Mountains on the road side !!!
Mesa Verde mountain road
Mesa Verde Cliff dwellings
Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
Cliffs at Mesa Verde
Monday, September 27, 2010
September 23
Mountains on the road side !!!Mesa Verde mountain roadMesa Verde Cliff dwellingsMesa Verde Cliff DwellingsCliffs at Mesa Verde
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
9-22-10 Comments from Joyce
Joyce & Randy kissing on the beach (picture taken by grand daughters)
Randy Ezzelle my NC tarheel nut!Today is my anniversary! I miss my husband Randy greatly for as most of you know he went to meet his maker in February this year. But 17 years ago today I married Randy & he brought more happiness in my life than I had ever imaged being possible to have from a man! Sorry guys ! I know there are some good ones out there but never thought I would be lucky enough to have found one for myself! Randy & I shared more in the short 17 years together than most do in 50 years. We never had children together but my children & his became ours very easy ! And all the grandchildren 7 now belonged to both of us equally whether blood or not!!! We didn't know the differnce! This trip was one Randy & I had planned together & never got to share! But he is in my heart every minute of ever day & will be for the rest of my life. This trip has been a blast with my sister that I will cherish forever but also has been bitter sweet without Randy to share it with as we did so many trips on our RV. I thank God for the short time Randy & I had together & for my life with all the blessing he has given me over the years!! Even though today has been hard I have a wonderful family that cares about me & is always there for me! I miss Randy's laughter, smile, jokes, silly little sayings, hugs & I could go on & on! I just want anyone out there that never met him know that they really missed something!!!!!!!! He never met a stranger!!!!! Love ya Randy!!!!
your wife forever Joyce
9-21-10 Gallup NM to Mesa Verde, CO- Heading North
These pictures are taken out of the window of the RV! Can you see why I wanted to turn around go back down before we went any futher up & rent a car to come back!!!!
With the hairpen curves & cliffs with no road side to work with is too scary for me!!! Joyce
I could not handle the cliffs, heights, curves & the big RV on this road going to go rent a car!!! Joyce
Can you see over the cliff right next to the roadno road side!!!!!! Now you know why I'm going to get a car to see this site!!!
Great Metal Art Work!
Entrance to Cliff dwellings
UTE Mountains
Not sure but the town ahead is called Shiprock ??
Could it be because several Mountains here look like large ships out in the middle of the desert
Oh thought we had done it again Statue of Liberty in NM
My goodness what size do you think the Indian is that fired off these arrows!
9-21-10 Sheila's Comments:
We drove up hwy 491 from Gallup, NM to Cortez, CO and Mesa Verde today about 173 miles on one of the straightest but bumpiest roads yet. Since I had not gotten much sleep last night because we were next to the railroad tracks at the campsite in Gallup and because I was up at 3:30am emailing my boss about billing and cash flow I was a bit sleepy and punchy. Joyce was still feeling a little weak and sick because of her blood sugar levels and the high altitudes still so she was a little punchy also. This road 491 was really straight and we could see it for miles ahead with desert all around and some really poor looking houses (Indian we think) and poor ghetto looking villages/towns. They were doing construction on the road so it was 2 way traffic in spots and really bumpy especially on an RV so we both started getting a bit car sick! Even though the road was straight I don't think they know how to pave it flat they still had a lot of little dips and valleys in the road so it felt like a roller coaster ride to some extent. We felt as if we were riding a bucking bronco but we laughed and made jokes about the road and tried to chew chewing gum and eat salty snacks to keep from throwing up! We started reading signs the wrong way like mowing ahead we thought said mooing ahead or moving ahead and putting America to work we thought was putting (like golf) America to work, I think we were having the desert hallucinations or something.
As we were driving we went through a town called Shiprock which we think was named for the rocks we saw on the highway that could appear to be a big battleship. The rocks looked like big castles on top of the sand dunes and stuck up all over the place right out of the clear desert sand.
Once we got into Colorado we were in the Ute mountains and there were even more of these big rocky top sand dunes that were absolutely wonderful.
We drove through the little town of Cortez, CO and on to the Mesa Verde national park and we had to drive up the mountain to see the Indian Pueblo villages in the mountain cliffs. Well, by this time Joyce and I are getting tired of mountains and we were enjoying the flat desert area but guess what we have yet another steep mountain to climb in order to see this next wonder of the world. As we start driving up the mountain the roads have been freshly paved but they are very very narrow and you are not allowed to stop on the edge of course we couldn't anyway because there is now room unless we want to drive off the cliff. We have not driven each other crazy yet so we are not ready to go over the cliff like Thelma and Louise so we have to figure out how to get up this mountain without Joyce having a heart attack. She is really scared and clenching the steering wheel so tight her hands hurt. I of course am the brave one ! Ha ha! The drive to see the Pueblos is about 25 miles up to the top which is then supposed to be a flat table top (Mesa Verde means Green table). We only get up about 5 miles to the campground area and all ready Joyce is ready to stop so we stop there and walk the dogs and eat picnic lunch. We go inside the campground store and purchase our normal magnets and talk with the ladies about the rest of the drive. We did see a sign that said no towed vehicle were to go any further on this road to the top so we got even more scared and decided we would go back down and rent a car to see it tomorrow.
