While staying in Hurricane, Utah, near St. George, we took day trips to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Pink Sands State park. The day we went to Zion was a Friday. Big mistake! The parking lots were full, so we decided to just drive through the park. None of the turnouts were available, so the first photo I got was while waiting in line for 15 or 20 minutes to drive through the tunnel. The above photo is the shot I got from the car. The park regulates the tunnel traffic to one lane, and thus the wait.
As we drove through the park, we eventually found a few turnouts where I could get some photos. The huge red rock canyon walls are just as beautiful as ever. I even managed to see a big horn sheep, though he was too far away to get a good photo.
This was our last stop in Zion. It is called Checkerboard mountain.
On the way out of the park, we drove through the town of Kanab, Utah, where we once stayed for a family vacation back in the late 80’s. There’s a restaurant called “Trails End” and just a few doors away was an art gallery (not there now) where Ray bought a watercolor painting by Roland Lee, now a renown artist. Little did we know then that we’d made a good investment. We just liked the painting!
A little ways out of Kanab, we came across this interesting “cave” and lagoon. The fall colors caught my eye.
Our trip that day took us in a loop that dipped down into Arizona. We drove through the town of Colorado City, Utah, where the polygamist Fundamentalist Mormons used to have a large colony, and on to a Utah state park called Pink Sands. The sands aren’t really pink. They are more like red or orange. It cost money to drive into the park, and I didn’t plan to stay long, so I climbed up a sand dune and got a couple of shots of the “pink” sand dunes.
Our day trip took us many miles, but discovering new places is one reason we travel full time. Our great country is full of beautiful national parks, state parks and scenic beauty.
A little town called Delta in the central western part of Utah was a nice little town where we stayed for a week. It was the closest we were going to get to Great Basin National Park on our 2020 journey, so we decided to take a day trip to add another National Park to our accomplishments. Even so, it was more than 100 miles to the park which is actually in Nevada. We packed a lunch and headed out in the morning. It was a pretty barren landscape until we got within 30 miles or so of the park. There’s a huge dry lake, Sevier Lake, that offers some views from the highway. It is an endorheic lake (a drainage lake with no out-flowing streams to other bodies of water).
Before we drove far inside the park, we stopped at an outdoor exhibit. In the field beyond was an old car. It you look beyond it, you can see part of the Great Basin that the park is named after. According to Wikipedia, “the Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Oregon and Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Wyoming and Baja California in Mexico.” It is a vast area. What is surprising is that the Great Basin National Park itself is mostly a road up a 13,000 foot mountain called Wheeler Peak, and the surrounding foothill areas. The park derives its name from the surrounding basin area.
View of Wheeler Peak
The drive up to Wheeler Peak was breath-taking. Right away you could look over the vast distances of the Great Basin below. The smoke from the summer wildfires in the west obscured our view somewhat.
As we traveled further up the mountain, the aspen trees began to show their fall colors.
The road took us over 10,000 feet in elevation. At the top are the bristlecone pines, some of which are hundreds of years old. Looking up close at the pine cones, I realized why they are called “bristlecone” pines.
Here’s a closer view of Wheeler Peak. At the end of the road is a parking lot where there are trailheads for hiking trails to see ancient bristlecone pines and even one trail to the top of Wheeler Peak. The high elevation and thin air would deter me from such an adventure. On the day we went the parking lot was full, so we turned around and headed back.
Other items of interest to explore would be the alpine glaciers, Lexington Arch–a natural arch, Lehman caves, and the many trails around the park. This park is a hidden gem that I recommend exploring if you ever get the chance.
A small town in the center of Utah was one of the most beautiful spots we’ve stayed in this year. This first photo is taken looking from the back of our campground. The mountains around us were red with fall foliage.
We took a drive one day to get a closer look. We drove up this road as far as we could go. We turned around when it became a dirt road. Many of the people in the campground had dune buggies or other off-road vehicles that they use to drive on these back roads. But we’re just fine driving on paved roads only.
From there, we drove north to Fairview and drove west on Highway 31 up into the mountains. The bright foliage of the trees was just beautiful. Unfortunately, there were very few turnouts where one could stop to get photos. As we got closer, the colors got even brighter.
At the top of the pass, we turned south on Skyline Drive which took us along the ridge of the mountains. We drove up over 10,000 feet in altitude. Looking down from there, we saw a lake in the valley below.
Looking back from where we came, we could see more colorful trees. Nearby forest fires made the horizon hazy.
