Salt Lake City

We spent several days in the Salt Lake City area, actually staying at a state park situated on Utah Lake in Provo, UT. It was a refreshing time, with many wild birds in the wetland area. The weather was very agreeable as well.

We a city tour in SLC, with a tour guide that was exceptionally knowledgeable of the city, its history and Mormonism. He did the whole thing 'off the cuff'...you know how some tours have a canned spiel? Not John Knight! We were convinced he was ADD, as his story bounced around when he would think of something else, but it was well worth it.

We were able to see and hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir record a TV and radio show. Wow, that was great! Beautiful music with a full orchestra, and check out those organ pipes! We learned that there are term limits for the volunteer singers---20 years or reaching the age of 60, whichever comes first. Perhaps that is what is needed in congress? (but fewer years)

Sorry for the crooked shot, I will fix that in iPhoto. This is the Mormon Temple on Temple Square, downtown SLC. The city is remarkably clean, and we were there at the right time of year as the tulips and flower plantings were all blooming as well as the countless flowering trees through out the city.

Ellen is in front of the state capitol building on a hillside overlooking the city. This is a beautiful structure with many statues and murals and inside are 23 foot tall 'one piece' granite columns.

Our tour also took us to the Great Salt Lake. Here we are with Antelope Island in the background. Antelope Island is currently a peninsula, as the lake level is way way down. There is much more to do and see in this area including a huge open pit copper mine and several opulent mansions. We hope to be back soon!

A day off

We had a real lazy Sunday yesterday. The only work we did was switch sites here at St. George Western Horizons RV Resort.

We were parked under a tree that had many tent caterpillar webs. Several of them were opening with fuzzy caterpillars from 1-3 inches crawling all over the place. Our first day here I sprayed all around the Excel, but by yesterday morning they were crawling on the tires and front jacks. Yuk!

So we found an empty spot with no trees, no caterpillars. Before moving the rig and stuff I sprayed the little buggers off with the hose. Hopefully we don't have any stowaways.

We read the small southeastern Utah Sunday paper, had a fantastic pork tenderloin for dinner, and watched one of our favorite shows "Breaking Bad". This show is fantastic, with Bryan Cranston playing a high school chemistry teacher (2 emmys for this role) turned meth manufacturer to help his family survive economically. (His son has MS, his wife was pregnant, and he had terminal lung cancer.) A bad decision, and it keeps getting worse for him.

I also caught the Chinese Grand Prix, dominated by McLaren Mercedes, with Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton finishing 1-2 in the rain. I keep rooting for Robert Kubica, the only driver from Poland, land of my ancestors. He's like in 6th in the points standings.

I hope to get some drawing done tomorrow, as the weather is supposed to turn crummy this week.

ZION NATIONAL PARK---WHAT BEAUTY!

We have left Nevada, arriving at Saint George UT Thursday. We are staying at the Western Horizons Resort, with a great view of the Red Cliffs National Recreation Area.

We ventured to Zion NP today, and had a fantastic eye-popping experience. What natural beauty! We were fortunate in that they had a wet spring, and the waterfalls were plentiful, which I understand is not 'normal'.

The rock formations are awe-inspiring, with the Virgin River slicing through the sandstone mountains and causing spectacular cliffs. With some erosive undercutting, there is evidence of rock slides. One guide said there is a rock slide everyday in the park.

Ellen is under the Weeping Rocks ledge overhang. The water seeps through the rock horizontally when stone does not allow vertical seepage. All along the wall are plants and some blooming flowers. Ellen was getting dripped on during this photo.

This was the tallest waterfall we saw today, splashing into the Virgin River.

This is called the Three Patriarchs. The tallest whitish peaks are named Abraham, Isaiah and Jacob. The reddish peak is a mountain whose name I forgot.

You all MUST see this Park! Travel in the park is all on propane powered shuttles, with 8 or 9 stops along the scenic route which follows the river canyon bottom. We found this to be a very satisfactory and effective method of getting lots of people through the park with minimal noise and congestion. You can get off and on whenever you want, and it is free! With our Golden Age Pass, allowing us in the park for free, we spent only $8 on lunch at the Zion Lodge dining area. We will be back!

Death Valley Wildflowers and Badwater Basin

Yesterday we made a day trip to Death Valley National Park. We had been there two years ago, but it was around the end of December. It was quite different this time around, as we went to see the wildflowers blooming, and we sure did see quite a few.

