Travels with The Rayman

Attention all RVers.  Do not attempt to go to Denver without camping reservations.  As you probably can guess, this is what we tried to do and it did not work.  Our plan was to spend Friday night in Denver so we could visit our friends, Mary and Jim.  But there were no vacancies…anywhere.  So that forced us to recalculate our route.

The problem is that there are these huge mountains in our way.  The Rockies are very tall (14,000 ft in some places) and very wide.  So getting through them requires a certain amount of caginess when it comes to figuring out the route.  After looking at the atlas, looking at our various electronic devices, we concluded that the best way to head north was to stay on two lane roads.  This narrowed the choices considerably and we settled on Highway 13 which we turned on to at the town of Rifle, CO.  We followed our noses all the way to Interstate 80.  What a ride.

Two lane roads, as I have probably mentioned previously, are great for RV travel.  No billboards, very little traffic. And Highway 13 was no exception.  Rumbling along at about 7000 feet the entire time, we went up a bit, down a bit and straight ahead a lot.  The drive was easy until we hit Interstate 80 which I had the pleasure of navigating for 24 miles to the town of Rawlins, Wyoming.  Driving north to the big 80. we had a tailwind all the way which really helped our gas mileage, we think.  However, once we headed east on 80, that tailwind turned into the wind from hell and blew us around.  This situation was further complicated by the fact that in those 24 miles we saw 10 times the number of trucks than we did the previous 150 miles on the two laner.  Just saying.

Our lonely road that was perfect for us. Highway 13.

It was so windy, I received a new hair-do.

And so here we are in the RV park in Rawlins.  A windy, forlorn destination blowing all the noise from the freeway right into the park.  It is loud.  It is noisy.  It is home for the night.

A few observations.  We saw lots of road kill on the two lane road.  Deer, antelope, rabbits, an opossum, we think.  Bleached white bones were espied.  And the landscape went on forever, a green chaparral looking environment with no trees to speak of.  When we passed through the mountains, trees were in abundance.  But out in the open, the wind was having it’s way with the trees.  Nothing can stand up to the onslaught of wind.  And the rivers.  Oh, my.  So much water in the rivers.  And there were ponds, lakes, creeks.  This land had it all…excepting the trees.

As we entered Wyoming, we rose up to a plateau and started seeing herds of pronged horn deer, also known as antelope.  Rayman did some research and discovered that Wyoming has 400,000 head if antelope down from 500,000,  Apparently a drought and livestock competition has thinned the herds.  At least that is the speculation on the internets!!

You might wonder what we do as we ride along.  This trip, I’ve been reading River of Doubt about Rooevelt’s trip down the uncharted river in the Amazonian jungle.  And so, when I am at the wheel, I tell him all about what I read the previous night.  It makes the trip go faster (as fast as you can go at 55 mph).  He seems interested.  And we ooh and aah at the scenery.  Sometimes we reminisce about previous trips.  What we don’t do is listen to music, podcasts, books on tape.  Many of our friends do that and I think it is a swell idea.  It’s just never caught on with us.

We try to find funny things to report.  Like the taxidermy business in Meeker, CO that had a Trump sign hung on the front gate.  Guess he or she thinks that’s good for business.  We howled because we thought it was funny.

One other point.  Rayman gets worried when I’m at the wheel.  So, he sort of does double duty as he tries to supervise me.  “Don’t look at that!”  “Don’t take your eyes off the road!”  “You are making nervous!”  “jesus, Dianna, move over!”  The list is exhaustive.  But his heart is in the right place.  It’s good to be reminded that I’m married to a survivalist.  He does not want to run off the road and die in a ditch bordering Highway 13.  For this I am sure.

Wonderful old home for sale in Rawlins, Wyoming.

We just ventured out to downtown Rawlins.  Oh, my.  The downtown is east of us a couple of miles.  And it smells like oil.  We also discovered an old penitentiary because they build a new one across the freeway.  We found the two blocks of an historic district (old homes and tree lined streets).  The streets are in terrible shape.  It’s needs some infrastructure improvements big time.  This is a red state and this town lives off the government insofar as they have a new prison.  Not sure about ranching but the town is full of properties that look impoverished with multiple vehicles in various states of decay in the drywalls.  Poor Rawlins.  The city needs a new plan.  And it should start with getting rid of the oil odor.  The other thing about Rawlins is that it has the train tracks going thru it.  Lots of train tracks.  Lots of trucks blazing through.  And hotels, motels, fast food franchises and a Wal-Mart which explains, I think, why all the mom and pop businesses have closed and put their shuttered property up for sale.  Only there are no buyers because Wal-Mart moved in.  No one wants to compete.  A vicious cycle.

But I digress.

Say goodnight, Dianna.  Goodnight.

Rayman on the tee.