As we drove further, we found this alpine reservoir.
Although it was September, these flowers were still blooming as if it was still summer.
While we were in this campground, we had a dead battery on the truck one day when we tried to start it up to drive into town. Fortunately, the campground handyman gave us a jump start. We had to drive for an hour to find a Walmart where we could get the battery replaced. The technician also cleaned the corrosion on the contacts of the other battery as well and tested it. We made it into a grocery shopping trip while we were waiting. We were blessed that this happened on a day when we weren’t towing the trailer! God is good!
We traveled north into Montana and camped at Conestoga Campground and RV Park in White Sulphur Springs. This was our view out our window.
The RV Park even had it’s own fish pond.
We like to camp in one place for a couple of weeks and take day trips to places around our base camp. One of our side trips while in Montana was to Great Falls, Montana. We were happy to find a Mongolian BBQ that was open. It was one of the first times we were able to dine in at a restaurant since the Covid-19 pandemic.
From there, we drove alongside the Missouri River to see Black Eagle Falls and Rainbow Falls. Other stops were at Giant Springs State Park and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
The drive to Great Falls was beautiful through the mountains and forests. This is a lookout just a few miles outside of Great Falls.
There are five falls within a 10 mile stretch of the Missouri River. The one seen below is Black Eagle Falls which is right in the middle of the city of Great Falls.
The next one seen below is Rainbow Falls.
As you can see, there are power houses built before each of the falls to maximize electricity generation for the area.
Between Black Eagle Falls and Rainbow Falls is Giant Springs State Park. Giant Springs is one of the largest freshwater springs in the nation. It is the source of the Roe River, one of the world’s shortest rivers. Roe River flows into the Missouri River. But the source of the springs itself comes from miles of underground water from the mountains miles away. The water the bubbles up from cracks in rocks into a pool and runs over rocks into the Missouri River. By the way, did you know that the Missouri River is the longest river in North America?
The park grounds were green and beautiful.
Notice how clear the water is!
In the photo below, you can see where the water bubbles up out of the rocks below and into the pool.
You can faintly see circles in the water where the water is bubbling up.
The world’s shortest river of just 200 feet.
Beyond the walkway is the Missouri River.
The Missouri River is also the river that explorers Lewis and Clark traveled to find a waterway to the Pacific and to explore the large region of the Louisiana Purchase. We stopped at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. One floor of exhibits was closed due to the pandemic, but the top floor still had some interesting exhibits, including a panorama of what it was like to carry heavy dugout canoes around each of the falls in this area.
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center
It’s interesting to see sites where history took place in the beginnings of our country. I would love to come back to Great Falls, Montana, and explore the area and its history further.
While we were staying near Mountain Home, Idaho, we took a day trip up Highway 75 that goes through the Sun Valley resort area. We drove several miles past Sun Valley into the mountains. We found these beautiful views, some wildflowers blooming and lots of beautiful vistas from the lookout in Sawtooth National Forest.
This is the road up over the pass. There are plenty of pullouts where you can get some great photos.
Looking across at the Sawtooth Mountain Range, this valley has plenty of creeks and rivers where the fishing is great.
At the foot of this mountain pass was a pretty valley where there was an airport. Across from the airport was Smiley Creek Lodge with a restaurant, RV park and store. We split a hamburger. The hamburger was one of the best I’ve had in a long time. So if you make it to this part of Idaho, be sure to stop in and try it out.
On our way to Idaho and Montana, we stayed at this pretty place in Wells, Nevada. The campground had an artesian well. The water comes from the nearby mountains from the rains and snow melt. All around the area is dry and arid, except for this small area where the water flows from the mountains and makes a green oasis, as you can see from the photo of the campground.
Welcome Station RV Park, Wells, Nevada
Our next stop was in Glens Ferry, Idaho. We only stayed one night there. We were on our way to Mountain Home, Idaho. The campground was actually 25 miles northeast of the town of Mountain Home. It was quite a bit higher in elevation and therefore had milder summer temperatures than the town of Mountain Home. We were following our GPS that suddenly had us driving down a dirt road. I asked Ray to call the campground to make sure we were on the right road. Yes. It turns out we were on the right road and had about a 3 mile drive to the campground. We had recently washed the truck and Airstream, but the campground turned out to be worth the drive.
On the way there, we saw this reservoir with a view of the surrounding mountains.
Little Camus Reservoir
The campground itself was nestled in among pines and other trees in a beautiful mountain setting.
