And, away they go! From June 22nd

 

There really wasn't much discussion.  When I mentioned it to Jimmy, he said, "sign me up!"  We figured out the logistics and decided it was doable, so I said, "yes" to Sharon.  We originally met Sharon and Randy on our Galapagos trip in April 2018.  Randy volunteer/works two weeks every summer on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.  Sharon will join him after his stint (they live in Atlanta), and this year Jimmy and I will join them!  We've been talking about riding the train for years and we're happy that, a) we'll see our friends, and b) we'll be riding the train this year!

We filled Tergel with all the necessaries and gave her a once over on mechanics.  Since we'll be traveling in summer, not something we normally do, I made reservations at campgrounds and went into sticker shock at the prices we'll be paying.  But the temps along the way will be too hot for us to dry camp or stay at Harvest Host locations (no hookups).  We'll need A/C!

Highway 50, that ol' lonesome road, is the most direct route to get to Chama, New Mexico, and so we set off on Mon, June 22nd.  Across Nevada and Utah we endured the heat.  Unfortunately, the cab A/C didn't want to work, so I lost some weight from sweating () Once we're set up, the coach A/C is fine.

Above and below photos, we passed by the Ruth Copper Mine (Ruth, NV) with its monstrous mountains of tailings.  We wondered aloud if the piles had grown larger since the last time we blew through town.

Our first night out we stopped in Fallon NV, which was HOT but okay.  Spent the next night in Ely, NV at a KOA, which has nice shade trees, but still HOT.  On Wednesday we stayed at a Love's RV park in Salina, Utah.  In itself the place was good, but smoke from the Cottonwood fire stained the sky (below) and forced us inside.

Tergel and Smartie.

Out of Salina, we enjoyed the panoramic views on I-70 through Utah.  In fact, we pulled in at a couple of viewpoints, like the ones in these pics.  Since leaving home I believe we've cruised along in Tergel always at elevations in the 4000-6000 ft range, topping passes over 7,000'.

Raven photo-bomber.

Looks like Utah, doesn't it?

So many different shapes and sizes and colors and cliffs and mountains and ranges, sharp or undulating or rounded or heaped, that's Utah scenery.

We continued from Salina to Monticello Utah, first on I-70 and then turning south on Hwy 191, past Arches National Park and Moab and into Monticello, where we're spending two nights at Mountain View RV Park.  Two nights here gives us a bit of a rest from driving.  We'll leave Saturday morning for Rio Chama RV Park, over a thousand miles from home.  If you look at a map, you'll see we're not killing ourselves by driving 400 or 500 miles per day.

Hwy 191 is amazing, as well as somewhat tortuous for its long climbs, but the scenery is what makes it.  Well, most of the way.

Approaching Wilson's Arch (at 60 mph).

Fast catch on Wilson's Arch (at 60 mph).

We call these two the alligator or turtle,

and in the background is church rock.

We had a plastic dish with some over-the-hill senile grapes.  A horse lives next door to the RV Park in Monticello, so we thought the horse might like a treat.  Oh yes, you betcha.  We only gave her a few, one at a time, and she was very gentle taking each grape from our hand.

* * * * *

We asked at Monticello's Visitor Center for hikes in the area.  A helpful lady suggested we walk around the old Monticello Uranium Mill site, giving us directions.  This is a pretty small town, only about 1800 people, but the uranium/vanadium mill wrought havoc on everyone.  Construction on the mill began in 1940.  After the mill closed in 1960, the guv'mint stepped in for remediation and cleanup (boy, it needed it!) from 1989 to 2004.  If you're interested, read up on it.  Initally, the townsfolk welcomed the mill for economic and patriotic reasons, but later faced pollution, health concerns, and economic decline after its closure.  You can imagine the health concerns.  (More photo-bombing Ravens!)

Posies on the trail, L-R, top:  Palmer's Penstamon and Crownleaf Evening Primrose.  Bottom L-R: Scarlet Globemallow and Lupine.  Lots of Penstamon and Lupines here at this elevation.

Today we enjoyed an innocuous enough mile-plus hike along the site.

Quiet.  Peaceful.

After that, we found Lloyd's Lake, a lovely turquoise dammed lake west of town.  The water level looked down.  For the most part, the 2.3-mile loop hiking path around the lake is in full sun, so we elected to simply go till we wanted to turn around.  No problem.  Lovely, lovely day, with a brisk breeze keeping us cool.  The lake looks small in the pic above, but it isn't.

Jimmy starts out.

The Abajo Mountains in the distance added to the overall beauty.

Fuzzy grass provides the light color near the lake.  We watched a lady mule deer come to the water's edge (red x) for a drink, before ambling up through the fuzzy grass and into the scrub oaks.

Here she is.

Upon leaving the lake area, we wound our way up into Manti-LaSal National Forest, up and up and up.  We topped out at 8850' before turning around.  Into the Firs, Spruces and Aspens, beautiful.  Drove through Dalton's Campground, shooing deer and turkey out of our way, a fine place to stay, but not for us.

At 7,000' the days are fine and the nights are cool.  Wind turbines are nearby, so you know it's windy!  That's our week so far!

Saturday, 10/7/23

Tomorrow we'll be one week on the road in our motor home (Tergel), and tomorrow, God willing and the creek don't rise (no rain in the forecast), we'll be at my sister and BiL's home near Baton Rouge.  Tonight we're at the Elks Lodge in Shreveport, where a very nice lady just stopped by our Tergel to ask if we wanted some homemade hot tamales.  That's what we ate for dinner! 😄  Delicious!

Thus far we've stayed in one RV campground, at one reservoir, a national park, one boondocking spot, a state park with a lake, an RV park at the Wichita River, and now the Elks.

