying in Cheyenne, WY.

We didn't let them know we were coming, but called the park and got the site right next door to them.  Mac came jumping out of his fifth wheel when we pulled in.

We had a great time in Cheyenne, spending some quality time with our friends and exploring Cheyenne.  Of course, we did manage to eat a bit, too. -:)

One afternoon, while Mac and Lynette were off in Colorado visiting some relatives, Donna and I went to the 'Gunslinger Show' downtown. 

 
A Lady Gunslinger 

At the end of the show there was even a hanging...  and I was the Hangee !!!  Since Donna was also part of the hanging, we got no pictures.  They picked on me because they found out I was from Texas... and here I was in Wyoming wearing shorts and tennis shoes.  -:)

But I did get a nice straw cowboy hat out of the deal, compliments of the Wrangler store.

 
Kowboy Kpoppa

 
The Wrangler 

Located next to the Wrangler is the Cheyenne Depot, which is now used as a visitor's center and museum, with a Pub and Grill on one end.

 
The Cheyenne Depot

We also visited quite a few other interesting sites:

  

The Botanic Gardens

 
The Old West Museum 

This painting is of Quail Dobbs, a famous Wrangler Bullfighter 'Barrel Man', whom we have met several times at the Lufkin Rodeo.

 
The Wyoming State Capital

We stayed at the Terry Buffalo Ranch RV Resort, which is a part of the Ranch owned by Ron Thiel. 

 
Ron Thiel

Mr. Thiel stopped by our coach one afternoon as we were sitting outside and we had a long visit learning of the history of the ranch.  Consisting of almost 30,000 acres, it is the 2nd largest Buffalo Ranch in the US.  They maintain a herd of about 3000 head, which increases to 5000 after calving season.  Ron is a very interesting guy and we had a great time getting acquainted.

We also took a ride on their train that circles through one of the herds.

 
The Train

We traveled around a small part of the ranch seeing lots of exotic animals, but particularily the buffalo herd.

 
The Big Daddy

 
Some of the calves.

Our last night in Cheyenne we went to the Senator's Steak House and Saloon on site for an excellent meal.  In addition to Mac and Lynette we were joined by some new friends from Arkansas ( Larry and Paula ) and California (Al and his wife). 

I will end this blog with a great Wyoming sunset...

 

'till next time.....

Headed West and North

Tuesday, June28, 2011

From KOA, Arlington, Tx

 We had intended to leave here yesterday by noon, but a few issues with getting the DataStorm re-authorized delayed us a bit.  We called Mark & Dortha Hall yesterday morning and they came over to be our first visitors in the new coach.  We had a great visit, getting caught up on recent happenings.

While they were here, we realized we would be staying another night, so we made plans for dinner with Mark and Dortha.  Catfish Sam's was the choice, and a very good choice it was.  Thanks Mark and Dortha for treating us.  We owe ya one...-:)

Sorry I don't yet have any pics of the interior of the coach, but hope to in the next couple of days.  We are still in the process of getting things organized. 

We are kinda just playing it by ear as to where we are headed and how we will get there, but today we are headed toward Amarillo, then probably north to Colorado Springs and Denver, then who knows...

'til next time...

Ok, Here's the Big Secret

Sunday, June 26, 2011

From Arlington KOA, Arlington, Texas

Yes, we bought a new (to us) coach.  So we have been back in Lufkin since last Monday.  And, yes this was quite a 'spur of the moment' thing.  We had no intention of even looking at trading.  But while in Hatch, Utah I checked the Foretravel web site, and there was a great deal on an '07 model.  By noon, while having lunch with Bob & Molly and Jim and Ellie, we had a deal over the phone.

So off we went, with some 1400 miles to get back to Lufkin and Nacogdoches, where the factory is located.  Since sometimes these deals don't pan out, we only let a couple of folks know of our intention.

The coach is an '07 Foretravel, 42 feet, with 4 slides.  Engine is a 500 hp Cummins.  It is taller, both inside the coach and in the bays than the other Foretravel, making it 9 inches overall taller.

We stopped in Arlington on Sunday to have our Satellite Internet Dish removed.  Arriving in Nacogdoches shortly after 1pm on Monday, we viewed the coach and sealed the deal.

We took delivery at noon on Wednesday and spent the next 3 days at home making the move.  Who would have thought we had so much 'stuff' in the old coach. -:)

Okay... so you want to see some pictures.

Below is all I have so far:

 
 

 
 

I took these this morning right before we left Lufkin to re-join are friends and continue our trek.

We are here in Arlington to have the Satellite Internet dish re-install and will head on west tomorrow sometime.

till next time

 

A Visit to Bryce Canyon

Thursday, June 23, 2011

From ????

