Category Archives: Tours

Heart of an Awl

The weather guessers got it right. Yesterday was a beautiful day with mostly sunny skies, little wind and the temperature topping out at 75 degrees. The Ironman would have been a different race if we had that weather on Sunday.

I went for a bike ride and rode the Prairie Trail down to City Park. The Ironman vendors were breaking down displays and tents there. The beach was full of people enjoying the lake and sunshine again.

Coeur d’Alene is a resort town and relies on tourism. It has the usual tourist attractions. I rode my bike out on the dock by the park and saw a couple of examples. On the end of the dock, Brooks Seaplane offers airplane tours of the area. A 40-mile, 20-minute flight around the lake, over the Bitterroot Mountains and the Washington Palouse area, costs $60 per adult, $30 per child under 12. They had a de Havilland Beaver at the dock, waiting for takers.

de Havilland Beaver seaplane

I’ve been a passenger in one of these iconic planes several times in Alaska. We would be transported in one of these from Sitka to a floating resort on the Chatham Strait to fish for salmon.

Another interesting item on the dock was the Pirates of Coeur d’Alene cruise ship. This boat goes out on two 90-minute tours daily, from June 14th to August 24th. Departure times are 11:30am and 2pm. It costs $32.75 for adults and $22.75 for children three to 12 years old. Children two years old and younger are free. This is a family entertainment cruise with a pirate theme. On Saturdays, a two-hour adult cruise departs a 7pm. For $25, you cruise the lake with a DJ on board and complimentary pirate punch (rum).

Pirates of the Coeur d’Alene

The city of Coeur d’Alene sits about 30 miles east of downtown Spokane, Washington. Coeur d’Alene has a population of about 46,000 people. This isn’t a large city by most standards, but it’s the largest in the north Idaho panhandle. There are more than 30 hotels and resorts in Coeur d’Alene.

Donna and I were curious about the name of the town. I looked it up. The name was coined by French fur trappers early in the 19th century. It was the name they gave to the Native American tribe that lived along the lake. Literally translated, it means “Heart of an Awl.” It’s thought that the expression came from the tribe’s sharp-hearted or shrewd trading acumen.

Later in the afternoon, I saw Angela in the RV park. We talked about Sunday’s race. She told me it was rough right from the start. Swimming into the chop on the lake was very difficult. She was behind her expected time by 15 minutes when she left the water. The bicycle race through the mountains was worse, due to the winds in excess of 20mph. Swimming and bicycling are her strong points. She knew she was in trouble from the start of the run. She told herself over and over, “You don’t have to run fast, you just have to run” to keep herself from walking or stopping altogether.

We invited Allen Hutchinson and family to join us for dinner. I grilled chicken kabobs and we sat outside and talked for a few hours. Allen’s take on the race was much like Angela’s. He was philosophical about it though and said he learned a lot out on the course. He will race in another Ironman in August in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s likely to be hot and humid there.

The Hutchinson family and Donna at our picnic table

Today, the predicted summer weather has arrived. They’re calling for a high of 90 degrees today and 93 tomorrow. The following week will be in the mid-80s. Donna wants to ride this morning. I’ll probably get out later.

Giant Springs

Yesterday’s weather forecast called for a six-hour dry spell between 9am and 3pm. I took advantage of the break in the rainfall and got on my mountain bike at 11am.

After I crossed the Central Avenue bridge, I followed the River’s Edge Trail north, then east as the Missouri bends that direction. I rode at a steady pace until I passed under the 15th Street bridge and stopped at the Black Eagle Dam.

Black Eagle Dam and Falls

Below the dam are the Black Eagle Falls, the first of five falls that make up the Great Falls of the Missouri in Montana. The Black Eagle Dam was first constructed of wood in 1890. It was a timber and rock crib dam, the first to supply hydroelectric power on the Missouri River. In 1926, it was rebuilt with concrete, which still stands today. The original structure is still there, submerged behind the current dam.

The dam is 782 feet long and 34.5 feet high. It houses three turbines that can generate up to 18 megawatts of power. The dam can generate power from the flow of the river, without creating a storage reservoir behind it. Thus it’s called a “run of the river” dam.