Fort Running Bear RV Resort
While we were there, we took some day trips to the surrounding areas. One of our trips was to Anderson Ranch Reservoir. It’s a scenic drive with a spectacular view when you approach it. We drove around it and saw the town of Pine and Featherville. To get back home, we turned around because the road was blocked due to a landslide further on.
The first view of Anderson Reservoir
The following photos are a panoramic view counterclockwise.
As we got closer, were able to see more of the reservoir.
This is a popular summer recreation area with boating, water sports, fishing and camping. Many RVs were parked right near the water (dry camping).
As the Covid-19 restrictions were still preventing dining in, we ate sandwiches we packed with us. However, we did order french fries to-go that were delicious. Idaho potatoes make great fries!
In the heart of downtown Reno, Nevada, lies one of America’s top ten automobile museums. It’s called the National Automobile Museum. It showcases more than 200 automobiles in the 100,000 square foot space. I’m not particularly interested in old cars, but this museum was a pleasant surprise. Each automobile has been restored in pristine condition. Just seeing that many old shiny cars is impressive. They are arranged in four separate but connected galleries. Some are in settings of a used car lot, or arranged on an old street scene.
There are makes of cars from the United States and other countries. Each car has a story, and you can take your time to read about each one, or wander around and read about the ones that catch your attention. If you take the time to read about each one, it will take you two or three hours easily. But if you just want to wander, allow yourself an hour and a half at least. The mission of the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) is to “collect and preserve the automobile for future generations, with an emphasis on vehicles collected by William Fisk “Bill” Harrah, to tell the story of the impact of the automobile on American society, and to perpetuate the legacy of Mr. Harrah as a renowned collector.”
Here are some of the automobiles we saw.
This next one was interesting because it made into a camper complete with tableware, a water tank with spigot.
There were also several display cases with garments worn in those days such as those you see below.
I like this next one because it reminds me of when we had a 4 seat van back when we had 5 kids at home.
This next photos show the cars in a period street scenes. They also connect one gallery to another.
This next one is NOT a child’s car. It has a Briggs & Stratton motor.
I thought this was a clever display showing these old cars in a used car lot.
I think you might call this next one the first Chevy Suburban.
I like the hood ornament on this next one.
This next Rolls-Royce is all copper. Who gets to shine it every day, I wonder.
We were stuck in Tucson, AZ, for the pandemic lock down of 2020. As the heat started spiking into triple digits, we sought a cooler place to spend our time while waiting to get into California to visit family and take care of our annual dental, vision and doctor appointments.
Show Low, AZ, at an elevation of 6,300 feet was where we took our maiden voyage in our first little RV. We knew it would be much cooler there, so we called up our favorite RV park and found out they were just opening for the summer. The drive from Tucson to Show Low was absolutely beautiful, with red rock canyons and twisty-armed saguaros.
On the way to Show Low from Tucson on Hwy 77
Our campsite in Show Low, AZ
We stayed in Show Low for 2 weeks at Waltner’s RV Resort. We loved the quiet and convenience of the location. While we were there, we took a few drives to look around the area. One evening we went to see Show Low Lake that was only a couple of miles from our campsite. The sunset was magical.
Show Low Lake
Show Low Lake
We had seriously considered Show Low as a permanent location when we settle down someday, but we changed our minds after spending two weeks there in spring. In short: cedar trees! Ray has a serious allergy to the pollen from the cedar trees and Show Low has plenty of them. He had a very severe reaction to the cedar trees in Texas when we were there in the winter. Show Low wasn’t as bad, but he was glad to leave the area to get back to feeling normal.
From Show Low, we drove west and stayed a couple of nights in Flagstaff, AZ, Bullhead City, AZ, and then in Tehachapi, CA, before finally arriving at our Thousand Trails campground in San Benito, California. Here are some scenes along the way.
Driving into Flagstaff, Humphreys Peak looms in the distance
Tehachapi, California
Mountain Valley RV Park in Tehachapi is a nice campground next to an airport for glider flights. The above photo is looking across the landing strip at the hills in the background. Tehachapi is an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet. So it is generally cool and windy. In fact, you will see many wind generators on the hills around Tehachapi.
Our next campground was a Thousand Trails Campground near Hollister, CA. It’s a few miles outside the tiny town of Paicines. Situated on a natural preserve, we observed many different kinds of wildlife, including ground and tree squirrels, wild pigs, deer and rabbits.