While in the store we met a guy, Jerry from Kerry, Ireland that had been up the trail and run out of gas and had to walk down 5 miles to this store. Well, the night before they had an electric storm that knocked out the gas pumps and so they did not have any gas for him. We offered him our 2 gallons gas can with about 1.5 gallons of gas but we told him we could not drive him up to his car because we were too scared. The ladies at the store called the park ranger to come and get him and he gave us his last $10.00 for the gas and gas can but we tried not to take it and he even said he would bring the gas can back to the store for us to pick up later. We then headed back down this perilous mountain side and I truly think Joyce is going to pass out or hyperventilate or something so I am coaxing her down the mountain as she drives only 5-10 miles per hour. She is actually getting more frightened than before when we climbed Bear Tooth mountains which was the highest we have been on.
Anyway we made it down the mountain without seeing the Pueblos and called the rental car place. We think she will be able to go up on a car instead of the RV because she says the RV is so heavy and she is afraid she will not be able to stop it from going down too fast or going over the cliff.
We settled into the RV, cooked dinner and watch a couple of movies after I took a 2 hour nap to catch up on the sleep I missed. We watched "Her Minor Thing" and "Maid to Order" these 2 were funny love stories so we laughed and cried. What a wonderful day!
Oh thought we had done it again Statue of Liberty in NM
My goodness what size do you think the Indian is that fired off these arrows!9-21-10 Sheila's Comments:
We drove up hwy 491 from Gallup, NM to Cortez, CO and Mesa Verde today about 173 miles on one of the straightest but bumpiest roads yet. Since I had not gotten much sleep last night because we were next to the railroad tracks at the campsite in Gallup and because I was up at 3:30am emailing my boss about billing and cash flow I was a bit sleepy and punchy. Joyce was still feeling a little weak and sick because of her blood sugar levels and the high altitudes still so she was a little punchy also. This road 491 was really straight and we could see it for miles ahead with desert all around and some really poor looking houses (Indian we think) and poor ghetto looking villages/towns. They were doing construction on the road so it was 2 way traffic in spots and really bumpy especially on an RV so we both started getting a bit car sick! Even though the road was straight I don't think they know how to pave it flat they still had a lot of little dips and valleys in the road so it felt like a roller coaster ride to some extent. We felt as if we were riding a bucking bronco but we laughed and made jokes about the road and tried to chew chewing gum and eat salty snacks to keep from throwing up! We started reading signs the wrong way like mowing ahead we thought said mooing ahead or moving ahead and putting America to work we thought was putting (like golf) America to work, I think we were having the desert hallucinations or something.
As we were driving we went through a town called Shiprock which we think was named for the rocks we saw on the highway that could appear to be a big battleship. The rocks looked like big castles on top of the sand dunes and stuck up all over the place right out of the clear desert sand.
Once we got into Colorado we were in the Ute mountains and there were even more of these big rocky top sand dunes that were absolutely wonderful.
We drove through the little town of Cortez, CO and on to the Mesa Verde national park and we had to drive up the mountain to see the Indian Pueblo villages in the mountain cliffs. Well, by this time Joyce and I are getting tired of mountains and we were enjoying the flat desert area but guess what we have yet another steep mountain to climb in order to see this next wonder of the world. As we start driving up the mountain the roads have been freshly paved but they are very very narrow and you are not allowed to stop on the edge of course we couldn't anyway because there is now room unless we want to drive off the cliff. We have not driven each other crazy yet so we are not ready to go over the cliff like Thelma and Louise so we have to figure out how to get up this mountain without Joyce having a heart attack. She is really scared and clenching the steering wheel so tight her hands hurt. I of course am the brave one ! Ha ha! The drive to see the Pueblos is about 25 miles up to the top which is then supposed to be a flat table top (Mesa Verde means Green table). We only get up about 5 miles to the campground area and all ready Joyce is ready to stop so we stop there and walk the dogs and eat picnic lunch. We go inside the campground store and purchase our normal magnets and talk with the ladies about the rest of the drive. We did see a sign that said no towed vehicle were to go any further on this road to the top so we got even more scared and decided we would go back down and rent a car to see it tomorrow.