The falls downriver from the dam drop over 26 feet. Meriweather Lewis was the first white man to see these falls. The name “Black Eagle” came from an eagle that Lewis saw nesting on a island below the falls.

A few hundred yards downstream, there’s an iron sculpture next to the path. It depicts Lewis and Clark with their guide, Sacajawea, looking at the falls.

Lewis and Clark with Sacajawea

View of Black Eagle Falls from the sculpture

There are many interpretive placards along the River’s Edge Trail, giving short history lessons. I photographed a couple of examples. Click on the placard photos to enlarge and read them if you’re interested.

Montana mining history

Smelting operation

Along this section, the bike trail is high above the river. I could see dirt trails below, near the banks of the river.

Dirt trails by the river

I came to a fork in the path. To the right, it passed under Giant Springs Road. To the left, it continued along the river. I stayed left. A short distance later, the trail forked again. To the right, it ended at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center parking lot. On the left, the trail made a rough descent to the river.

I took the left fork and rode down to the river. There was a mixture of dirt and paved trails along this section. I rode into the Giant Springs State Park. The Giant Springs are an amazing sight. Fresh water flows up to the surface into a large pool. It reminded me of Yellowstone in a way, but this water was cool, clear and pure.

The water temperature is 54 degrees Fahrenheit. It originates from snow melt in the Little Belt Mountains (where the Mumbro Park cabin is located). Giant Springs is formed by an opening in the Madison aquifer. The water comes to the surface and forms a pool, which drains 150 million gallons of pure, fresh water into the Missouri River daily. Some of the spring water is diverted and bottled for human consumption. It’s also used to supply fresh, cold water to Montana’s largest trout hatchery.

Placard at Giant Springs

Look closely and you'll see three streams of water shooting to the surface

Look closely and you’ll see where streams of water shoot to the surface

Water shooting to the surface of the pool and flowing over the rocks to the Missouri

Water shooting to the surface of the pool and flowing over the rocks into the Missouri

The pool of water rushing over the rocks into the river is an amazing sight. I tried to capture the beauty of it.

Giant Springs

A guy walking by asked if I wanted my picture taken at the springs. Why not? It didn’t add anything to the beauty factor though.

On the way back I stopped at the Knicker Biker bike shop downtown. I bought spare inner tubes for our road bikes and a few energy bars.

I came back to the RV park at 1pm. It was an enjoyable two-hour ride. Donna and I had our lunch outside at the picnic table while the sun was shining. Donna went out for a walk and I walked a couple of laps around the park. I chatted with some folks. I found out both tour groups currently in the park are bound for Alaska. I think they will be pulling out this morning. Once the tour groups leave, the park wifi should become usable again. In the meantime, we’re burning through our Verizon data plan.

Donna walked for about 45 minutes, then went back to work on her laptop. The rain returned around 4pm and hasn’t let up since then. We may have a small window – maybe an hour – of sunshine this afternoon. The weather guessers have been right so far and they say the weather should start clearing up and warming up tomorrow.

Rain Falls in Great Falls

We were shut-ins for most of the weekend. Thundershowers and rain damped our enthusiasm. During a few of the breaks in the precipitation on Saturday, we walked laps of the park.

Adventure Caravans assembled another tour group here at Dick’s RV park. They’re joined by another tour group called Fantasy Adventures. This filled the RV park again. We had a couple of quiet days in between the groups. While the park was fairly empty, the wifi worked great. Now that it’s full, the wifi service is spotty. I don’t know the details of these tours.

Yesterday, we had a break in the rain showers. It looked like we would have dry conditions for a couple of hours before the next bout of thundershowers. I pulled Donna’s bicycle out of the trailer and pumped up her tires. While I was filling the tires, I found the front Presta valve was broken. I replaced the inner tube. After I pumped up the rear tire, the thumbscrew on the Presta valve broke off! I put a cap over it and Donna was able to ride. The valve will fail the next time I pump up the tire though.

Inner tube with Presta valve – Google Image

Donna rode 3 miles out to Broadwater Bay Park where her bicycle race starts. She rode the race course which is 25 miles. The climb up Eden Road was tougher than she anticipated with several steep climbs and long uphill pulls. After the turnaround, though, coming back on Eden Road was faster than she thought it would be. It’s a grueling course, but her elapsed time overall was close to what she expects to do in the race.