If you have never visited Bryce Canyon, then you have missed a real treat.  This has to be one of the most beautiful of all our national parks.  We actually spent a couple of days exploring the park, driving its roads and taking in every viewpoint it had to offer.  Its beauty and uniqueness is absolute stunning.

And the approach to Bryce through Red Canyon has some awesome scenery also.

 
Red Canyon

Before entering the park is a huge commercial area with several large hotels and resorts, an RV Park, lots of shops, and several dining opportunities.

 
Part of the commercial area outside the park. 

Just a few hundred yards down the road is the entrance.

 

Following are some of the scenes within the park.

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

The pictures can only show a small portion of the beauty and uniqueness of Bryce.  

One day while we were still in Hatch, UT, Bob & Molly, along with Jim and Ellie drove over to Hatch, and we had a great lunch at Cafe Adobe in Hatch.

We left Hatch on Saturday the 18th, and hope to resume our travels Sunday the 26th of June.  We are looking forward to seeing our friends in Idaho, Yellowstone NP, Cody, Wy, and of course at the Gillette, WY Escapade in late August.

And.....  we just might have a surprise for our great RVing friends.

More on the surprise soon.....

 

Wrapping Up In St. George

Thursday, June 16, 2011

From Riverside RV, Hatch, UT

Well we wrapped up our stay in the St. George area a couple of days ago, with a great trip to the Tuacahn Amphitheater for a production of Grease.

 
Molly and Donna checking out the menu for the pre-show dinner

The amphitheater is located at the end of a canyon and is also the site of a high school for performing arts.

We were treated to some pretty good entertainment at the RV park while we were there.

 
'Nickle"  ( Nancy Flowers) 

 
Michael Hargis 

We visited Bryce Canyon today, and I will try to write a blog about that as soon as possible. 

 

St. George and the Mormons

Monday, June 13, 2011

From Encore Park, St. George, Ut

As in most of Utah, the Mormon religion is very prevalent here... some say about 80% of the population.  In 1861 the Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, sent 300 families from the Salt Lake area for the purpose of establishing cotton farming.  Mr Young concluded that with the beginning of the Civil War cotton would become very hard to get and he wanted his folks to have access to their own supply of cotton for weaving and making cloth.  The area is very hilly and mountainous, but with lots of valleys with fertile soil.  And water was available from the Virgin River.

Very little timber was available for building homes, so the early settlers mostly lived in tents and started planting cotton.  Because there was very little money and no way to earn any, the Church started construction of a Tabernacle almost immediately, to provide jobs.  Workers, all Mormon, were paid in scripts which could be spent at the Church store.

The tabernacle took 13 years to complete, but served as a house of worship and a community gathering place.  It was built of stone, hand chipped into bricks of varying surface.

 
 Stl George Tabernacle

A few years after starting the tabernacle he also determined that a Temple should be built in St. George, the third temple for the Mormon faith.  The Temple is considered a most sacred place and only the worthy are allowed to enter.  Here marriages are sealed forever and commandments are delivered to the Saints (members).

 
The St. George Temple

There is a very interesting Visitor's Center on the grounds of the Temple and we enjoyed a very detail presentation of information about the church.

We also visited the winter home of Brigham Young.  The winters in the area are much milder than Salt Lake City, so Brigham Young would spend his winters here.

 
Part of the presentation of the house, was an individual speaking to us as Brigham Young.

The house was beautifully maintained and was furnished with many of his personal furnishing.

 
The Brigham Young Home.. 

 
The Dining Room (original china)...

More Later.....

 

Zion Nat'l Park - Part 2

Sunday, June 12, 2011

From Encore Park, St. George, UT

After visiting part of the park with Bob and Molly, Donna and I went back to view the part that can only be visited by Shuttle Bus.  (Bob and Molly did that part before we arrived).

We arrived fairly early and the weather was clear, cool, and crisp.  After parking at the visitor's center, we boarded the Shuttle Bus and headed 'up-canyon' for the various stops along the way.  The shuttles run about every 10 to 15 minutes, making it very easy to get off and back on a later shuttle.

 
Donna in her new hat, waiting on the shuttle... 

 
The Virgin River through the Canyon...

 

 
Canyon Walls...

 
More Canyon Walls...

 
Weeping Rocks with lots of fern... 

 
The Lodge...

The huge lawn is surronded by the orange barrier because the grounds were recently re-planted and the park is protecting the grass while it gets established. 

 
The Lodge Interior... 

We must say that Zion is a beautiful, un-spoiled place, and well worth the two days we spent visiting.  Crowds were light, there was never a long wait for the shuttle, and the park personnel kept things running very smoothly.

