Back to Boondocking in Arizona- May 25, 2013

We took Highway 15 out of Vegas and then connected up with Hwy 93 which will take us back into Arizona.  We passed by Hoover Dam where I had to drive slowly due to the strong side winds.  We were disappointed that the road did not allow for even a glimpse of the dam. Traveling 93 was pretty uneventful with nothing much to see. 

About 3 o’clock just as we were reaching Kingman, Arizona Jim noticed a really large pull off area. Since we are always on the lookout for places to stay we decided to pull in and check it out. Luck was definitely with us. The pull off is the parking area for the Monolith Garden trail. It’s located on public land which allows for up to 14 days of free camping. I doubt that we will stay that long but maybe it will be home for a few days.

Lost in Las Vegas-Friday, May 24, 2013

After a thorough internet check and finding no boondocking in or around Vegas we broke down and went to an RV Park.  Sam’s World was located on Boulder Highway just on the east side of Vegas.  After getting settled in and having dinner we decided to cruise down to the strip and have a look. 

We both remembered we had seen the tall buildings from the freeway and they had still been in the distance when we got off the freeway so we headed out in the general direction we thought would get us there. It did eventually get us there after a bit of meandering.   When a city is sitting in the middle of the very flat desert it is a bit hard to get your bearings.  It looks the same no matter which direction you look.  Once we made it to the general vicinity we had to drive up and down several streets to find a parking lot.  I always thought people in Seattle drove fast, but they don’t hold a candle to Vegas drivers. Especially the motorcycle riders, they are just crazy.  We did find parking and I just hoped we would be able to find our way back to the car when we got ready to leave. 

We spent about five hours wondering around, most of the time looking every way but in front of us.  There are so many lights and people and noise that it felt overwhelming at times.  Jim of course was looking at entirely different scenery than I.  Since it was fairly late in the evening there were a ton of girls dressed in tight, short dresses. Oh and I should mention those tight, short dresses also had low tops.  I think my favorite site was the water display in front of the Bellagio, not sure about Jim’s.

 

When we left we had no problem finding the jeep.  The trouble we had was locating the RV Park where we left the MH.  Did I mention that there are no good land marks that you can see from road level in Vegas?  We ended up on the complete opposite side of Vegas before giving up and making one of those dreadful stops to ask directions at a gas station.  We were so far away from where we should have been that the gal in the gas station hadn’t even ever heard of Boulder Highway.  She was however able to direct us to the main highway that runs through Vegas.  We got on the highway at exit number twenty five and the exit we had gotten off to go to the RV Park was exit number seventy.  I guess we were just a bit off track.

Mesquite, Nevada- Thursday May 23, 2013

When we left Baker Reservoir we intended to drive back through St George, Utah and head west to Virgin Lake Recreation area.  Unfortunately we ran into road construction just out of St George and ended up missing the exit to the recreation area.

 

We finally stopped at the next town Mesquite, Nevada.  We spent the night in an open gravel lot next to the Virgin River Casino.  So we did end up at the Virgin River, just not the one we had intended.  We sat around looking at the map and decided in the morning we would continue west and check out Las Vegas since we were so close. 

Laundry Day in Enterprise Utah- Wednesday, May 22, 2013

We decided to make today laundry day since there is nothing to see or explore.  We drove into Enterprise which was about 30 miles north of the campground.  For a town that looks pretty good sized in the way of housing it seemed a bit short on amenities, they did thankfully have a nice clean Laundromat.  There was also a little store that had outrageous prices. $12.95 for a 2lb block of Tillamook cheese, $5.00 for a package of Oreo cookies, we did without both.

Goodbye Zion Park- Hello Baker Reservoir Tuesday May 21, 2013

We left Zion this morning after a bit of a rough start with continued battery problems.  Both the house batteries and the engine batteries were deader than doornails. This is something I had not anticipated, as it is one of the things we had thoroughly checked with Camping World. This time Jim spent time cleaning and tightening all the battery connections.  He did find a couple that couple dirty connectors and cleaned them up. So again we are crossing our fingers.

We arrived at Baker Reservoir to find that the campground is not close to the reservoir and the surrounding terrain is pretty barren. 

There is only one other person camped here, but there is a lot of drive through traffic.  One person we spoke with said with memorial day coming up people are out checking on spots and some of them even driving campers and trailers to the campground and leaving them in anticipation to the long weekend.  We on the other hand will be leaving before the weekend since there is really nothing here.  We did take a drive across the reservoir and out a dirt road for several miles.  We came across the sign below and had a laugh. 