A second day in Parachute, CO.  Fenced in by towering mountains on east and west.  There are towering mountains north and south too.  However, we are in a valley and the Colorado River runs through it.  OMG.  There is water in the Colorado River.  And we have seen other rivers with water.  It’s like a miracle.  Running water.

Parachute doesn’t have much going for it since the oil bust dried up and all the people left town.  There are a smattering of hotels right by the big Interstate 70 highway.  A Wendy’s.  A post office.  A huge fire station that presumably serves the valley as there are small bergs around.  And a golf course.  The golf course is what kept us here.  And we are glad because it was like our own private course.  No one in front.  No one behind.  Just us and some unidentified birds, turkeys, rabbits, and one hawk.  Oh, and an occasional maintenance worker here and there.

It was a 3 1/2 hour round and while we were golfing, we snapped a few pictures.  Here they are.

Yes, I was there too.

Clouds. Hyper clouds.

After golf, we found the only grocery store in town and bought some sausages, a can of black beans, and Thomas’s English muffins.  Barbecuing tonight because it looks like there won’t be any rain today.

Speaking of rain, the clouds here are fabulous, white, billowing affairs that look like they are resting on a piece of glass as the bottoms are all flat the same way.  The tops though gather together and form thunder heads that look ominous when  they turn dark gray.  But when they are all white and billowy looking, they take your breath away.

The RV park is actually listed as Battlement Mesa RV park and it is bare bones.  However, it has trees, a found circle of grass, adequate laundry facilities and a few RVs scattered here and there and look like they haven’t moved in the last decade.  When we arrived we found it difficult to find a place to park as not all the utilities are working order.  And Rayman had a heck of time prying loose the caps that plug the sewer hookups.  We called for help, but naturally, Rayman figured it out before help arrived.  And this a.m. the place was swarming with gardeners mowing, racking, blowing the flora.  Could it be that the owners said, “We got some new blood.  Let’s make it look like we do this every week.”?  Just speculating.

After our golf game, we drove around town.  And guess what we found?  The Tumbleweed Dispensary.  Quite a cute name for a marijuana store.  It’s legal in CO but not all counties allow it as I discovered while visiting with the young woman behind the cash register.  The place was grand.  Reminded me a bit of McPhee’s in Templeton because it sported a tin ceiling.  And it had a long bar on one side of the room and comfortable seats against one wall.  And it was busy.  In addition to driving away with some maryjjane cookies, we also left with Issue 1 of the Tumbleweed Tmes, a brochure that includes recipes and an article that spells out their big plans for a drive-thru window.  Just phone ahead and pick up your order from the comfort of your jalopy.  These people are customer focused.  Their drive thru is going to be just like big pharma.  Think CVS.  They have drive throughs too. The people that work there are referred to as “budtenders”.  So inventive!!  They also have canna punch products.  In flavors.  Pineapple Mango, Blue Raspberry, Watermelon Nectar and Black Cherry Fusion.  They feature 100 mg and 10 mg recreational potency.  There is a recipe for Pineapple Mango Canna Punch infused shrimp.  Yum.  May need to go back and buy some of that.

Rayman regarding the store.

There are also rules.  You are to use what you buy in CO in CO.  It should be locked up.  And you are not to drive.  Or smoke in public places, on federal land and a host of other places.

So, there you have it.  Colorado rocks!!

My heaven’s

The mystery has been solved.  But I’m not going to tell the dear reader what the answer was because I have other information to impart.

Currently, I am sitting in The Dog House which is currently located in the Fruta Historical campground within the National Park of Capitol Reef.  And the Rayman has turned on the generator because there is no electricity here.  No sewer.  No water.  We are off the grid in more ways than one.  Boon docking.

I think I can confidently report that this is driving the Rayman crazy.  He is nervous that we are going to freeze to death and we won’t be able to see anything once the sun sets.  And not necessarily in that order.  The mountains outside the park which are higher than those inside the park are laced with snow from the front that moved through here yesterday and today.  Currently, the sky above us blue.  However, wait 15 minutes and that might change.  It doesn’t seem as cold to us as yesterday at this time which is 7 p.m.

But I digress.

We buttoned up early and left Cannonville and drove a circuitous route to Capitol Reef.  What a stunner of a park.  First named a national monument, it later became a full fledged National Park and we can see why.  And unlike any other park we have visited, it has it’s own orchard.  And a river runs through it.  Lovely.  Cottonwood trees grace the park and it looks like it is snowing because the breeze is carrying the pollen balls from these trees all around the campground.  It is springtime after all.

Rayman worries about the gray water.  The fresh water.  The battery.  He’s very busy right now fussing about the batteries and running in and out of the Dog House.  Beau is trying to stay out of his way.  Never get in the way of a man on a mission.

