AN RV TRIP AFTER
LONG HIATUS
After staying home during the pandemic, surgeries, spending two summers in hot and dry Coarsegold, it was time to hit the road. Fully vaccinated, but still wearing a mask, the incentive was to meet up some fellow Yellowstone guides/bus drivers.
Everything was contingent on Covid. But as we all got vaccinated it seems more and more plausible. A number of meeting places were considered. Finally, the "plan' was to meet up in Pinedale, WY the day Jackie checked out after her season. We would go from there to Green River Lake campground in the Wind River Range. Spectacular spot. But in the end, Rod and I arrived a day early and did some scouting. We were concerned that the forecast for rain and possibly snow could make that road a bit dicey, especially for me. The others had 4 wheel drive. But we discovered the Soda Lake Wildlife Refuge which had dispersed camping with some large area where we could fit our 4 camping vehicles and a tent for socializing. And it was beautiful, although in a different way.
And so we gathered and we talked, and talked and laughed a lot, ate, talked, walked, photographed, rearranged Jackie's hastily packed truck, and explored the area for close to a week. Did I mention that there was talk? After all Doug joined us for part of the time. (Love him dearly and he was the one who got me back into photography, supported making me a photo guide, and gave me lots of help and assistance. But the man can talk.)
Here are some of the photos of our campsite and from our campsite or just a short walk beyond. We decided the horses were probably used to pull hay sleds in winter to feed wildlife. The last day we had fresh snow on the peaks and beautiful lighting on the Wind River Mountains.
SODA LAKE AND AREA:
Jackie and Rod re-pack Jackie's truck. I just made comments and photographed and expressed amazement.
Rod also made us coconut shrimp and braised brussel sprouts, but this plate was Jackie's presentation in Monticito, UT. Love braised brussel spouts with balsamic glaze. The glaze is now a stable in my house.
Jackie hates having her photo taken. Rod is a natural ham. Oh yeah, he was a theatre arts major and an actor during his career.
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A pronghorn was hanging out with the horses. A wise move as the season was on and hunters were in the refuge. You will have to click on photo to enlarge full size to see it better.
GREEN RIVER LAKE AREA AND EXPLORING
Little Soda Lake, is a high clearance road from Soda Lake where we camped. This one was totally dry and easy to see why it has the name "Soda."
And this was the picnic table in the campground where I stayed the night before we gathered at Soda Lake. I had turned off my hose at the underground bib as we were given notice that the low that night was expected to be 24 degrees F. But I didn't unhook it because I knew I would put water in my holding tank in the morning. I should have. Hose was frozen solid. By the time Rod arrived for us to drive out, I was thawing it with a hair dryer. We got it thawed just enough that when we turned the spigot on, circular sticks of ice shot out. We had great fun with that.
BEFORE THE WIND RIVER RANGE GATHERING
My journey took me from the heat and smoke of California's Central Valley to more heat and smoke in Primm, NV and slightly less of both in St. George, UT. When I reached the Provo Gorge Drive and a three day stay in Heber City, UT it was delightful and Fall had arrived. I had never taken the Provo Canyon Scenic Byway. Much better than going thru Salt Lake and up the steep grade on the east. Colors were turning. Nice drive. While in Heber I did the Heber Valley Creeper, the train ride thru some of the same area (but not the usual route due to work on the rails.) It was enjoyable except for the fact that almost no one was masked. The web site said, "for consideration of others" please mask. Similar sign on the door of the station. Not a single employee was wearing a mask. Only one other person in my car had a mask but I had no one sitting next to me. On that subject, the use of masks was highly variable. The only place that was doing a good job was the Navajo Nation where people were masked inside and outside. They have been hit especially hard .Tucson was pretty good. And libraries and museums were good.
Spent a couple days in Ft Bridger, WY. I'd been to the Fort before but it was good to do again. Drove the Loop through Flaming Gorge in the car, and saw a moose, which walked right through the little campground next to the Fort. That park was reasonable priced, an anomaly these days. Spent a couple nights in Walmart lots although that is becoming less available. Elks lodge lots were still reasonable. In Primm, NV, I actually stayed in a casino hotel. I needed a good internet connection for a zoom meeting, it was still hot and smoky, and the price was comparable to RV parks. Besides, I didn't have to make the bed or wash the towels.!
Here are some of the scenes from travels before arriving in Pinedale and meeting up with friends.
Love how the Fall colors "pop" when it is overcast.
Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon
This young bull moose walked through my campground in Ft. Bridger.
Detail from Heber Creeper railroad
AFTER THE WIND RIVER REUNION
Doug and Rod both had family issues that took them in different directions but Jackie and I continued to travel together. Some places like Walmart parking lots and the ELKS Lodge in Grand Junction, CO were nothing we took photos of. I was disappointed by our stop in Rifle, CO. I grew up on stories of my great grandparents founding the town. Got to the entrance of the state park there and learned you had to have a reservation (the place was practically deserted), Jackie drove 4 miles to get a phone signal to call the number. It was $50.00 a night. Oh well. Only money. We did go see Rifle Falls and did some photographs from the campground, including the fresh snow that fell overnight only a couple hundred feet above us. We did not photograph the very busy RV park connected to a Casino in Camp Verde, AZ. I was going to use the jacuzzi until I realized that the people in it were not masked which was also true of staff and most of the other visitors. But we did go to Montezuma's Castle National Monument during the Camp Verde stop and enjoyed the very low key little campground in Monticello UT which we used as a base to do some exploring in the southern section of Canyonlands. The big thrill there was seeing our first mountain lion in the wild. Jackie got a better look than I did, but it was far away and moving over uneven ground which made it difficult. But we did see it. We had been alerted by a couple who had seen it earlier when in crossed the road in front of them. So, we were on the lookout.