The rain showers returned before Donna made it home. She rode in the rain from the Central Avenue bridge. While she was out, I caught the Moto GP race on Dish Network and squandered my chance for a bike ride.

Later, we had another break in the weather. I rode the scooter to pick up a few groceries. While I was at it, I bought a six-pack of beer. It’s a beer from Bayern Brewing in Missoula, Montana, called Dump Truck Extra Pale Summer Bock. There are so many craft breweries nowadays and countless styles being brewed. It’s fun to try something new, but I would prefer to experiment at a brew pub where you can order a sampler flight. I had no idea what an extra pale summer bock would be like. It turned out to be a fairly strong (6% ABV) lager with the yeast contributing to a bitter finish.

Last night, I was able to fire up the grill and grill fajita-spiced chicken thighs before the rain started up again.

Today’s forecast calls for about a six-hour window of sunshine before we hunker down for another 48 hours of thunderstorms and rain. When we looked into Donna doing the race here, I remember reading that the average rainfall for Great Falls in June is two inches. It’s their rainiest month of the year. So it’s not like we didn’t expect to have some rain. But it looks like this rainy weather will clear up later in the week.

After I dump and flush our holding tanks this morning, I want to ride my bike east on the River’s Edge Trail. While I’m out, I’ll buy spare inner tubes for our road bikes.

RV Caravans

The day started off cold with light drizzle yesterday. We had to run the heat pumps – it was 58 degrees in the coach when I got up. It remained overcast and breezy for most of the day. The sun came out in the late afternoon, but the thermometer never rose much above 60.

Donna spent most of the day working at her laptop. I puttered around, handled a few tasks online and wrote the government a check for my second quarter estimated taxes. Grrr.

Around 2pm, Donna and I went for a walk. We walked on the bike path and crossed the 6th St. Bridge over the Sun River. Today I want to get my bike out and ride the bike path down River Drive. I’ve been gaining weight since I hurt my neck in Mesa. I need to ramp up my physical activity. I don’t believe there’s any magic or mystery when it comes to weight loss. The equation is simple – increase your activity and decrease your intake. It works every time.

When we arrived at Dick’s RV Park, it was almost full. There are two caravan groups here. They are both run by a company called Adventure Caravans. RVers enroll and pay a fee to join the caravan.

One of the caravan groups is following the Lewis and Clark Trail. They started in St. Louis, Missouri. They arrived here on Monday, their 26th day on the road, and pulled out yesterday. Adventure Caravans organizes the route. They make all of the campground reservations. They have tour buses that take the group from the campground to various points of interest along the way. They have social gatherings most evenings and some meals are included. This caravan tour finishes in Warrenton, Oregon after 46 days on the road.

The other caravan is just starting out. Dick’s RV Park was their meet-up location. They spent a couple of days here, going through orientation and preparing their rigs for travel through the Canadian Rockies to Alaska. They’re pulling out as I type this. This caravan lasts 59 days. Adventure Caravans provides staff in two motorhomes – one that leads the group and another that follows. If anyone has a problem or mechanical breakdown, the following staff stops and helps them. The cost of this tour for two people with a motorhome is $8,895.00.

I think we’ll continue to see the sights on our own. Donna and I don’t get too excited about guided tours. We prefer to move at our own pace.

Yesterday, I rode the scooter over to Albertson’s grocery store and bought a fresh wild Copper River sockeye salmon filet. Donna topped it with a mixture of mayonnaise and fresh-dried dill from her mother’s garden and I grilled it on foil. Donna sauteed vegetables and pierogies on the side. It was a great combination!

Sauteed veggies and pierogies

Copper River sockeye salmon with dill-mayo

Today, the weather guessers are calling for high temperature of 80 degrees with a chance of a thunder shower this afternoon. Other than getting out on my bicycle, I don’t have any plans for the day.

Yellowstone National Park

We unloaded the scooter yesterday and rode into Yellowstone National Park. Our America the Beautiful pass allowed us entry without paying the daily fee ($20 for motorcycles). Shortly after entering the west entrance to the park, we were in Wyoming following the Madison River.

I saw a couple of photographers on the side of the road and pulled into the next turn-out. We saw what they were photographing – there were elk across the river. We saw a few cow elk and yearlings. Then I saw the smallest calf I’ve ever seen. I guess I haven’t spotted elk this early in the spring before.