When the sun sets, we are hitting the hay and getting up with the sun to take the scenic drive which we took this afternoon after we arrived.  There were dark clouds in the sky so the photo ops weren’t as good as they could have been.  We hoping for sun to shine on the huge cliffs that surround us.    Huge red cliffs.  For miles and miles.

At the risk of repeating myself, if you have not visited the national parks of Utah, you must do it.  Put it on your bucket list and just do it.  There are tour buses if you don’t want to drive.  There is lodging at every park, on the outskirts.

So, I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.

This is taken close to the western entrance after an early dinner in Torrey, UT.

Me at the park entrance.

This is the only picture taken north east of the park on highway 24. Great road. Two lanes. Hardly any traffic.

The mystery that has been solved is this.  Which park is my favorite?  The last one I visited.  They are all beautiful and I cannot for the life of me pick a favorite.  So, tonight, my favorite park in Capitol Reef.

Tomorrow will be a travel day again except that no national parks are on our agenda.  We are going to drive until we get tired of driving.  And then we will find a place and park it.  Then on Thursday, we will likely continue east to Denver.  Friends await us.  And we will celebrate being on the other side of the giant Rockies.  Yahoo.

Monday, Monday

It’s fortunate that we don’t have to pick a favorite U.S. National Park because I am not sure I am capable.  Same for the Rayman.  They are each so mind bending.  So, if we burn ourselves up with climate change, these places will endure I think.  Perhaps new species will evolve.  Nature proves to us that we are not in charge in the long run.  I know this because I saw a petrified dinosaur head in the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Park Visitor’s Center.  They did not survive as a species but the earth endured.  So there you have it.

We visited the Center because we decided to drive up to see the park in our car.  We left The Dog House in Cannonville KOA campground.  Sure glad we did.

What a spectacular place.  We seemed like the only car on the road as we drove up 10% grades, and went down 10% grades.  Essentially one goes from plateau to valley and back again in this place.  Every turn brings something new for the eye to feast upon.  Our friend, Gary Bartel, would truly enjoy all this since he once took a class in geology.  Geology is on steroids here.  Millions of years have formed this into an archeologists and geologists playground.  It makes me feel so uneducated in one way and like a knat on the other hand.  We are just temporarily passing through and we are very insignificant.  I’m speaking of the rank and file of homo sapiens.

But, I digress.

At one point the road ran along a ledge and huge canyons on both sides of the car could be observed.  Afraid of heights?  This may not be the road for you.  Everyone else will enjoy the ride.  The entire park is a series of canyons with great elevation changes.  We had planned to hike to a waterfall but by the time we came back to the spot, it was raining.  Lady luck was with us.  We drove the furtherest point we planned to see with occasional stops for photo ops.  The idea being that upon our return we would stop and hike and take additional pictures.  That plan was thwarted by the weather but it was very fortuitous because we saw some incredible sights.  Here’s a sampling.

The rocks looked like lizard skin (or my skin, I’m afraid!)

Miles of views like this.

Hoodoos, anyone?

Rayman and hoodoos.

I post this to show you that I have more than one outfit. Oh, and please notice the landscape.

If you ever get to this park, you must do what we did.  We took highway 12 to a fork in the road at Boulder City and turned right and followed it about 17 miles.  OMG.

One of the things about these trips is not just the scenery and history but also the lack of TV.  Since we left home a week ago, we have watched TV once.  For an hour.  Yes, it is an option but an option we do not avail ourselves of.  It is so quite and peaceful at night.  And after viewing all the magnificent sights, it just doesn’t seem appropriate.  The word trite comes to mind.  We find ourselves talking about the things we learned, observed, witnessed.  No gossip or idle chatter here.  Well, maybe occasionally!!!  We are human after all!!

So, tonight as I sit here blogging, it is cold outside.  A cold front followed the rain (just like at home).  There is a brisk breeze.  Great night for staying in our cozy Dog House.   Luckily I had defrosted a kale/bean affair which only required heating up to serve.  Last night we sat outside and barbecued.  Had the plan been reversed, we would have been screwed.  But, alas, we lucked out and for that we are grateful.  Even a blind turkey…

Tomorrow we are off to Capitol Reef which Rayman keeps calling Coral Reef.  And he calls Yellowstone Yosemite.  Great problem to have.  So many fabulous places to get confused.  I mean, they all start with the same letters!!   So it is an easy mistake to make.  And it doesn’t mean anything in the scheme of things…nature taught us that lesson today.

And one other thing.  Please note that we did not get lost.  At least spacially.

Beau in route. Grand Staircase area of Utah.

Sunday, May 15 we got up with slight handovers from a party we attended Saturday night.  Too much fun with our friends, Dick and Barb.  They hosted 26 people in their home in St. George.  A wine tasting party with half the couples bringing the wine and the other half matching appetizers to the wine selection.  Great format.  Fun event.  However, overindulgence occurred.