On the up-canyon ride in the shuttle, there was a recorded message for each section pointing out highlights and points of interest. 

There are lots of trails throughout the park, with varying degrees of length and difficulty.  In other words... something for everyone.

More about the St. George area in my next blog.

 

A Visit to Zion National Park

Friday, June 10, 2011

From Encore Park, near St. George, Ut

Zion NP is quite a large park, with lots to see.  Since Bob and Molly had already done the part that is limited to the Shuttle, we all got together to view the other part of the park.  We drove to the park, first stopping at the Visitor's Center for our stamp in our Passport Book.

 
Entering the visitors center

Since we entered the park from the west on Highway 9, the goal was to travel to the east and exiting the park on that side.

 
Awesome Views 

 
Fascinating Colors and Formations 

 
Looks like a natural amphi-theater 

 
Checkerboard Mountain

We drove on further east to Mt Carmel and then up Highway 89 to a little town called Orderville, which when established was a commune type settlement, where everyone shared in all the production and met and ate in a community dining hall.  This experiment for the Morman was eventually unsuccessful and disbanded.

Returning to Mt. Carmel at the intersection of 89 & 9 we had lunch at a great restaurant where all the breads are "Ho-Made".  They cater to the Bus Tours and serve several buses every day.  Quite an operation.

As we re-entered the park, we just naturally had to have the obligatory picture with the sign, to prove we were actually there.

 

Donna and I

 
Bob and Molly 

The next day Donna and I went back to tour the canyon on the Shuttle Bus up Virgin River.  I will post that as soon as possible.

Until Later...

Riding The Dunes

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

From Encore Park, St. George, Ut

We arrived at the Encore park shortly before noon on Wednesday the 1st of June.  As soon as we got parked and hooked up to utilities, Bob and Molly were picking us up and headed into St. George for lunch at Chuck-A-Rama.  This is a 'Super-Buffet' catering to not only the locals, but the tourist, including the bus tours. 

They had a great salad bar, a good selection of main dishes, and an 'out-of-sight' dessert selection, most of which were as least sampled at our table.  We sure hoped this was not a precursor to our eating habits for the next two weeks. 

We hung close to the park for a couple days, usually going out for a late breakfast as Dorthalee's, a great little home cooking, down home type cafe.

On Friday, we drove into Hurricane, a neat little town close by, and rented Razr's for a 3 hour guided trip into the mountains and sand dunes.

 
Lined up for departure... 

Bob & Molly followed our guide as we followed them.

 
and away we go...

It was still fairly cool when we left, but as time went by it got much warmer and more comfortable.  Our first stop was about 15 miles into the mountains, on top of a mesa overlooking a huge valley leading into St. George.  We are standing next to a cliff, with the valley about 3000 feet below.  What a view !!

 
Don't look back !!

Our next stop was at the top of the sand mountain, about 2000 feet above a lake at the bottom of the dunes.  We had a great time, hauling butt down the mountain, cutting dido's in the sand, and running in circles on the side of the dunes.  Donna even managed to almost turn us over as we went around the side of one dune, started bogging down and losing traction.

 
On top of the dunes...

On Saturday night, the park has a little country and western music show, featuring Nickle, an employee at the park.  She is quite an accomplished singer whom we have become quite well acquainted with, since she is usually in the community room sewing when we have been playing cards.

 
A great little show...

I will report next on our trips to Zion National Park, a beautiful park just about 40 miles east of where we are staying.

 

Out of Las Vegas

Saturday, June 4, 2011

From Encore Park, Hurricane, UT

We arrived in Las Vegas last Sunday, after about a 300 mile drive from Yuma.  The first night and the next day were quite chilly, although we saw no rain.  We stayed at the Sam's Town RV park, right next to the Sam's Town casino. Fairly nice park with level sites, but quite narrow.  No trees where we were so no problem with the Datastorm or Satellite TV.

We checked out Sam's Town hotel and casino for a couple of hours Sunday night, after we drove downtown and checked out Binions.  Neither of us had much luck at either place, good or bad. 

On Monday we headed out to Hoover Dam, ignoring the fact that it was Memorial Day.  Well, that sure was the wrong thing to do. Traffic was backed up 7 or 8 miles to get to the dam, so we turned around and headed back to Las Vegas.

We drove down the strip, totally amazed at all the new hotels and casinos.  It had probably been at least 10 years since we were in town, and there has been major changes.  For the good, I suppose.

We decided to give our luck a try at the Excalibur, a place we stayed at when we brought Scott to Vegas for his 21st birthday.  It was virtually the same, but we had been lucky 20 or so years ago.  Again, not much luck, good or bad.