Cow elk

Cow and calf

At the Madison Junction where the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers join to form the Madison, we turned right and headed south to the geyser basins. We stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin and walked around the boardwalk loop. The colors are amazing. The water in the geyser pools is so clear, you can see every detail of the bottom. There are pools that reach deep into the earth and the water becomes blue.

Blue water and brown/orange deposits

Darker blue in the deep pockets

The mineral content and organic materials create different colors.

Minerals and organic matter combine

Many colors

There was a pool of clay that was bubbling and boiling. Mud spouts were thrown a few feet into the air.

They call the bubbling clay Artists Paint Pot

The steam coming out of fumaroles had a slightly sulphurous odor.

We continued south and climbed to the Upper Geyser Basin. The traffic was fairly light – I’ve always come through the park in the summer before. At the peak season, the traffic is unbearable. We were told in town that we are here at the right time. Next week, the crowds arrive. Having said that, I still had to pay attention and ride with caution. People driving in the park lose all sense of the rules of the road. If they spy wildlife, they will suddenly brake and hang out the window with a camera.

At one point, a pick-up truck pulling a trailer suddenly braked to a stop in front of us. A bull bison was walking on the side of the road, Donna was getting uneasy as the bull headed straight at us, eight feet away. I accelerated around the truck and got out of there. We had a few more episodes like that during our day in the park.

We rode up to the visitor center to see Old Faithful spout. Old Faithful blows every 60 to 110 minutes. The park rangers predict the next spout based on the strength of the last eruption. We arrived at 12:45 pm. The next spout was predicted at 1:13 pm. We found a seat on a bench and ate the lunch Donna had prepared as we waited for the show. Even though it isn’t peak season, there were many people at the center.

People waiting for Old Faithful to do its thing

The first time I saw Old Faithful was in the summer of 1966. My grandparents took me to Yellowstone on our way to visit relatives near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Old Faithful always makes a couple of false starts, shooting water and steam a few feet into the air intermittently. Then she blows with a roar.

Showtime!

Old Faithful at full power

In the square mile of the Upper Basin around Old Faithful, there are 150 geysers.

On the way back down, we stopped at Fountain Flat Drive. We hiked on the Sentinel Trail. There were bison everywhere we looked, including some very large bulls. Bull bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. They are the heaviest land animal in North America. We saw a herd with calves grazing in the sun.

Bison herd with calves

At one point, we had to leave the trail as a bull came walking toward us. Bison are mostly docile, but they are wild and unpredictable. Bulls have been known to charge when people approach too closely.

A large bull bison resting in the sun

On our way out, along the Madison River, we saw a yearling elk feeding in the grass.

We had fine weather all day, with clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures. I could see clouds forming in the west though and the forecast called for thundershowers after 3pm.

Upon our return, I could see a few scattered thundershowers around the RV park, but it didn’t rain here until after 7pm – just as we sat down to eat dinner outside.

More scattered thunder showers are forecast for this afternoon. Tomorrow we’ll head north. I have a stop planned for a couple of days, north of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. We’ll boondock on Bob and Shirley McBride’s land by their cabin.

The Road to West Yellowstone

We’re at the Buffalo Crossing RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. Here’s how we got here.

We pulled out of the Salt Lake City KOA on Tuesday. I stopped at the Pilot/Flying J Travel Center and topped off our tank with 52 gallons of diesel fuel. From there, we hit I-215 and merged onto I-15 which took us past the Great Salt Lake all the way to Idaho Falls, Idaho. We took a break at the welcome center after we entered Idaho. We picked up a free Idaho road map there. I like our GPS, but I still like to have paper maps as well. We had crosswind from the west most of the day on the 215-mile drive.

Northern Utah was wide open and the traffic was light. The speed limit in rural northern Utah was 80 miles per hour! Donna didn’t see the first speed limit sign and didn’t believe it when I told her it was 80 mph. A little while later, she saw a sign and snapped a photo.

Speed limit on I-15 in northern Utah

We weren’t traveling anywhere near 80 mph. I stayed in the right lane with the cruise control set to 62 mph. I posted about tire pressure and tire failures before. Another cause of tire failure is excess speed.