While in the store we met a guy, Jerry from Kerry, Ireland that had been up the trail and run out of gas and had to walk down 5 miles to this store. Well, the night before they had an electric storm that knocked out the gas pumps and so they did not have any gas for him. We offered him our 2 gallons gas can with about 1.5 gallons of gas but we told him we could not drive him up to his car because we were too scared. The ladies at the store called the park ranger to come and get him and he gave us his last $10.00 for the gas and gas can but we tried not to take it and he even said he would bring the gas can back to the store for us to pick up later. We then headed back down this perilous mountain side and I truly think Joyce is going to pass out or hyperventilate or something so I am coaxing her down the mountain as she drives only 5-10 miles per hour. She is actually getting more frightened than before when we climbed Bear Tooth mountains which was the highest we have been on.
Anyway we made it down the mountain without seeing the Pueblos and called the rental car place. We think she will be able to go up on a car instead of the RV because she says the RV is so heavy and she is afraid she will not be able to stop it from going down too fast or going over the cliff.
We settled into the RV, cooked dinner and watch a couple of movies after I took a 2 hour nap to catch up on the sleep I missed. We watched "Her Minor Thing" and "Maid to Order" these 2 were funny love stories so we laughed and cried. What a wonderful day!
9-20-10 Driving I-40 East Meteors & Petrified Forest Oh My!
These were really unusual looking mountains
Rainbow
Painted Desert
Painted Desert
Painted Desert (just unbelievable)
petrified tree stumps laying everywhere
petrified forest entrance
meteor crater AZ
meteor
Crater (7 story building deep & 20 foot ball fields wide9-20-10 Sheila's comments:
We have started driving on I-40 east now so it seems we are actually winding down and starting the trek east homeward. We left Williams, AZ this morning and drove to Gallup, NM about 249 miles east.
We are definitely in the desert area with nothing much to see except sand and a few mountains here and there. We crossed over into New Mexico and decided to stop at a Meteor Crater that was labeled as a Natural Landmark which I thought was a National Landmark and our pass would get us in but it was privately owned and we had to pay $15 each to go in and see this huge crater caused by a meteor crashing into the earth. It was really amazing and we saw a short film that told us the crater was as wide as 20 football fields and as deep as a 7 story building.
We could see the clouds rolling around us and raining coming and we had started our detour off of I-40 to the Petrified Forest about 20 miles off the road and then another 28 mile loop through the forest. Now you usually think of a forest as having lots of trees but this is a petrified forest so we only saw tree trunks that had fallen over and become petrified like rocks spotted all over the desert. We were also driving through the rain and could see sunshine in spots and even saw a beautiful rainbow. Toward the end of this drive we were in the Painted Desert where the sand dunes were all different colors and they were striped with red, grey, white and brown. It was a nice drive even with the rain stopping and starting.
We stayed at a KOA again next to the La Quinta hotel and a Denny's restaurant. We ate at Denny's which was ok food but we got 10% off so that's why we went there. Then we went to the hot tub and swimming for a while and back to the RV. Joyce was feeling a little sick and weak her blood sugar went up too high after eating some shrimp at Denny's and I did some work.
We have started driving on I-40 east now so it seems we are actually winding down and starting the trek east homeward. We left Williams, AZ this morning and drove to Gallup, NM about 249 miles east.
We are definitely in the desert area with nothing much to see except sand and a few mountains here and there. We crossed over into New Mexico and decided to stop at a Meteor Crater that was labeled as a Natural Landmark which I thought was a National Landmark and our pass would get us in but it was privately owned and we had to pay $15 each to go in and see this huge crater caused by a meteor crashing into the earth. It was really amazing and we saw a short film that told us the crater was as wide as 20 football fields and as deep as a 7 story building.
We could see the clouds rolling around us and raining coming and we had started our detour off of I-40 to the Petrified Forest about 20 miles off the road and then another 28 mile loop through the forest. Now you usually think of a forest as having lots of trees but this is a petrified forest so we only saw tree trunks that had fallen over and become petrified like rocks spotted all over the desert. We were also driving through the rain and could see sunshine in spots and even saw a beautiful rainbow. Toward the end of this drive we were in the Painted Desert where the sand dunes were all different colors and they were striped with red, grey, white and brown. It was a nice drive even with the rain stopping and starting.
We stayed at a KOA again next to the La Quinta hotel and a Denny's restaurant. We ate at Denny's which was ok food but we got 10% off so that's why we went there. Then we went to the hot tub and swimming for a while and back to the RV. Joyce was feeling a little sick and weak her blood sugar went up too high after eating some shrimp at Denny's and I did some work.