Our view at San Benito Campground, Paicines, CA
San Benito Campground
We moved to Oakhurst for a week to be closer to all our doctor appointments. We had reservations at an Escapees park, but they closed their office by noon. We weren’t aware of this, since most RV parks are open until at least 4 p.m. We had to quickly find another spot which turned out to be in a better location. It was right along the Fresno River in the middle of Oakhurst. In all the years we lived in that area, I never knew there was a river right through the middle of Oakhurst. We even had our own waterfall. The river was right behind our campsite at High Sierra RV Park.
Our campsite by the Fresno River
Waterfall near our campsite, Oakhurst, CA
The Thousand Trails campground in Oceano, CA, was not accepting anyone into the park outside their county (San Luis Obispo). We had arranged to stay in Paso Robles for a few days because it’s located near our kids and grandkids. It happens to also be in San Luis Obispos county, so we were in luck. When we made our reservations with Pacific Dunes RV Ranch in Oceano, we were able to say that we were coming from within the county!
Oceano is right along the beach. However, it is called Pacific Dunes for a reason. I was looking forward to spending long walks on the beach and being in the cool ocean breeze. On my first attempt to walk to the beach, I hiked up the first hill of dunes and this is what I saw.
I didn’t walk on the beach, but I decided to make the best of it. I remember having a great time with our kids years ago when we went to White Sands New Mexico. So I invited some of my grandkids to explore the dunes with me. They found out that sliding down the dunes is not easy. But they were innovative and did somersaults, tumbled and ran down the steep dunes. The cardboard that we brought to slide on soon formed into a tent fort.
Zoey in her cardboard tent fort.
Noah tumbles down the dune
And I finally got a glimpse of the ocean from the top of a dune that day. It seemed like miles away.
The beach is far away across an ocean of dunes!
There is something beautiful about the dunes at sunset.
The shrubbery is also quite beautiful.
Sometimes it’s better to go barefoot
A beautiful view of Oceano and surrounding area
Though my expectations were far different from what I found, the beauty of the area was an unexpected surprise.
During the pandemic, we looked for ways to get out of the house now and then. Saguaro National Park was just a few miles away from where we were staying, so we took a couple of trips there. The first day we went, it was overcast, but the wildflowers were in full bloom. There is a nine mile drive through the park where you can stop along the way at the parking turnouts to take photos.
The second time we went, the main park drive was closed for repairs, but we found a trail that was open in another area of the park. The trail was a paved pathway. We only walked a short distance. I love the way the sun back-lighted some of the cacti.
You can see the start of blossoms on the far saguaros.
The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona
Saguaro family
Barrel Cactus
Take a look at the fishhook needles on this one.
This large cholla cactus and the prickly pear cacti show the variety of cacti in the park.
I love how the rows of needles are lit by the sunlight.
There are different varieties of cholla (or jumping cactus) seen in this photo.
The yellow blooms of the palo verde tree on the right are just beginning to show.
Prickly Pear Cactus
The beautiful wildflowers were plentiful this day.
The long arms of an ocotillo cactus (on the right side of this photo) is beginning to bloom.
This saguaro has a funny face!
Close up of Saguaro needles
I hope you enjoyed our tour of Saguaro National Park. There are so many beautiful cacti in the park and so many beautiful mountain vistas. It’s really worth a visit, especially in the spring when the cacti and wild flowers are in bloom.
One of the side trips we made while in isolation during the pandemic was an excursion to Mount Lemmon near Tucson. This mountain is over 9,000 feet high. Mount Lemmon is named after a woman botanist, Sara Plummer Lemmon, who made it to the top by horse and by foot in 1881.
At the top is Mount Lemmon Observatory which was formerly the site of a USAF radar base of the Air Defense Command. All the military buildings were abandoned and given to the US Forest Service. Summerhaven is a small town at the top with many private residences and cabins. All restaurants and facilities were closed due to the pandemic.
We drove the Catalina Highway or Mount Lemmon Highway as far as Summerhaven. We saw many cyclists along the way. The desert saguaros and other cacti eventually gave way to scrub pines then tall pines at the summit. The temperature change was dramatic–from very warm to cool and breezy. We ate a sack lunch at the top and enjoyed the view and the cool breeze. It’s easy to see why locals like to visit the mountain to escape the summer heat.
Road up Mount Lemmon
Vegetation on lower sides of the mountain.
Saguaros are plentiful and an Ocotillo is blooming