Most trailers, including cargo trailers, travel trailers and fifth wheel trailers, are equipped with tires designated as “ST” type tires (Special Trailer). ST tires have higher load ratings than passenger car (P type) or light truck (LT type) tires. However, ST tires are rated at a maximum speed of 65 mph. Many people do not realize this and tow at speeds that exceed the tire’s rating. This can cause the tire to overheat. Over time, an overheated tire will fail. It may take hundreds of miles, but it will fail. Most people will blame the tire for the failure because they don’t understand the design limitation.

Our cargo trailer is equipped with load range C, ST type tires. I may exceed 65 mph momentarily to complete an overtaking maneuver on the highway, but I don’t drive at sustained speeds over 65 mph. The tires on our coach have a H load rating and a maximum speed rating of 75 mph.

We often see vehicles pulling trailers blow past us at speeds in excess of 70 mph. We also see boat, cargo, and RV trailers on the side of the highway with tires blown out. Tire Rack® has an excellent article about trailer tire load and speed ratings here.

On Tuesday afternoon, we pulled in to the WalMart parking lot in Idaho Falls. Donna phoned ahead and secured permission for overnight parking. We found a level spot on the southwest side of the lot. Donna shopped for groceries. I bought some real beer, not the 3.2 stuff they have in Utah. While Donna was shopping, I returned to the coach. The wind was blowing at 25 – 30 mph from the west. The coach became engulfed in a dust storm. Dust came in an open window and every crack or crevice it could find. I moved the coach to another spot, out of the direct path of dust blowing from a field.

Yesterday, while Donna slept in, I had breakfast at the Subway shop in WalMart. Donna was still recovering from her trip to Phoenix and needed a few hours of extra sleep. We pulled out of WalMart a little past 10am. We merged onto US20 and drove through farm land.

North of Ashton, Idaho, we quickly gained 1,000 feet of elevation and entered the Caribou – Targhee National Forest. Road construction slowed us down through a couple of sections in the national forest. We could see the Teton Mountains to the east, in Wyoming, at times. It was beautiful country. The leaves on the aspen trees were a pretty shade of green against the darker evergreen trees.

We pulled into West Yellowstone just past noon yesterday. For a town with 1,300 residents, it’s a hopping place. Tourism fuels the economy. There are hotels, restaurants, two grocery stores and bars. Of course it also has the obligatory tourist traps with collectibles and T-shirts. The Chamber of Commerce has a large parking lot with bus and RV parking. Tour buses stop there throughout the day.

When we drove up to the chamber parking lot, we were confused by the Buffalo Crossing RV Park sign in front and the RV parking. We pulled in and parked. We didn’t see an office for the RV park. We saw the RV park with RVs in it to the south, but we couldn’t access the park from the lot we were in.

We pulled back out on the road and drove past the IMAX cinema and found the RV park entrance. There wasn’t any signage. All afternoon, after we set up, we saw other RVs make the same mistake as us. They need to put up a sign at the actual entrance.

View from the driver’s side of our coach as we set up

It was raining off and on as we were getting settled in. The temperature was in the 40s. Later, around 5pm the sun came out as the skies cleared. It warmed up to the 60s as predicted. This morning we have blue skies and abundant sunshine. Donna and I are going into Yellowstone National Park on the scooter and plan to do some hiking there.

Riding with the Wind

I’ve been running both air conditioners non-stop the last two days. It’s been unusually warm, with the temperature reaching the upper 80s. There’s also humidity as scattered thunderstorms form in the late afternoon. We’ve only had a few stray rain drops here in the park, but I heard thunder and saw rainfall in the area. Yesterday, a nearby storm cell created wind gusts that rocked the coach for several minutes.

Today, the forecast calls for a more seasonable high of 77 degrees. I have windows and the door open this morning. Maybe I can give the air conditioners a break.

Yesterday, I rode the scooter out of the park, five miles north on Redwood Road. I wanted to check out the Pilot/Flying J fuel station. I’d like to to fuel up the coach when we leave here on Tuesday. I was told there was road construction by the station, so I wanted to check the area before driving the coach there. After checking it out on the scooter, I don’t think it will be a problem to stop there for fuel.