9-19-10 Grand Canyon and Williams, AZ
Route 66 Williams AZ south of Grand Canyon
Route 66 Williams AZ
Grand Canyon
Tower (Lookout) @ Grand Canyon9-19-10 Sheila's comments:
Today we went back into the Grand Canyon National Park and visited the welcome center and bought some souvenirs but because the generator is not working any more we could not leave the dogs in the RV very long because it was extremely hot again today. We found out we could take the dogs along the rim trail with us as long as we had them on a 5ft lease or less. Since the altitude and the heat was so bad we decided to get a wheelchair for Joyce just in case she couldn't make it up the hilly trails. She was giving out of breathe and had to stop a lot. The dogs had fun especially Cici since she got to ride in the wheelchair either by herself or in Joyce's arms. Roxy was enjoying just being out of the RV for a long period of time. We walked around the rim trail for a while and took some pictures and everyone was making comments about the dogs since Roxy was actually pulling the wheelchair with Joyce and Cici in it and I was pushing so oh what a site we were! Also, everyone thought the dogs were so nice and pretty they were asking Joyce about them. Since it was so hot we didn't stay long and decided to drive on into Williams, AZ about 50+ miles south and see the town and see if anyone there could work on the generator or check it out. You see the generator is used when you are not plugged into electricity so we can run the A/C which we don't need if we are in the campsites that have electric hook ups but we do need when we are stopped visiting the sites in order to keep the dogs cool.
When we got to Williams, AZ we drove around the town on the famous "Route 66". For you young pups that was the main US highway from Michigan to LA back in the day and there was a song " you get your kicks on Route 66". Anyway there are a lot of old 50's diners, hotels, bars, ice cream stops, etc on Route 66 so we got some pictures and looked for a RV repair shop. Since it was Sunday not too many places were open for business but we found one old, oily, greasy, repair shop called John's Auto and Truck Repair so we stopped in and they checked out the generator and told us it was locked up and was kaput! He also told us he could not fix it and it would probably cost about $2-$5 thousand to replace it. He and his brother ran the repair shop and his dad about 81 years old was walking around and they were talking with us about our travels and the RV and we told them our daddy was a mechanic and Joyce even said they guy's hair (which was not combed and stuck up funny on his head) reminded her of our dad. Their dad (John's Auto) who was 81 started playing the harmonica and so I videoed it. The dad also said he was the bookkeeper for the sons because his CPA had made a big mistake on their taxes several years ago. What a interesting conversation we had with these 3 guys!
We went to our next campsite about 2 miles east of Williams right off of I-40 and we stopped early today so we could do laundry. While we were doing laundry we went swimming in the heated indoor pool and we got in the hot tub which was so relaxing. We also watched a movie on Netflix called "Letters to God" it was excellent story about a little boy with cancer with a religious story line that we think everyone should watch even if it makes you cry it was worth it.
Today we went back into the Grand Canyon National Park and visited the welcome center and bought some souvenirs but because the generator is not working any more we could not leave the dogs in the RV very long because it was extremely hot again today. We found out we could take the dogs along the rim trail with us as long as we had them on a 5ft lease or less. Since the altitude and the heat was so bad we decided to get a wheelchair for Joyce just in case she couldn't make it up the hilly trails. She was giving out of breathe and had to stop a lot. The dogs had fun especially Cici since she got to ride in the wheelchair either by herself or in Joyce's arms. Roxy was enjoying just being out of the RV for a long period of time. We walked around the rim trail for a while and took some pictures and everyone was making comments about the dogs since Roxy was actually pulling the wheelchair with Joyce and Cici in it and I was pushing so oh what a site we were! Also, everyone thought the dogs were so nice and pretty they were asking Joyce about them. Since it was so hot we didn't stay long and decided to drive on into Williams, AZ about 50+ miles south and see the town and see if anyone there could work on the generator or check it out. You see the generator is used when you are not plugged into electricity so we can run the A/C which we don't need if we are in the campsites that have electric hook ups but we do need when we are stopped visiting the sites in order to keep the dogs cool.
When we got to Williams, AZ we drove around the town on the famous "Route 66". For you young pups that was the main US highway from Michigan to LA back in the day and there was a song " you get your kicks on Route 66". Anyway there are a lot of old 50's diners, hotels, bars, ice cream stops, etc on Route 66 so we got some pictures and looked for a RV repair shop. Since it was Sunday not too many places were open for business but we found one old, oily, greasy, repair shop called John's Auto and Truck Repair so we stopped in and they checked out the generator and told us it was locked up and was kaput! He also told us he could not fix it and it would probably cost about $2-$5 thousand to replace it. He and his brother ran the repair shop and his dad about 81 years old was walking around and they were talking with us about our travels and the RV and we told them our daddy was a mechanic and Joyce even said they guy's hair (which was not combed and stuck up funny on his head) reminded her of our dad. Their dad (John's Auto) who was 81 started playing the harmonica and so I videoed it. The dad also said he was the bookkeeper for the sons because his CPA had made a big mistake on their taxes several years ago. What a interesting conversation we had with these 3 guys!
We went to our next campsite about 2 miles east of Williams right off of I-40 and we stopped early today so we could do laundry. While we were doing laundry we went swimming in the heated indoor pool and we got in the hot tub which was so relaxing. We also watched a movie on Netflix called "Letters to God" it was excellent story about a little boy with cancer with a religious story line that we think everyone should watch even if it makes you cry it was worth it.