After playing awhile there we walked over skyway to the New York, New York and then across the bridge to MGM, just looking around. 

Tuesday, we decided it might be a good day to go to the dam, so off we went.  Absolutely no traffic back up, and we got parked in their parking garage quickly.  A short elevator ride to the ground floor and then a short walk to the visitor center. 

We had a great view of both the dam and the new bridge from the visitor center overlook.

 
 A view of the new bridge, but obscured by the power lines a bit.

 

 
This view of the dam is looking almost straight down from the observation deck.

After leaving the dam we drove back into Boulder City, and found a quaint little restaurant downtown and had a great hamburger.

 
The Coffee Cup Cafe

Back in Vegas we kinda hung around for a while, then decided to go try out the Rio Casino.  The Rio is famous for it's huge poker tournaments in its 100,000 square feet convention center.

Here we finally had a little good luck.  Donna got up pretty good, several hundred dollars, and I hit a straight flush at the 3 card poker table, which covered my previous losses, and managed to quit just about dead even for the trip.  I think Donna was pretty much dead even for the trip.

On Wednesday morning we left Vegas for the 140 mile drive to Hurricane, UT to meet up again with Bob and Molly at an Encore park there.  We saw some great scenery along the way including the Virgin River Canyon.

 
Typical view of the interestate through the canyon.

More on our stay in Hurricane later. (We sure ain't missed no meals)

 

Hanging Around Yuma

Saturday, May 28, 2011

From Our Lot, Yuma, Az

Before I get in to talking about Yuma, I need to talk about an event at the Cottonwood Thousand Trails park.  It seems that once a year a big sheep ranch in Casa Grande, somewhat south of Phoenix, has a 'sheep drive' to take their sheep to pastures near Flagstaff.  Now that is over 200 miles, and takes the crew about 6 weeks to make the trip.

As it turns out their route takes them right through the park, down a canyon and draw to the river where they cross.  There were over 1200 sheep, only three shepherds, 2 Border Collies, walking with the sheep, and 5 mules carrying supplies for the shepherds.

 
The mules are on their own and usually travel ahead of the sheep.

 

The sheep came down the draw, crossed the road, and then down an embankment to the river bottom, where they stopped for lunch for the shepherds and to allow the sheep and mules to graze.

I have had a lot of requests for pictures of Molly's and Donna's tatoo, so here it is.  I know, the tatoos are rather small, but ok for the first time.  I think they are comtemplating another one at some point.

 
 The Tatooed ankles

We are staying at our lot in the Foothills just east of Yuma.  Yup, it is pretty hot here (low 90's), but with no humidity it is really quite bearable. 

 

Our lot

One night we went to dinner at Julieanna's Patio.  We have intended to try this place when we were here in February, but just never made it.  It is really a unique place with both inside and patio dining.  We chose to eat inside, but had a window table looking out over the patio.

They have several parrots in residence.

 

And a Peacock.. 

 
 

And even a little yard art..

 
 

Moving On Tomorrow

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

From Thousand Trails Preserve, Cottonwood, AZ

Well, we will be pulling up stakes in the morning and heading over to Yuma.  We have had a great time with some great friends here in Cottonwood.  We just might have eaten a little too often and a little too much, but hey, we have to keep our strength up.

We tried the La Fonda restaurant, as recommended by Nick Russell, and were not a bit disappointed.  Food was great, and the service matched it.

And on one night we really splurged and went to 'Storyteller's' and had some great steaks, with Donna having Rack of Lamb.  We all did hang around a bit and fed a few machines, but I don't think anyone did much good.

However...  Donna and I went back to the casino on Saturday night, while there was a Styx concert going on, and I sat down to play 3-card poker, only my second time to play.  Well, I guess the stars were all aligned right because 2 hours later I had turned $100 into $1140 for a profit of $1040.  Just was my turn, I guess.

 
Donna, Molly, and Bob all on their new bikes.

 
 We drove out to the V Bar V ranch, now a national monument area of petroglyphs

 
 

The drive from the V Bar B to Sedona produced some great vistas of the Red Rock Formations around Sedona.

 

 

Well, that pretty much wraps up our 9 days here in the Verde Valley of Arizona, a great time spent with some super folks.  We will look forward to hooking up with them again on down the road.

Bob & Molly will depart tomorrow to spend some time in southwestern Utah, while we will head over to Yuma, Az to spend a few days at our lot there and check out the weather for Late May.  We expect its gonna be rather HOT!  We will see....

Oops.. forgot to download the pictures of the Tattooed Ladies... will catch it next time.

see ya later...