So, up early and off on our next adventure.  We planned to travel from St. George, to Cannonville, UT with a detour through the Kolob Canyon which is just off Interstate 15 and actually part of Zion National Park.  Beautiful drive.  A 5 mile loop.  We did not hitch up the toad to The Dog House because of elevation changes.

Kolob Canyon

After viewing the Canyon, we hitched up.  And I took the wheel.  We took the state route 14 out of Cedar City.  It was straight up hill.  And our old Dog House was not happy.  Think 25 miles an hour.  When I pulled over to let the lone car behind us pass, they slowed down and told us that our wheels on the Fit were geehawed.  So we stopped and by gosh, they were right.  I won’t bore you with the details.  We unhitched the car because the grade was so steep.  I drove the  Dog House on SR 14 all the way.   It was slow.  It was narrow.  Damn, I’m good.  We were in the snow though none on the road.  It was a fabulous drive.  No semi trucks there.

We hooked up the car to the RV once we were over the mountain up on a plateau.  Rayman drove us to Cannonville, Utah  where we checked into a KOA campground.  So much nicer than the one we were in in St. George.  It has trees!!  We are at 6,000 ft.  We unhitched the Fit and headed back to Bryce.

The country is so beautiful it is hard to overstate it.  Just saying.

When we arrived at the gate to the park, the ranger in the booth greeted us.  Rayman said, “Hi, how are you today?”  The ranger replied, “I’m overworked and underpaid.  I’m far away from home and I tired and cranky.”  Rayman, without missing beat retorted, “Me too.  We can be friends.”  The guy got a kick out of that.  So did we!!

So, off we went to check out Bryce National Park.  Wowie, zowie.  Fabulous.  Here are pictures to prove it.

Rayman and Bryce

See what I mean?

When we returned to base camp, we fired up the barbie and I made a Greek salad, prepared asparagus for the barbie as well as a rack of lamb.  Paired that with Talley growler wine, pesto left over from a few nights ago.  And we washed it down with more Talley.  OMG.  It was after 7 before we sat down to eat.  We were ravenous.  It was a fabulous dinner.   And then we had chocolate and port.  We know how to live!!

And now it is 9:18 and I’m exhausted.  A very long day.  And so much fun!!!

Today we bursted forth to visit Zion.  It’s been a lifetime since the last visit for me.  Rayman had never visited.  We both were wowed.

No calamity befell us.  We rode on the shuttle until the end of the line after watching the movie at the Visitor’s Center.  And then we jumped off and hoofed it back along the Virgin River.  We tumbled over dead trees, gazed skyward and saw a condor, we believe.  Butterflies were flitting.  And it was hot.

Rayman on road with trees, mountains, warning sign.

Made a big mistake.  Wore levis and teeshirts with an outer shirt to protect us from the sun.  Oops.  I forgot my hat.  It was in the car and by the time it was time to don it, we were too invested in time to return to the car.  So, I did what many who had gone before me did.  I bought a new hat!!  It was reasonably priced and a neutral color.  It’s mine now.

It was very obvious we were not prepared for any serious hiking.  Firstly, we waited to late to get going this a.m.  I did not bring my walking stick with me (it was in the RV).  Our water containers were bulky and had to be handheld.

With all those challenges, we still managed to enjoy the experience.  The sandstone rock.  The river.  The greenery in the form of trees, shrubs, grasses.  And the prickly pear cactus.  That is a very successful plant, that cactus.  It grows everywhere.  Even in Zion.  And some of it was still in bloom.

Me on the bank of the Virgin River

Rock climbers were climbing up the shear side of two different “rocks”.  I can barely watch that so afraid am I that I will witness a fall.  Much scarier to watch than the trapeze because the trapeze has a net.  These guys/gals go up these giant mountains with nothing that I know of to back them up.  They do, however, have something to help them down…called gravity.  Gut wrenching.  So I sneaked a peek and then looked away.

Here’s some info about Zion that you might enjoy.  And if you haven’t ever visited, you should go.  Put it on your bucket list.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/cruises/ct-travel-zion-utah-parks-20100602-story.html

We have friends that live in St. George which is an hour’s drive away from the park.  And we went to dinner at their home last night.  Isn’t it fun catching up?  They have lived in Utah for 11 years now and this is only our second visit so there plenty to laugh about.  Talk about.  And they agreed to dog sit for us today.  So Beau had company all day which was fabulous because today, of all days, the park we are staying in slurry sealed the street that leads to our RV parking space.  Great timing, uh?  Beau probably would have tried to supervise the heavy equipment while were away so having our friends, Dick and Barb, keep Beau was a fine development.  And everyone seemed happy when we returned.

Tomorrow golf is on the agenda so unless the Rayman screws himself into the ground while swinging his club, I won’t have much to report.  Oh, wait.  Maybe he’ll get a hole in one.  If he does, I promise I will write again.