9-18-10 Happy Birthday Michael!!!!-Grand Canyon - We made it!
Grand Canyon
Sheila & Joyce @ entrance of Grand Canyon
Bottom of Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Apple Valley (no apple trees did we see!) coloful mountains along the way
9-18-10 Sheila's Comments:
Wow 28 years ago I was giving birth to my youngest son Michael and now today I am visiting the Grand Canyon. We started the day by calling Michael and singing Happy Birthday but of course he didn't answer so we sang to his voice mail.
We drove from Zion Canyon, UT to Grand Canyon, AZ about 300 miles today and it seemed like a really long trip. We drove on scenic Hwy 89 around the north and east side of the canyon down to the south entrance. On the drive to 89 we had a nice stretch of flat land here and there with really colorful mountains, red, white and brown. We went through some area named Apple Valley but we didn't see any apple trees as a matter of fact there are hardly any trees anywhere out west. Joyce noticed the old wooden power lines along the roadside and said we haven't seen any of those in a while.
On Hwy 89 we went through the Vermilion Cliffs and through antelope pass and along side the road were Indians selling their arts and crafts everywhere. Robbie and I had stopped and bought some jewelry from an old Indian lady there several years ago but at that time there was only that one Indian lady. Today there was a whole tribe of Indians everywhere. When we stopped at the top of the cliff you could see for miles and the Indian lady we purchased items from told us you could see the San Francisco peaks from that point. Now we are in UT which is a really long ways from California so image seeing the San Francisco peaks from there must have been about 500 miles maybe! I bought presents for the children and grandchildren and we headed on our way.
Once we made it into Arizona the time changed and we were now 3 hours behind the east coast because Arizona does not observe daylight savings time but we were still in the Mountain timezone but standard instead of daylight. We were traveling through the Navajo Indian reservation and they do observe daylight savings time so it was confusing as to what time it really was because it keep changing on us.
We drove over the Glen Canyon dam which was unbelievable - not as big as the Hoover Dam but very impressive! We saw a lizard sunning on a rock and got some pictures and headed forward.
We paid $2.00 to enter into a scenic overlook that the Navajo Indians said was the starting point of the Grand Canyon they called the Little Colorado River Gorge. It was nice but they need some money to fix up the parking area and the trail way to see over the cliffs.
Around 5:24pm mountain standard time we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon entrance!!!! We made it! When Joyce first saw the canyon she started crying because she said she never thought she would get here. She also was crying because she wished Randy was with her, I told her he was with her in her heart and that he was probably flying around above us making sure we didn't drive off the cliff like Thelma and Louise.
There are a lot of trees around the park roadside but they all seem to be short and drawfed in size compared to our trees at home. We drove up to the Desert View scenic overlook and the Watch Tower and got out and got our first pictures and good view of the Grand Canyon. Michael called me and I dropped my phone and thought I had broke it but when I put it back together it worked fine. We went up in the Watch Tower which is made of old stones and inside is a gift shop on the bottom and up in the tower are painting on the wall that the Indians did which were really lovely.
We stopped several more times driving along the southeast of the canyon and finally made it to our new campsite for the night. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Camper Village about 6 miles south of the entrance. We have stayed at a different campsite every night except when we were stuck in Cody, WY due to snow. The weather was great not too hot today when we arrived at the campsite so I walked Roxy for a while and then we cooked and went to bed.
Oh what a wonderful feeling, oh what a wonderful day traveling through the USA!
Wow 28 years ago I was giving birth to my youngest son Michael and now today I am visiting the Grand Canyon. We started the day by calling Michael and singing Happy Birthday but of course he didn't answer so we sang to his voice mail.
We drove from Zion Canyon, UT to Grand Canyon, AZ about 300 miles today and it seemed like a really long trip. We drove on scenic Hwy 89 around the north and east side of the canyon down to the south entrance. On the drive to 89 we had a nice stretch of flat land here and there with really colorful mountains, red, white and brown. We went through some area named Apple Valley but we didn't see any apple trees as a matter of fact there are hardly any trees anywhere out west. Joyce noticed the old wooden power lines along the roadside and said we haven't seen any of those in a while.
On Hwy 89 we went through the Vermilion Cliffs and through antelope pass and along side the road were Indians selling their arts and crafts everywhere. Robbie and I had stopped and bought some jewelry from an old Indian lady there several years ago but at that time there was only that one Indian lady. Today there was a whole tribe of Indians everywhere. When we stopped at the top of the cliff you could see for miles and the Indian lady we purchased items from told us you could see the San Francisco peaks from that point. Now we are in UT which is a really long ways from California so image seeing the San Francisco peaks from there must have been about 500 miles maybe! I bought presents for the children and grandchildren and we headed on our way.