 

Oh Boy, am I out of shape-Monday May 20, 2013

We seem to be having a little trouble with the house batteries going dead too soon.  The first morning we woke up to find the batteries too low we checked and double checked everything and found we had left the light on the entrance steps turned on.  We foolishly thought we had solved the problem until this morning when we got up to find the same thing, a very, very low battery.  I guess its back to the drawing board.  Well after yet another thorough check of every plug in and light switch we did find Jim’s bedside light may have a little problem.  The switch is in the on position but the light is not on.  I kind of doubt that is the culprit, but we shall see.

 

We are just back from a very memorable day.  They don’t allow private vehicles on the road that leads to the end of the canyon, you have to go by shuttle bus.  The shuttle makes six stops along the way and you can get off at each stop for as long as you want and just hop on the next passing shuttle when you are ready to go.  We got off at the third stop and did a bit of hiking. 

 

We hiked up to the Emerald pool which is just under a mile, most of it up hill.  There are several areas that have steps carved into the rock, so the walk is a pretty good work out for someone as out of shape as I am. 

 

 I am sure my legs will be reminding just how out of shape I am in the morning.  Along the way you walk under a rock overhang that has water spraying from it.

 

The cold spray felt good and I didn’t want to leave it behind and go on.  From the Emerald pool we continued on up to the second pool about another half mile.  Again, mostly up hill. We discussed going another mile up to the upper pool, but keeping in mind that I wanted to do some additional hiking trails further up the canyon I opted out.  Rather than go back on the trail we had come on we decided to hike on a trail leading to the next shuttle stop further up the canyon.  This trail was much easier, as it was mostly downhill.  On the way down we saw a ton of cactus in bloom.

 

 

 

We got back on the shuttle at the fourth stop and continued on up the canyon to the last stop.  This time we hiked up a fairly easy trail that followed along the Virgin River.  We went about a mile up this trail until we came to an area that would have meant wading the river not once but several times back and forth.  I tested the water and found it to be a bit cold for my liking so we headed back to catch the shuttle.

 

 

On the trip back down in the shuttle we got to stop and check out some rock climbers. Lock closely just over half way up and you can see them.

 

It seemed no matter what window you looked out from the shuttle bus you could get a view of the cliffs, including the vent window on the shuttle roof.

 

 

 

What a Great Day!!

Beautiful Drive through Zion-Sunday May 19, 2013

Well, we made it back to Zion by 8:30 am and found us a spot in the South Campground.  The narrow road that winds through the campground is one lane, but paved.  There are several pull thru spots so it will be easy in and out.  The first thing Jim saw when we pulled into our spot was a deer in the brush right in front of us.

 

Wow! We just got back after taking a drive across the park.  The scenery is awesome.  The road across the park is a narrow but well maintained two lane road.  We saw quit a few motor homes driving the road, but I am glad we took the jeep.  I’m not sure I would have done very well as the road had a ton of switchbacks and a rather long, dark tunnel to drive through. 

 

 

 

 

 We saw a long horned mountain sheep standing on the edge of the road. He did a good job of tying up traffic, with everyone stopping to take pictures.  We got a great close up of him unfortunately just as Jim snapped the picture he turned his head away.

 

Another I am glad we took the jeep is there are many little pull offs along the road that would not fit a MH.  We stopped at one pull off and hiked down into a narrow gorge.  It was great, about eight or so feet wide, with a rock strewn bottom and sandstone walls towering a couple hundred feet straight up over our heads. 

 

 

Zion Park (Or so we thought)-Saturday May 18, 2013

 

We drove into Zion National Park and found both campgrounds full for the night.  After talking to the man at the entrance to the park we decided to go back down the road toward Virgin as we had seen several pullover spots between Virgin and Springdale. Virgin is located on Highway 9 at the end that connects to I 15 and Springdale is the last town before entering the park.  We selected a pullover with a great view and were soon joined by a couple of young men in a camper van from British Columbia. Seems they had the same problem we had. They too arrived at the park to late in the day to find a camping spot. There are two campgrounds near the southwest entrance and between the two there are over 300 camping spots.  I certainly didn’t expect to find them full just after noon.

Traveling through central Utah-Friday May 17, 2013

 

We visited Cove Fort, in Central Utah.  In 1867 Brigham Young requested that Ira Hinckley build a fort on Cove Creek. The fort was to serve as a way station for pioneers traveling along the Mormon Corridor, which stretched from Idaho to Nevada. The fort has been restored to near original condition and the church member that took us on our tour was full of stories of the life of Ira Hinckley and his family.