I’ve been using an app from the folks at Technomadia, called State Lines. It gives me useful information on various laws and taxes in each state. One of the things I look at, are fuel taxes. If I know we’ll be driving through a state with high fuel taxes, I’ll fuel up ahead of time. Here, in Utah, the tax on diesel fuel is 48.9 cents per gallon. When we reach Montana it will be 52.9 cents. When we head west from Montana I’ll buy fuel in Idaho where the tax is 49.4 cents per gallon. If I wait until we reach Washington, I’ll pay 61.9 cents per gallon in taxes! This app helps me to plan fuel stops.

After I reconnoitered the fuel stop, I went out on my mountain bike. I rode the Jordan River Trail again. I had a tail wind on the ride north. Along the way, I saw a group of people canoeing the river. I don’t know if it was an organized tour or just friends and family. There were about a dozen canoes together.

Canoes on the Jordan River

Canoeing down river looked fun. I wondered if they were going to pull out downriver or if they planned to paddle back upstream.

When I reached the moto-cross track, I was surprised at the lack of activity. No one was out on the track. Then I saw why. They must have read my last post about the dust being kicked up! There were two water trucks spraying water on the track to keep the dust down. The motorcyclists were taking a break as the track was being prepared.

Water truck in the center of the photo

After enjoying the tailwind on the ride down the river, I expected to battle the wind on the way back. I was pleasantly surprised. The wind died down for most of the ride back. The lack of wind made the ride easier, but it also meant swarms of gnats formed along the river. I rode through countless flying insects. I tried not to breathe through my mouth as they bounced off of my face. About a half mile from the park, the wind picked up again.

Later, after I showered and washed a load of laundry, I took a stroll through the RV park. The evening air was beginning to cool. The late afternoon was hot and muggy. I met a couple of guys from Canada. They were on their way back after buying a truck in Arizona. Not just any old truck, but a 1964 Chevy K10. The truck was in excellent condition.

1964 Chevy K10

It had a custom cap on the back and an auxiliary fuel tank. The guy that bought the truck told me he had a 1964 C10 at home and found the K10 online. The C10 is a rear-wheel drive truck while the K10 features four-wheel drive.

This morning, I’m taking advantage of the great wifi here at the KOA. I’m downloading the European coverage of the Moto-GP qualifying and race at Mugello, Italy. I’m looking forward to Donna’s return this afternoon.

Our plan is to pull out of here on Tuesday. Our next destination is West Yellowstone. We’ll stay there a few days and explore Yellowstone National Park.

Rain, Rain

I’ll open today’s post by giving thanks to all those who have served our country. My thoughts go out to those who have sacrificed in the name of freedom.

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Donna’s bike ride on Thursday. She told me how quiet the roads were and how she enjoyed riding through the countryside with the snow-covered Wasatch mountains as a backdrop. Here are a couple of photos she took while she was out.

Wild flowers, horses, cattle and irrigation

Pond, geese and grass

Yesterday, after posting to the blog, I went out for a walk. I walked up 6th street to highway 113, then I walked east to Main Street. The housing in this area is an interesting mix. There are newer looking duplexes on 6th, then older homes on the streets east of there. Some of the houses are obviously rental units with unkempt yards, while others are nicely maintained.

The corner of 600 West and hwy 113

On highway 113, I saw this old mansion for sale. The sign said it had 21 rooms and nine bathrooms! It also boasted of upgraded electrical installation and modern heating. The asking price was $749,000.

For sale – 21 rooms with nine baths

I spent about an hour strolling through the town. The sky was overcast all morning. By 2pm, a light rain started to fall. The rain was intermittent and light, so we decided to walk down to the old Heber train station. We bought tickets for the Wild West Days train ride.

The train took us south, out through the countryside. The rain made it impossible to capture an image through the windows – besides, I forgot my Samsung Galaxy back in our coach. As we rolled along, we saw huge houses on horse farms. We rolled along in the old train over the Provo River and made a stop on the tracks at a point marked “Charleston.”

The engineer unhooked the locomotive and switched it to an adjacent track. He drove past the passenger cars and switched it back onto the main track. Once on the main track, he hooked up to the train cars again, on the opposite end, to pull us back to the station. The train robbery entertainment was geared towards the kids on board. Most of the passengers were young families with children. It was an entertaining ride and we enjoyed the scenery. But it wasn’t worth the $15 ticket price.