We were rained on for the first two days on Hwy 50 through Nevada.  Below:  

Nearing Delta, Utah, still on Hwy 50, the sky began to clear.  Photos below.

Mountains of slag from the copper mine at Ruth, Nevada.

We wanted to stay at Great Basin Nat'l Park,

but it would've been too cold.  At the VC, above.

Approaching Capital Reef Nat'l Park in Utah, we hoped for a site in Fruita C/G, tho we didn't have a reservation.  As luck would have it, despite the sign, "campground full," we pulled in to hear, "Yes, we just had a cancelation," from the campground host.  Bingo!  We were last here in 2008 and adored it.  Oh joy to be able to spend a day in this beautiful place.  (No hookups, no genny use, but we survived just fine.)  After setting up, we took off with our hiking poles on the Fremont River Trail.  Below.

Jimmy's hiking up, white checkmark, wait for me!

Fremont River lower right.

Strenuous ascent with wonderful panoramic views at the top.

Unbelievable!  Breathtaking!

Next, we hopped in Smartie to the Grand Wash Trail, and a short hike, above.  After sitting for two solid days, it sure felt good to be Out and About and on our feet.  In these glorious surroundings.  Photo above and more below.

Majestic.  Outdoor cathedrals.

Leaving this favorite park, we continued east.  Utah has some of the most fascinating geological formations, with features that come in all sizes, colors, striations, shapes, layers, in piles, hoodoos and pillars, to name a few.  Ain't nature grand?

We wanted to continue on Hwy 50 through Colorado, only to be stymied by road construction, which necessitated us heading south instead on Hwy 550, the Million Dollar Highway, and it's 11,000+ ft passes.  550 would eventually dump us out on I-40, which was the last road we wanted to travel on this year!  But ... whaddya gonna do?

Here we were stopped for more road construction.  One thing you can say for sure about Colorful Colorado:  It's gorgeous.

One helluva road, though, for a motor home.

The Aspens!  I took one picture after another.  I couldn't get enough.

Down, down, down, from Silverton to Durango.

Ah so.  This is why we did NOT want to drive on I-40 in New Mexico.  Two years ago, (click here to read about it) the same thing happened, only it was Smartie that suffered.  The picture above is one of Tergel's outside rear tires.  Luckily, and thankfully, the tire blew just before a rest area, so we weren't stuck roadside!  I called AAA and they sent a young man out from Ortega's Wrecking Service in Santa Rosa NM who took off the old and installed the (new) spare.  A few hours out of our day, and no harm done and no one hurt.

On Friday we made it to Wichita Falls, Texas, and actually found the falls!  We were staying nearby and were out walking their fine river paths when we discovered these waterfalls.  Kinda muddy-looking, but a good flow!

I took a bazillion more photos, but I kept the blog pics down to a minimum (enlarge any pic for maximum viewing!).  We've had a few stresses, yet feel that all is well.  I'll leave you with this sunrise shot as we left Wichita Falls on Saturday morning.

 

Homeward bound, Mon, 5/10/21

 

Google Maps says it's 371 miles, and that was more than enough for us this day.  Driving all day, every day, gets kind of tiring (but doable with a prize at the end -- home!).  We looked at several boondocking spots along Hwy 50, but elected to give $25 to the Pony Express RV Park in Austin for FHU and nice long showers!

Yup, we were on Hwy 50 again, "the Loneliest Road in America," a major secondary road through middle Nevada where a driver can say, "no one in front and no one behind," the road being clear forever.  The Town of Austin bills itself as the "Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road."  Although multiple high elevation passes present a challenge to an RV (chug-chug-chugging up the hill), we prefer this highway over the freeway.  It's a humble road, basically devoid of scenery, but, still, there's something appealing in its very emptiness.  Maybe it's a feeling of freedom.

Sure, there's plenty of long stretches of desert grass and sage, but you'll also see some significant rock formations on Hwy 50.

The road goes on forever.

Through the years, we've camped along Hwy 50 from Delta in the East to Sparks in the West, including Lehman Caves, Ely, Cold Spring, Austin and Big Creek.

This is open range territory, meaning no fencing, and cows (all bovines are cows to me) can roam freely.  Also at their peril.  We saw way too many bodies roadside, cows and calfs.  We had to slow down to a crawl several times 'cause cows were too close to the road, as above.  We stopped for this one, opened the window, and suggested she move away from the vehicle!  She didn't move a muscle.

Central Nevada has north-south mountain ranges, so if you're heading east or west, you have to climb up to and over six or seven or eight passes.  I think the highest one was over 7700', and Tergel was a-wheezing on that one.  The mountains are beautiful, ranging from the deep blue you see above to an arid, seemingly barren chocolaty-brown.

A couple of old log cabins sunk in a sea of old Cottonwood trees.

Downtown Ely, Nevada boasts this famous hotel.  We went inside once a few years ago, choked on the cigarette smoke haze, and walked out.  My Mom lived in neighboring McGill for a few years, so we've spent time in the area.

Jimmy and I met fellow bloggers (at the time) Laurie and Odel for the first time at the Ely KOA campground.  They were headed east and we were on our way west.  Or maybe it was the other way around; can't remember what year.  We followed each other's blogs, but hadn't met yet.  I love how this works!

The road less traveled.

We quit for the night in Austin, unhooked Smartie and went exploring.  One of the things we found was Stokes Castle, which you see below.  It's actually quite tall, and the explanation that the Stokes family used it for two months is nuts.

Austin is a dinky town, but after a mighty silver boom got going in the 1860s Austin was the second largest city in Nevada with more than 5,000 residents. Today, there are less than 200 that have worked to keep the little town alive, though the town seemed sorta deserted to us.

Tomorrow we'll grind out one more day (let's hope it's only one).  After that, we'll be home.  But tomorrow holds a wonderful surprise!  Oh boy!