We stayed just north of Parowan, Utah.

 

On to Utah-Thursday May 16, 2013

 

 

The scenery on this stretch of the road is pretty barren.  The road was good and the traffic was pretty light until we hit Ogden.  Going through Salt Lake City is like traveling through any busy city, too much traffic for my liking.  Just past Salt Lake City the wind picked up and we had some off and on rain. 

We camped just out of Brigham City. 

Bird watching in Idaho-Wednesday May 15, 2013

 

 

Woke up at 7:00 am, the trucks are pretty noisy when they all head out in the morning.  Today we will head to Kuna, Idaho, where we plan to spend at least a couple of days in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey Sanctuary.  We drove the twenty three miles to Kuna and then off on to a secondary road that runs around the Sanctuary.  We passed several pull offs that look like they would be okay to use for parking for the night.  We want to be inside the sanctuary at both dusk and dawn as that is supposed to be the best time.  Well this stop was a little disappointing.  We did not see anything special, a lot of swallows, pigeons, ravens, and only a couple of falcons, and kestrels.  The view of the Snake River was pretty.  We did unhook the jeep and drove down to Swan Falls Damn, it looked like a miniature compared to Bonneville Damn.

Moving on-Tuesday, May 14, 2013

 

We have to check out of the park by 1:00 pm and plan to go only as far as Ontario.  We will need to buy diesel there, we have gone through our first tank.  Diesel prices aren’t too bad, $3.95 with cash.  Not sure where we will park for the night but I’m sure we will find a spot. 

We found diesel and parking for the night all in one shot, the Pilot station employee says it is fine to just grab one of the truck spots out behind their station.  We got lucky and grabbed an end spot and the truck next to us doesn’t have a refrigerator unit so it shouldn’t be too bad for sleeping.  We just need to close our eyes tight at bed time as the back lot is very well lit.  Oh well free is free.

Hot Tempatures-Monday, May 13, 2013

 

We went for a drive today before it got to hot.  We saw antelope and deer and guess what?  We forgot the camera!  The temperature got up to 98 degrees, a bit warmer then we are used to. We did housekeeping chores inside during the hottest part of the day.  After dinner we took a walk down to the overlook at the river.  Saw several people fishing but no one catching anything.  There were several pairs of geese with their babies, most of them still young enough to be little balls of fuzz

In search of internet access-Sunday May 12th

We drove into Ontario today so we could get wifi and cell phone access.  My hot spot said it had service but I couldn’t get on-line with either the lap top or the nook.  We ended up going inside at the rest area information building and they had free wifi.  Called mom and had to leave her a message. Tried dad on Skype but he wasn’t on-line.  Talked to Jamie on the phone and Sheila by text.  We also ran by the Sprint store so I could make sure I understand the use of our phones when we are roaming and also wanted to check about the hotspot and roaming.  They told me I can use the hotspot anytime I can make a connection and the cell phones are okay to use on roam without worrying about any extra charges. 

Sat out this afternoon off and on, too hot to stay out long, and watched the bunny, squirrels, and little critters.  The little ones are so cute; we watched one of them making trips to and from its hole in the ground carrying huge mouthfuls of grass to line its nest.  All the little animals are out running around today.  The people next to us left this morning so there are no more kids running around scaring the critters.

 

 

Checking out Hells Canyon-Saturday, May 11, 2013

 

We are up early today as we want to go check out Hell’s Canyon before the hottest part of the day.  We drove back over to Huntington and took off up Snake River Road.  The road turns to gravel just after the campground we had driven to yesterday.  Since it is the weekend there are a ton of people out on the river in their boats.  I guess this is an excellent place for cat fishing. In fact there are signs all over announcing a cat fish derby for Memorial weekend. I can only imagine how crowded this place is then.  Jim is doing the driving today, as he always does when we are in the jeep.  He makes me a little nervous now and then when I see him gawking out his side window rather than out the windshield.  I do have to admit he has never once strayed off course while gawking. The view of the river is amazing.  For about 20 miles the road winds along maybe fifty feet above the river before it climbs up to the top of the hills that make up the sides of the canyon. With a name like Hell’s Canyon I had expected the edges of the canyon to be more cliff like than the rolling hills we are seeing. Out the road about fifteen or so miles we came across a very tiny cemetery, I had to make Jim stop for picture taking and will post the pictures on Find a Grave when I have wifi again. For those of you not into Genealogy, “Find a Grave” is a web site for posting pictures of headstones to help people locate graves of ancestors.