Rifle Gap Reservoir. Last time I was there, also in October, there was plenty of water.
And as we drove back we shared the road. It is the west after all.
And Canyonlands below
Montezuma's Castle National Historic Site.
ON TO THE DESERT
Tucson was a time for socializing. I should have taken my camera to Tohono Chul Park and photographed our Yellowstone group around the outdoor table. Eric and Carole now live in Tucson in the winter and will be living in Yakima in the summer. Eric and I went through "Frolic" together. That's what they call the driver\guide training. And while you do get to ride around the park and stay overnight at different locations it was more intimidating than "frolicy." But the name of that part of the training is Frolic. Jackie and Eric made a great team on the multi-day tour package. We had lunch at their house one day, and then lunch at the great restaurant attached to the botanical park, museum. I took a day to see some of the women I met our first year of RVing. We had lunch and talked and laughed as if we had not been apart. I returned two days later to spend a little time with Jaimie. Her husband had a fatal heart attack on the golf course the day after out lunch get together. Jaimie and I traveled together by train from Beijing, thru Mongolia, to St. Petersburg.
I had lunch with Myrna who I met when we both took jobs as "jammers", driving the bright red, open top buses in Glacier one year. Not surprising it was a fun lunch...you cannot be around Myrna without a lot of laughter and great stories.
No photos but I saw friends west of Phoenix. Ajo, always great to help on projects, installed a new water pump for me after checking to make sure a pump was what was needed and not something simpler. Take it to many commercial RV people and they are quick to replace things only to find out that wasn't the real issue. Not all, I've found some good places, but so much better to have someone you trust. He also makes a great dinner and his pies, this time pumpkin, are super.
I have other friends in Arizona who I missed seeing. Another time. The women decided we should have some get togethers in the future and I will be back to AZ.
Me, DeAnna, Jaimie, Pam and Judy
Jackie and I went our separate ways a good deal while in Tucson and then for a few days afterwards. But we met up again at Red Rock State Park in California. Unlike so many state parks these days, this one is still first come, first serve and the rate was reasonable at $23 for seniors and it had a dump station. However, we were amazed to find that the dump station cost $20 and had no potable water. I went in to the visitor center because I was so sure the fee was just for people who came to use the station and had not gotten a camp site. I was told that the state no longer maintained the dump station and that is was a private contractor and that fee was also for campers. Times have sure changed in the RV world.
We did some hiking and exploring. One morning we left sunny Red Rock to drive over Tehachapi Pass to the tiny town of Keene which has one of the nation's newer National Monuments--The Cesar Chavez Center. Encountered fog there but it made for soft lighting.
Here are photos of Red Rock Canyon State Park which contains lots of Joshua Trees, a species distinct to the Mojave Desert.
We took a side trip to Keene, the site of the new Cesar Chavez Hitorical Monument. The United Farmworkers Union bought the site of an old TB sanitarium as their headquarters. It moved them slightly out of the agricultural central valley so that they were not too associated with one town, allowed a retreat center for the many families and workers, a conference center which is still used, and some housing for some of the staff. That still remains but the Park Service has made one building into a visitor center with the history of Chavez and others of the Farmworkers' movement. It is easy to get to when traveling over Hwy 58 between Bakersfield and Mojave\California City\Barstow and other California desert locations.
The Chavez family had built Dia de los Muertos shrines to their parents Cesar and Helen. Other families had done some for members who were also part of the movement.
Last three photos are of the entrance to and memorial garden.
This fall RV trip required some creative ways to find good wi-fi connections in quiet places for regular zoom meetings. I'm serving gratefully as co-chair of the Fresno Unitarian-Universalist Church Pledge Committee (believe it or not, this is a warm, rewarding, actually fun activity...not something I would normally associate with soliciting people for funds) and a Pacific Region U-U Leadership Training program. One night was in an upstairs conference room at the Grand Junction Elks Lodge with the bagpipe band practicing in another room (my fellow zoom members enjoyed that...and the band was super nice about closing doors, taking a dinner break during a good portion of the meeting). I used a couple of libraries, a hotel room, and my own RV where possible.
I returned home to find the Acorn Woodpeckers had been busy. All of my bird houses are stuffed with acorns, the top ledge of the shed door rained acorns on me, and now that I am home they are working on the space between car sideview mirrors and the frame and the awning arms on the motorhome. I haven't gone on the roof yet, but I hear folks have found their AC unit cover stuffed. Kimchi, being both a cat and a very self-sufficient feral feline, survived fine without me. He must have known that Robin was one of my triplets. She, along with long time RV friend Lori, and I were all born on the same day. Kimchi suckered her as badly as he did me. It took almost a week for him to reappear at my site, and the first few days after he appeared it was unpredictable. However, he is back to sleeping under the motorhome and greeting me with his fairly quiet meows when I take his food out in the morning. So, at this point we have forgiven each other for the lack of loyalty.
This was most probably my last RV trip. I've been a full-time RVer for 26 years. And most of that time I had no home base, just a nomad traveling, exploring, working in spectacular and unique spots. Although I had a great time on this trip with friends and saw some great places, I think it is time to hang up the RV keys. I will still travel and live in Coarsegold, but the easy, relaxed, unplanned days of Rving are over, the costs are alarming, trend is towards big, fancy RV "resorts" and boondocking is becoming more challenging. And I have decided that while my 26 foot Traveler has served me well since 2003, it's time to find something easier to live in, specifically a bed that sits on the floor at normal height. So, I will still be in a trailer or 5th wheel on my spectacular site, but will travel by car, train and other means in the future.
As always, you can click on the top photo to do a slide show with larger images.