Once we made it into Arizona the time changed and we were now 3 hours behind the east coast because Arizona does not observe daylight savings time but we were still in the Mountain timezone but standard instead of daylight. We were traveling through the Navajo Indian reservation and they do observe daylight savings time so it was confusing as to what time it really was because it keep changing on us.
We drove over the Glen Canyon dam which was unbelievable - not as big as the Hoover Dam but very impressive! We saw a lizard sunning on a rock and got some pictures and headed forward.
We paid $2.00 to enter into a scenic overlook that the Navajo Indians said was the starting point of the Grand Canyon they called the Little Colorado River Gorge. It was nice but they need some money to fix up the parking area and the trail way to see over the cliffs.
Around 5:24pm mountain standard time we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon entrance!!!! We made it! When Joyce first saw the canyon she started crying because she said she never thought she would get here. She also was crying because she wished Randy was with her, I told her he was with her in her heart and that he was probably flying around above us making sure we didn't drive off the cliff like Thelma and Louise.
There are a lot of trees around the park roadside but they all seem to be short and drawfed in size compared to our trees at home. We drove up to the Desert View scenic overlook and the Watch Tower and got out and got our first pictures and good view of the Grand Canyon. Michael called me and I dropped my phone and thought I had broke it but when I put it back together it worked fine. We went up in the Watch Tower which is made of old stones and inside is a gift shop on the bottom and up in the tower are painting on the wall that the Indians did which were really lovely.
We stopped several more times driving along the southeast of the canyon and finally made it to our new campsite for the night. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Camper Village about 6 miles south of the entrance. We have stayed at a different campsite every night except when we were stuck in Cody, WY due to snow. The weather was great not too hot today when we arrived at the campsite so I walked Roxy for a while and then we cooked and went to bed.
Oh what a wonderful feeling, oh what a wonderful day traveling through the USA!
9-17-10 Zion Canyon-Remarkable!!!
Zion Canyon
Wow! looking straight up out the top of the shuttle bus 
Outer site of the Zion Canyon Mountains
Minature fort & western town right out side of Zion Canyon9-17-10 Sheila's comments:
We drove from Bryce to Zion Canyon today about 147 miles instead of the 68 mile shorter route because I am afraid of tunnels. If we had taken hwy 9 through the mountains we would have had to drive through a one lane tunnel that is over a mile long through the side of a great big rocky mountain.
We would also have to pay $15.00 for an escort through the tunnel and after speaking with someone else from NC that we met in Zion he told us we made an excellent decision because they were doing a lot of construction on hwy 9 and the road was really bad. So we drove back out to I-15 and then went south a little and picked up hwy 9 without having to go through this damn tunnel. You see I had all ready gone through this tunnel with Robbie a few years back and hyperventilated with him driving. One day I guess I will overcome this fear but was not ready for it today.
We arrived at Zion Canyon around 3:00pm and it was really hot about 95 and so we set up the RV which I can truthfully say I am getting good at now and debated on when to go up on the trolley to see the canyon. We found out the trolley ran until 10pm so we decided to wait for it to cool off some. Around 4:30 we walked up to the office and caught the bus to the entrance of the park about 1 mile and then went in the visitors center and bought our normal souvenirs. We rode the trolley up all the way to the last stop in the Canyon and got off and walked around the water(mountain stream) and took some pictures.
On the way down we talked with the couple from NC and some guy from California who was traveling with his grandmother. This guy cursed more than me and Joyce and talked more too if you can image that! He said his grandmother (who was about Joyce's age) had a van and she drove all over the US by herself and that she even drove to Alaska by herself. We think we met someone more strong willed and independent than were are because I don't think I would drive to Alaska by myself.
When we got off the shuttle bus back at the campsite it stopped us right in front of the Spotted Dog restaurant and it was the most wonderful smell of food so we went in for dinner. The sun was setting over the mountains on one side and the moon was on the other side, what a wonderful site. (tried to get pictures but they didn't turn out). We shared Pesto Chicken pasta and salad and walked back to the RV. The food was fabulous and the restaurant was very nice upscale place.
What a glorious day!
We drove from Bryce to Zion Canyon today about 147 miles instead of the 68 mile shorter route because I am afraid of tunnels. If we had taken hwy 9 through the mountains we would have had to drive through a one lane tunnel that is over a mile long through the side of a great big rocky mountain.
We would also have to pay $15.00 for an escort through the tunnel and after speaking with someone else from NC that we met in Zion he told us we made an excellent decision because they were doing a lot of construction on hwy 9 and the road was really bad. So we drove back out to I-15 and then went south a little and picked up hwy 9 without having to go through this damn tunnel. You see I had all ready gone through this tunnel with Robbie a few years back and hyperventilated with him driving. One day I guess I will overcome this fear but was not ready for it today.