A carpet of yellow at Death Valley

We also drove to the lowest point in the United States, Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. It might be the lowest elevation in the world, I would have to check on that. Behind us is the basin, chock full of salt. The walkway behind us to the left is totally white from people tramping on the salty ground...To the sides of the walkway the surface is crusty with dirt 'frosted' with salt crystals. It is white again way out there, where you can see what appears to be a sliver of white. That white sliver is quite a large expanse actually.

I don't know the names of most of the flowers, but here are some photos of some of them.

This one is the Desert Five Star.

We played Texas Hold'em at the clubhouse last night and had a good time, plus we won about $7 between us. That is pretty good, as the game here has limited betting and the chips are a nickel apiece, with everyone starting with $5. Max bet anytime is 12 chips. A lot of fun with minimal risk.

Spring Mountain Ranch, Red Rock Canyon

Today we drove over the Spring Mountains towards Las Vegas. Our goal was to see Red Rock Canyon National park (or preserve), but we first found Spring Mountain State Park, which is the beautiful setting for Spring Mountain Ranch. This ranch was built on the site of settlers' trails to California, including a part of the Mormon Trail. The ranch house is full of historical items and photos. The owners over the years included Vera Krupp, a German actress and owner of that huge diamond Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor. Howard Hughes also owned the ranch for a few years, but never lived there. The grounds are beautifully kept and this is a stop well worth the making.

This area is known for its wild burros and horses. We did see 3 burros, but alas no horses.

Red Rock Canyon is simply magnificent! Fantastic vistas and an amazing variety of landforms and rocks surround this spacious canyon. The National Park Service has constructed a very nice 13 mile scenic drive, one way, all around the sides of the canyon, so you can see these this natural beauty without really worrying about traffic.
This is a view of what are called the calico rocks. These are the remnants of the desert of 180 million years ago, and are punctuated with striations of wind and water erosion over the centuries.
And then, ahh, the beautiful red rocks! These are some of the most fabulous views we have seen in all our travels. We did not even know about this until last night following Texas Hold'em at the clubhouse, when the activity director Nancy asked if we had been there yet. Thank you Nancy!

Tomorrow we hope to get to Death Valley, as the wildflowers are supposed to blooming big time.

Into Nevada

We drove north from Bullhead City on Wednesday, and were greeted by strong winds gusting to 50 mph as we approached Las Vegas. Clearly it was not a good idea to keep going so we boon docked at a Walmart on the south side of Vegas.

We drove over the mountains west of Vegas this morning under sunny skies and light winds. Arriving in Pahrump, we had breakfast at the Saddle West Casino and played slots a bit before checking in at the Charleston Peak RV Resort. This RV Park is really well kept, with great views of the Spring Mountains and most notably snow covered Charleston Peak.

It is always great to set up "our house" knowing we will be staying put for two weeks. It is a real homey feeling. We have a lot of projects on tap, notably washing the RV and truck, my doing some wood carving, and a trip to Death Valley to see the blooming wild flowers.

Last days in Arizona

We have been without reliable internet since arriving in Bullhead City AZ several days ago, so I have not been able to post anything!

We left the Phoenix area Saturday morning after getting to rendezvous with Tim’s niece Rachel, her husband josh and his best friend Jared. We had a very nice time visiting and catching up. Josh and Rachel have been in Phoenix like for 4 or 5 years, most recently working for Quicken Home Mortgages.

We had work done at Dillon’s RV in Apache Junction, most notably getting our washer area right. Nick the tech moved the plumbing to the rear of the washer away from the left side to allow room for the washer to sit in there without bothering the stand pipe and the trap (which had started to leak because of the pressure from the washer). He also put floor braces by it so the washer would not move.

After boondocking for 4 nights, it was good to get to a full hookup, and Ellen has been happily doing wash since. One trip to the laundromat in Desert Hot Springs took over $16.00 out of our wallet.

Monday we made a road trip south to Lake Havasu City. Much too resort-like---lots of traffic, boats, Sea-Doos, people walking all over the place. Do not go there to see the London Bridge. It is not a big deal. Nice lampposts though. Ate a mediocre Pizza Hut noon buffet.

The best time was doing part of the original Route 66 near the Black Mountains, and then finding Oatman, a semi ghost town on the mountain side. Lots of gift and t shirt shops, all in old looking wild west buildings. Burros roaming the street, and this is Oatman’s claim to fame. All the places sold carrots to feed the burros.

After an ice cream, we drove the 10 miles back to Bullhead City on Silver Creek Road, a primitive and unmaintained gravel road that snaked through a bunch of hills and small mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful! A little dusty too. Our 450 was right up against cliffs and washes. There were lots of abandoned mines on all sides of the road. We did have 2 vehicles come past us from the other way, but nothing came from behind, even though at times we had to go 3-5 mph.