We got back to the MH about 3:00 pm.  There have been some high clouds today and it didn’t get quit as hot as it was supposed to, only 91 degrees today.  We sat outside for awhile after a lunch of cottage cheese and mandarin oranges.  Thought we would be able to watch all the little critters but they aren’t out running around today. Maybe the little children that are camped next door are keeping them away.  Yesterday we saw a bunny, squirrels, and some type of little ground squirrel.  They are little tiny varmints that look a bit like a hamster, except they are a little longer. I will have to look them up on-line when I have wifi. 

For dinner we shared a baked potato and a steak, cooked on our new little BBQ grill…Yummy!  It’s cooling off much earlier tonight so I think I will drag Jim out for a walk around the park.

 

Snake River-Friday, May 10^th

 

We arrived in Huntington, Oregon about 11:00am. We pulled over at the far end of town and unhooked the jeep so we could go check out two possible camping spots.  The first was on the Snake River Road. The road is very narrow, twisty, and the sides are breaking away on some of the corners.  Although the road would be doable I vote for checking out the State Park which is between Huntington and Farewell Bend.  The road to the state park is much better and the park has lots of shade trees as well as water and electric hookups. State park it is. 

Just like Irrigon, this area is having weather that is about 20 degrees above the norm.  I guess we will have to acclimatize faster than I had expected.  By the time we got camp set up it was reading 100 degrees on the outside thermometer. We have no wifi or cell service here, but surprisingly there is TV reception so we will be able to check out the weather forecast.

Zoe cat is not terribly happy with us.  She waited until almost dark before coming out from under the couch.  She is still jumping a mile and running for the couch at every odd sound. Poor kitty!

 

After the weather cooled a bit we jumped in the jeep and took a run over to Farewell Bend.  The town is essentially a ghost town.  I think the only think in operation is a truck repair place and I only saw two houses.  At one time there was a good sized truck stop, a large motel and a small grocery store.  They are not only closed, but boarded up.

 

Possible Thunder storm-Thursday, May 9^th

We just hung out at the Marina Park for the first half of the day.  I took advantage of the electrical hook up and did two loads of laundry.  I originally thought a washer/dryer seemed a bit extravagant for a MH but boy do I love having it.

I love parks that have late check outs.  We didn’t hit the road until almost 2:00 pm.

As we caught site of the hills behind Pendleton we both immediately knew we wouldn’t be traveling far today.  There are huge thunder clouds building overhead and as much as we both love thunder storms it was pretty much a given that we would be hanging around hoping they develop into something worth watching this evening.  We pulled into the Wildhorse Casino, fixed us some lunch, then unhooked the jeep and took a cruise through Pendleton.  I spent the late afternoon catching up on my writing and now it’s time to fix dinner. 

Our First Days

Hitting the Road-Saturday -May  04, 2013

Up at 6:45 to gather the last of our belongings and cart them out to the MH. We have a nine am appointment at the Fife Camping World to have our new tires mounted.  8:15 am everything is loaded including a very unhappy Zoe Cat.  She has really gotten used to Grandpa’s house and is not going to be happy for at least a few days. Having said our goodbyes I climb into the driver’s seat, settle myself in, hook my seatbelt, and turn the key and….nothing.  Oh no, this is definitely not what we have planned for our first morning.  Our batteries are dead.  Ninety minutes later we are finally able to hit the road.  We arrive at Camping World by eleven and spend the day hanging out while the folks at Camping World drive the MH over to Les Schwab to get our tires mounted.  Seems like we are not the only folks having a bad start to their day, the tire machine at Camping World is broken. In anticipation of our arrival the tire person has called over and made arrangements to have Les Schwab do the tire mounting for them. Thank goodness both businesses have such outstanding customer service. 

By five o’clock the new tires are mounted, the oil is changed and we are at last ready to truly hit the road.  As Jim and I turn to walk away from the counter the man that has been working on our rig out in the bay steps into the inside counter and tells us to check things out inside the MH, as it was a little bumpy pulling in and out of the bay.  Hmm, I can think of a lot of things that can tip over but I was totally not expecting the 20 lb container of kitty litter to be lying on its side.  Of course the lid is off and the container is lined up perfectly with the heat vent.  Does anyone have any idea how many spoonfuls (a spoon was the only thing I could think to use that would fit into the vent) of kitty litter there are in a 20 lb container. 