We walked back to our coach in the rain. Of course, as soon as we got inside it stopped raining. It was only a brief break in the precipitation though. I had the TV on and watched two documentaries about the late Formula One driver, Ayrton Senna. Later, Donna and I watched two more episodes from the first season of Lost.

Cloudy sunset over the Wasatch range

This morning we woke to the sound of rain on our roof. Donna bought tickets for a Crawfish Festival in a town nearby called Midway. She’s picking up a rental car this morning. The forecast calls for more rain this afternoon, making the scooter impractical for transportation to the festival.

Colorado National Monument

I rode the scooter to the Cummins Rocky Mountain Service Center yesterday. It’s in Grand Junction, a few miles from our location. I picked up a fuel filter and air filter for our Onan 7.5 KW Quiet Diesel generator. The filters are due for replacement after 500 hours of run time. We have about 470 hours on the generator now. So, I picked up the parts while it was convenient and will do the maintenance work later.

The highlight of the day came when Donna and I rode the scooter through Grand Junction to the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument. We brought our America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. Without the pass, there is a day use fee to enter the monument. When we pulled up to the entrance kiosk, it was closed. There was a sign directing us to pay upon exiting the park. Seemed strange, but we rode in and immediately began climbing a steep, twisty road.

At one point, we entered a tunnel and felt the coolness deep inside the rock. After passing through the tunnel, we stopped at Cold Shivers Point. The elevation was about 6,200 feet – we’d climbed nearly 2,000 feet in seven miles. Cold Shivers Point overlooks Columbus Canyon. I took many photos, so today’s post is picture heavy. However, I couldn’t capture the enormity, the steepness and the depth of the canyons.

View from the road climbing from the east entrance

Looking towards the head of Columbus Canyon

Looking toward the head of Columbus Canyon

The walls of Columbus Canyon are sheer drops of several hundred if not more than 1,000 feet. I’ll admit that parts of the overlook were frightening. You can stand on the edge of the canyon wall, unrestrained and look down.

We continued riding westbound along Rim Rock Drive, stopping at view points along the way. This is a road you don’t want to make a mistake on. It snakes along the rim of the canyons with no guardrail between the road and rim. At times, the shoulder is only a couple of feet wide before the terrain drops vertically.

Donna at the Red Rock Canyon Overlook

Narrow Red Rock Canyon, looking north

Again, the photos do not capture the scale of the landscape. The floor of Red Rock Canyon covers a few miles before it drops away to the Colorado River to the north. The juniper and pinon pine trees on the bottom are mature and much larger than they appear.

Colorful rock on the south side of Rim Rock Drive

The largest canyon in the Colorado National Monument is Ute Canyon. We stopped at several view points overlooking this enormous canyon. We hiked down a couple of trails that had placards identifying the plants and some of the animals found in the park. The road topped out at 6,640 feet above sea level. We began a gradual descent along the rim of Ute Canyon. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe the view. Below are a few images of Ute Canyon.

Ute Canyon

View from Artists Point

Coke Oven Overlook

Monument Canyon view

Monument Canyon

There are a number of hiking trails throughout the park, many of which are described as “difficult.” It’s also a popular cycling route that requires lights on front and back to travel safely through the tunnels.

We stopped briefly at the visitor center, then made the rapid descent to the west park entrance. I pulled up to the kiosk, ready to show my park pass. It was empty. There was a sign posted that said “Temporarily Closed.” I guess entry into the Colorado National Monument was a freebie yesterday.

We rode on CO340 into Fruita. We stopped at Suds Brothers Brewery downtown and had a cold one with a plate of hummus and veggies with warm pita bread. The Red Monkey Butt amber ale was very good, full-bodied and well-balanced.

Last night I grilled teriyaki salmon on a cedar plank. Donna served it with pineapple salsa and sauteed spinach.

Teriyaki salmon with pineapple salsa

Today, Donna will catch up on some work and then get out for a bike ride. I’ll see if I can make arrangements to have the transmission in our coach serviced next week.

Grand Canyon Day Trip

Yesterday, we drove the rental car to the Grand Canyon National Park. We left the RV park around 10am and drove north on US89 to the little town called Cameron. We wanted to make a stop there to poke around in the Cameron Trading Post and also have an early lunch.