We arrived at Zion Canyon around 3:00pm and it was really hot about 95 and so we set up the RV which I can truthfully say I am getting good at now and debated on when to go up on the trolley to see the canyon. We found out the trolley ran until 10pm so we decided to wait for it to cool off some. Around 4:30 we walked up to the office and caught the bus to the entrance of the park about 1 mile and then went in the visitors center and bought our normal souvenirs. We rode the trolley up all the way to the last stop in the Canyon and got off and walked around the water(mountain stream) and took some pictures.
On the way down we talked with the couple from NC and some guy from California who was traveling with his grandmother. This guy cursed more than me and Joyce and talked more too if you can image that! He said his grandmother (who was about Joyce's age) had a van and she drove all over the US by herself and that she even drove to Alaska by herself. We think we met someone more strong willed and independent than were are because I don't think I would drive to Alaska by myself.
When we got off the shuttle bus back at the campsite it stopped us right in front of the Spotted Dog restaurant and it was the most wonderful smell of food so we went in for dinner. The sun was setting over the mountains on one side and the moon was on the other side, what a wonderful site. (tried to get pictures but they didn't turn out). We shared Pesto Chicken pasta and salad and walked back to the RV. The food was fabulous and the restaurant was very nice upscale place.
What a glorious day!
9-16-10 Bryce Canyon- another one bite's the dust!
Bryce Canyon
Sheila & Joyce in Bryce Canyon
Red Canyon Tunnel (the only kind Sheila likes arches)
Red Canyon
9-16-10 Sheila's comments:
We traveled 233 miles from Provo, UT to Bryce Canyon, UT on Interstate 15 with wide open spaces and lots of mountains all around. The area has some really large yellow daisies growing along side the roadway and some colorful green and yellow grasses. We saw forest fires in the distances and signs that said "Do not report wildland fires". Out here the park rangers burn the land to control in wild fires that might spark.
We had a little issue with the RV this morning the red light on the brake system came on and wouldn't go off so we stopped at a Chevron station in Beaver, UT (what a name?!!) and this is the first service station we have been to that actually had full service!! The guys came out and cleaned the windshields, pumped the gas and checked the fluids. We had to get a quart of oil and then we asked them to check the brakes since the light was on and they guy said it was all ok to keep on truckin'!
We drove through Red Canyon on the way to Bryce and they were some really interesting rock formations and the red clay color reminded me of the red clay back home. Joyce said, "Sheila there are 3 tunnels coming up so you need to get prepared" (I am afraid of going through long tunnels). Well, these were my kind of tunnels!!! They were no bigger/longer than going through a great big donut.
We arrived at Bryce Canyon and walked the dogs and then went out on the trails to see the Hoodoos in the canyon from up on the rim. The walk was a little challenging to Sis because of the high altitude but she made it anyway. The Hoodoos look like someone took wet sand and dropped it through their hand and formed these little sand like castle peaks. (Maybe this was one day when God was playing and having fun).
We stayed at the Ruby Inn RV campground that was really the overflow sites that the employees use and was really prefect because it was right behind the restaurant and gift store and in walking distance for the other little village sites. We had dinner at Ruby's Inn and splurged and had mixed drinks again and this time we even got dessert!
On the walk back to the RV after dinner the smoke from the forest fires the rangers set out to control wild fires was so thick and strong the smell really got to us. Inside the RV smelled of smoke as well since we had left some of the windows open. We both had a little bit of allergy problems with this but it was an amazing area.
We traveled 233 miles from Provo, UT to Bryce Canyon, UT on Interstate 15 with wide open spaces and lots of mountains all around. The area has some really large yellow daisies growing along side the roadway and some colorful green and yellow grasses. We saw forest fires in the distances and signs that said "Do not report wildland fires". Out here the park rangers burn the land to control in wild fires that might spark.
We had a little issue with the RV this morning the red light on the brake system came on and wouldn't go off so we stopped at a Chevron station in Beaver, UT (what a name?!!) and this is the first service station we have been to that actually had full service!! The guys came out and cleaned the windshields, pumped the gas and checked the fluids. We had to get a quart of oil and then we asked them to check the brakes since the light was on and they guy said it was all ok to keep on truckin'!
We drove through Red Canyon on the way to Bryce and they were some really interesting rock formations and the red clay color reminded me of the red clay back home. Joyce said, "Sheila there are 3 tunnels coming up so you need to get prepared" (I am afraid of going through long tunnels). Well, these were my kind of tunnels!!! They were no bigger/longer than going through a great big donut.
We arrived at Bryce Canyon and walked the dogs and then went out on the trails to see the Hoodoos in the canyon from up on the rim. The walk was a little challenging to Sis because of the high altitude but she made it anyway. The Hoodoos look like someone took wet sand and dropped it through their hand and formed these little sand like castle peaks. (Maybe this was one day when God was playing and having fun).
We stayed at the Ruby Inn RV campground that was really the overflow sites that the employees use and was really prefect because it was right behind the restaurant and gift store and in walking distance for the other little village sites. We had dinner at Ruby's Inn and splurged and had mixed drinks again and this time we even got dessert!