Spent the night alongside the road in Cascade Locks.

Visiting Jamie-Sunday May 05,2013

We moved the MH to the marine park.  Neither of us had thought the MH would fit thru the entrance into the park, but we saw several Class A’s coming out of the park so we ran down there in the jeep and sure enough the entryway that goes under the railway tracks is 12 ft tall.  You would have thought we would have known that after living in the town for 20 plus years.

Went out to Jamie’s house and got a couple of things Jim was wanting out of the storage shed.  When Jamie got off work she came to the port and we had hotdogs for dinner.

Getting things in order-Monday May 06,2013

Jim, Jamie and I went into Hood River today.  First stop was Starbucks and then on to the DMV so they could relieve us of just over $200.00.  We had to license the Chevy truck and transfer the MH title into our name.  The DMV clerk told us this year was cheap for the MH, next year we will need to get new tags and that will run us over $300.

Made a quick stop at Safeway where we picked up some burger and potato salad for dinner in the park again.  Jamie is bringing Cody and Donna with her.

Well dinner guests turned out to be more than just the three we had planned for, Jamie also brought Brandon and another couple we hadn’t met before and whose names I promptly forgot.  Teenagers!!  Opps, I guess they are a little beyond the teenage years, but still of the opinion that there is an endless supply of groceries to be provided by parents.

 

Off to visit Sheila-Tuesday May 07, 2013

Broke camp this morning, made a quick stop to say goodbye to Jamie and then headed up the road to The Dalles for a visit with Sheila and family.  When we arrived in The Dalles Jim discovered he was missing the keys to the jeep, thinks he may have laid them down when we were hooking the jeep to the MH.  So we hopped into the jeep and headed back to Cascade Locks.  I had been wondering what we would do to occupy our time until the kids got home from school, now I know.  We are going to take a drive to Cascade Locks.  Not that we haven’t done that a million times before.  Well at least I got a Starbucks out of the deal.  We arrived back at The Dalles about the time I figured Austin would be home from school so we made a quick stop at Fred Meyer’s for groceries and to have a key made (did I mention we didn’t find the key?) and then headed on over to Sheila’s.  We had a great visit with all and got to meet Chelsea’s boyfriend.  It certainly doesn’t seem like I am old enough to have a granddaughter old enough to have boyfriends.

Jeff and Sheila followed us to Kmart so Jeff could check out the MH and it turns out their following us was a real blessing.  Jim and Jeff where busy gabbing while we hooked the jeep up to the MH and continued talking until I pointed out it was starting to get dark and we needed to head on down the road. (I am not overly fond of nighttime driving) We pulled out of Kmart drove the block to the freeway on ramp and proceeded to merge onto the freeway when I happened to notice that Jeff was following us up the on ramp and said to Jim that I thought maybe Jeff was blinking his headlights, before I got the words out my phone was ringing, Jim picked up the call and immediately started hollering for me to pull over.  Seems like someone was so busy talking they forgot to release the parking brake in the jeep.  Thank you Jeff and Sheila!!

We made it to Boardman just at bed time and the night driving wasn’t bad with little traffic and the divided road.

Dinner with Kurt and family-Wednesday, May 08, 2013

We arrived in Irrigon about 10:00 am, where we will be hanging out and having dinner with Kurt and family.  We had intended to find a free spot for the night but made the mistake of running down to the Marine Park where we stayed last year and of course ended up getting a spot there for the night.  It is just too pretty and peaceful to pass up.  Jim had both the electric and water bay doors open while setting up this morning, stood up from working in one area, turned, and ran smack into the other open door.  I heard the collision from several feet away rather than saw it. The corner of the door put about a half inch gash in his forehead, knocked his glasses off his face and caused him to see stars for a bit.  After we got the MH situated and Jim was feeling a little less dizzy we headed over the Jaimee’s mom’s house to meet up with Kurt.  He showed us all his current auto projects and then invited us to run down the street, so he could show us “something”.  “Something” turned out to be a modular home sitting on just over a half acre they are in the process of buying.  We were only able to see the kitchen by peeking in the window, but the outside is just perfect for them.  There is plenty of space for all their toys and a double car garage for Kurt’s auto projects, as well as a couple for storage buildings and my favorite thing, the RV spot with hook ups.  No view of the river, but time with my son and family will always win out over a view.