Cameron Trading Post

Donna bought a few items, including the book Code Talker for me. This book is a memoir of Chester Nez, the only living member of the Navajo code talkers of World War II. We went to the restaurant to have Navajo tacos. Navajo tacos are made with Indian fry bread. When we saw how large the portion was, we decided to split an order. The fry bread was the size of a large dinner plate – half was more than enough.

Navajo taco

The fresh fry bread was light and crispy. I heartily recommend trying this dish, but you better be hungry!

From Cameron we turned back south and drove a mile to the junction of AZ64, where we turned west. This road takes you through the western end of the Navajo reservation to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. Several miles up the road, there’s a sign for a scenic overlook of the Little Colorado River Gorge. It’s on tribal land and the overlook is operated by the tribe. They ask for a donation at the entrance. We pulled in to take a look.

Little Colorado River Gorge

The view is nice, but it wasn’t worth the stop. The views in the national park blow it away.

Most people enter the Grand Canyon National Park from the south entrance on US180. This is the entrance closest to the village with hotels and restaurants. From there, most tourists never get to the east end of the park. When we entered at the east entrance, there was only one car in front of us. We used our annual National Parks and Recreation pass and didn’t have the pay the $25 per vehicle entrance fee. This pass was a parting gift from my colleagues when I retired. It expires next month. We’re planning to buy another one. It’s well worth the $80 cost.

Our first stop was at the Desert View Watch Tower. I’ve always come into the park from the south entrance and had never seen the tower before.

Desert View Watch Tower

The tower was built in 1932. It wasn’t a replica of anything that existed earlier. It was an original design that was made in the manner of traditional construction found in the area. The tower is a few hundred yards from the parking lot. There are other buildings along the paved path to the tower, including a store, restaurant and public restrooms. The restrooms were modern and clean.

Behind the tower, the view was nothing short of spectacular.

View to the northeast from the tower

View to the northwest from the tower

We went inside the tower and climbed a steep staircase to the second floor. We walked out on an observation deck there. The view was great, but there were tiny black flying insects that were annoying us. We decided to move on.

Our next stop was less than two miles up the road. We stopped at Navajo Point, then Lipan Point and enjoyed more spectacular views of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River below.

You can see a portion of the Colorado River from Lipan Point

Another view from Lipan Point

We continued on along the East Rim Road (AZ64) through the park, stopping at most of the view points. The temperature was in the upper 70s and the air was very dry. We were 7,200 feet above sea level. We could feel the altitude as we walked around the view points. It was easy to run out of breath!

We saw a man painting the landscape in oil on canvas at one view point.

Landscape artist

Donna found a level rock near the edge and struck a yoga pose.

Donna in tree pose

The little black insects were everywhere. We must have timed our visit to coincide with a large hatch. They seemed to be attracted to white. We saw white cars in the parking lots covered with the insects. They continued to annoy us and several would find their way into our car every time we opened the doors.

After awhile, the stunning views become mind numbing. It reminded me of the time we visited the giant redwoods. At first, the ancient old trees caused us to stop and stare in wonder. But after awhile, we just said, “Hey, there’s another big one” and moved on.

After we stopped at Grandview Point, we decided we had seen enough and drove on to the junction of US180 near the village and left the park.

Grandview

Spectacular!

US180 took us over an 8,000′ pass near the Snow Bowl ski area. When we made it into Flagstaff, around 4pm, a stop at the Beaver Street Brewery was in order. I enjoyed their stout while Donna had the del Sol – a Mexican style lager.

When we returned to the RV park, we found that several of the sites had emptied during the day and a few newcomers arrived. We were still feeling full from the Navajo tacos and didn’t have much of an appetite. Later, Donna made a light meal – cumin spiced tilapia and Spanish rice.

This morning, we awoke to unexpected gusty winds. The weather guessers are calling for high of 72 today. A cold front is forecast to hit the area on Wednesday.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Tours

Heart of an Awl

Giant Springs

Rain Falls in Great Falls

RV Caravans

Yellowstone National Park

The Road to West Yellowstone

Riding with the Wind

Rain, Rain

Colorado National Monument

Grand Canyon Day Trip

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