On the walk back to the RV after dinner the smoke from the forest fires the rangers set out to control wild fires was so thick and strong the smell really got to us. Inside the RV smelled of smoke as well since we had left some of the windows open. We both had a little bit of allergy problems with this but it was an amazing area.
9-15-10 Traveling WY to Utah
Traveling on the Oregon Trail
Bear Lake9-15-10 Sheila's Comments:
We drove 297 miles today from Jackson, WY to Provo, UT just past Salt Lake City. We actually crossed over into 2 states today Idaho and Utah. Our drive was on scenic route 89 part of the way until we got to I-15 near Salt Lake City. Unfortunately we hit Salt Lake City at rush hour and got stuck in traffic which made us miss our turn to go to the Salt Lake National Park but we did see the Salt Lake from the highway and we saw the big Mormon Tabernacle from a distance too.
On our way on 89 however we saw a big lake that ran along side 89 for miles and miles called Bear Lake. It is divided in the middle by Idaho and Utah and was very picturesque. The water changes colors based on the sky, sun and cloud cover but was mostly turquoise when we saw it. We got lots of pictures of the lakes and the mountains all around but also some old churches and barns, etc.
We went through several National Forest and some really steep mountains. Joyce and I are getting a little tired of mountains and climbing and going back down. I think we both will be happy to see flat land again. The rocky mountains are so high up you can hardly see the sky above them from the seat in the RV.
We stopped in a KOA in Provo, UT for the night and the man in the office said his wife was from Tarboro, NC which is just 10 miles east of our home town Rocky Mount, NC. This KOA had a little brook running along side of it and they had dozens and dozens of ducks swimming around. Joyce and I fed the ducks and took lots of pictures. Cici tried to jump out of the window to go get them and Roxy even barked at the a couple of times. (Roxy doesn't usually bark at all so this was unusual for her).
9-14-10 Grand Tetons & Jackson Hole, WY
Joyce with her fog horn to scare off bears! Haha
Sheila walking dogs while I watched out for the bears!!9-14-10 Sheila's Comments:
We left Colter Bay campgrounds in the Grand Tetons this morning after a somewhat scary night. We were in the wilderness camping and arrived there around dusk with not many campers beside us and notices of bears everywhere. We were a little scared to let the dogs out on the lease so we had to walk them and of course Joyce was prepared with her fog horn in case we ran into any bears. It got really cold last night but the area was beautiful as they all have been.
Sights we visited today:
We left Colter Bay campgrounds in the Grand Tetons this morning after a somewhat scary night. We were in the wilderness camping and arrived there around dusk with not many campers beside us and notices of bears everywhere. We were a little scared to let the dogs out on the lease so we had to walk them and of course Joyce was prepared with her fog horn in case we ran into any bears. It got really cold last night but the area was beautiful as they all have been.
Sights we visited today:
- Jackson Lake Dam- large dam at the base of the Grand Tetons with beautiful blue water and snow cap mountains in the background.
- Sacred Heart Chapel- is a small log cabin chapel in the middle of the Grand Tetons national park we went in and said our morning prayer and then had someone take our picture sitting on the steps.
- Grand Tetons Visitor center- we stopped in to get our souvenirs and on the way in saw the family from Oregon we met at Grant Village Yellowstone. These were the 2 kids that drew pictures and gave to us because we gave them a skewer to roast their hot dogs. Grace & Max Wagner and Max has a blog spot we are following called the Big Trip.
- Jackson Hole, WY- we visited the town around lunch time but had to wait for a small rain storm to blow over before we could get out of the RV. Then we walked around town and went to lunch at the Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon.
- Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon- one of the oldest buildings in Jackson and most interesting. They have horse saddles for bar stools which Joyce and I tried out! They also had great mixed drinks but a little strong! We also saw the man that reminded us of Randy when we were at the Midway Geyser basin in Yellowstone. He was up at the bar talking and joking again.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
YellowStone!!!!! 9-13-10
This is at the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone and it was hot steaming water running down into a cool mountain stream. The different colors are minerals and bacteria caused by the geysers on top of the hill.
RV problems- we ran Ms. Dot (RV) so hard she started coming apart at the seams. The mechanic at Old Faithful service center fixed her right up and we were "on the road again".
Old Faithful blast off- we timed this just right it went off about 2 minutes after we got up to the front to see it.
Continental Divide we have crossed at least twice and will probably cross it again several times on this trip.
RV problems- we ran Ms. Dot (RV) so hard she started coming apart at the seams. The mechanic at Old Faithful service center fixed her right up and we were "on the road again".
Old Faithful blast off- we timed this just right it went off about 2 minutes after we got up to the front to see it.
Continental Divide we have crossed at least twice and will probably cross it again several times on this trip.
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