October 2018 - Day 7

Spent the day hanging out in Mule Creek.  After hiking about 2 miles up the canyon we get to House of Fire ruins.   For about 2 hours each day the sun hits the roof just right so looks like “fire” going across the roof.  If you look close their are deer in the first picture.

We then drove further up the mesa for lunch and some nice views.

October 2018 - Day 5

We start the day heading to Natural Bridges NM and started by driving to Wash Comb.  It’s a long road that goes down the valley pictured here.

We then got to Natural Bridges which is best known for the three large bridges that scan this crazy canyon.  

From there we then headed to the Moki Dugway.  This is a where the paved road turns in to a dirt road and slowly edges down from the Mesa top to a desert floor.  Quite a view from the top.

We then drove through the Valley of the Gods.  Pictures speak for themselves.

October 2018 - Day 4

Today we headed to Hovenweep National Monument (stands for deserted canyon).  We were supposed to have some rain coming in so we headed out early to hopefully beat the storm.  It was overcast all day but that made for nice hiking weather.  The trail that goes along the rim is about 2 miles and bypasses the structures built along the canyon rim.  These structures were built around the same time as Mesa Verde.  At Hovenweep, they built pit houses, pueblos, towers, and kivas concentrated at the head of small canyons. Pictures can be spread with fingers to bigger view.

Tomorrow we head to Valley of the Gods.

October 2018 - Day 3

Another nice day so we took off for a day hike in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park.  We started out at the Elephant Hill trailhead and headed to Chester Park.  This was the last day of fall break for Utah schools so the area was somewhat busy but it was still very nice.  I never get tired of this landscape and will continue to keep coming back.  You can click on photo for bigger version.

The weather is turning for the next few days so no plans as of now.  We need to do some things to the trailer.  We will probably go get some groceries and check out the visitors center.

October 2018 - Day 1 & 2

Day 1: we drove up to Mesa Verde National Park for two nights.  We stayed  at the Mesa Verde RV park which was only one mile from the park entrance.  On the drive up from Albuquerque, the engine light on the truck came on.  I checked the truck’s information center and found out that my fuel filter life was down to 3%.  I was able to get an appointment at Dodge dealer in Cortez for the next day.  I arrived around 8:00 and after the fuel filters were changed the check engine light was still lit.  After going thru the codes they determined we needed some kind of software download.  Auto repair sure isn’t what it used to be.  Thankfully, I got that done around 11:00 - had  some lunch back at the trailer and then spent the afternoon at Mesa Verde National Park. 

This is an overlook toward Mancos after driving up the initial hill in the park.  

We hiked the Petroglyph Point trail which starts at the museum on Chaplin Mesa.  Total trail length is about 3 miles which for the first half of the hike is the side of canyon and for second half of the hike we’re back on top of the Mesa heading back to the trailhead. The first mile and a half was a lot of up and down with the return being fairly level.  The weather could not have been any better.  The nights are getting below freezing so have been disconnecting the water to the trailer.  The days have been really nice so far.

Tomorrow we head to Blanding, Utah where we will stay for the next ten nights.

Labor Day - Clear Creek Campground

Labor Day @ Clear Creek

We arrived on Thursday around 1:00 and set up the trailer.  There were only a few sites taken this early in the week but one of those is the Group Site.  A charter school in Santa Fe at the beginning of each year takes their eighth grade students on a two night camping trip.  There were 75 students and eight adults.  Fortunately, They were on their last night but it was quite noisy.  Kids making noise doing their thing is not so bad.  They were good about slowing the noise output at around 10:00.  They must have made quite a mess because the afternoon after they left the ranger came and power washed the place.

Friday - we went for a day hike in the San Pedro Wilderness.  That afternoon Francie, George, Crystal, Sylvia and Joe showed up.  We had a get together at the fire pit that night.  Late Friday night we got a pretty good rain but started  to clear up Saturday morning.  I am having trouble with the solar panels - just need a couple of hours of sunshine. I have also installed a 1000W inverter so we can run some 110 devices as well as charging phones and iPads.  We do not want those dying on us. 😩   Unfortunately, we’re not getting much out of it without the solar panels giving more output.

Saturday- We drove to Cuba to pick up some items we needed (OK, ice for margaritas).  Jessica and Josh came up for hamburgers, chicharones burritos (George’s specialty) and about two hours of a good rain.  Of course, we then hear water dripping off the trees all night but there are worse things to fall asleep listening to.  Wet wood made the nightly fire a little tougher to get started but we have some seasoned outdoorsmen, so no problem.

Sunday- We started off with clear skies so the solar is doing its thing.  We managed to go for short hike in morning but the rest of day was pretty lazy.  Got some family and kindle reading time in.  The family gathering was at our fire pit tonight which went off without a hitch.  

Monday - today everyone leaves except us.  We decided to stay an additional day. We should have the campground to ourselves.  The campground has a nice vibe when there is no one else around.  Starting out cloudy - see how the solar works out.  We ended up with one other campground buddy but was nice having more solitude.  Spent most of the afternoon at Theresa’s place. We got some more rain in the afternoon. The solar was not very useful. We ran the generator to keep batteries loaded.  

Tuesday - loaded up the trailer and headed home.   

Have video of day have hike if you want to view hit link below:

(Backup) Wedding - Day three & four

Day three: we took a boat cruise to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. The day started out foggy but cleared up as the day went along.  The cruise takes off at 8:35 and gets back at 7:30 - makes for a long day.  The boat arrived in Friday Harbor around 1:00. At that time, you have the choice of staying in Friday Harbor all afternoon or going on to look for whales. We chose to go whale watching. After the whale watching they give you two hours in Friday Harbor to eat and shop.  

We cruised in the smaller boat but had plenty of room.

Friday Harbor

A couple of Humpbacks surfaced really close to the boat - nice.

We also saw some Orcas on the way back to Elliot Bay but did not get any decent pictures. 

The next day we drove to Mount Rainier National Park with George and Francie to see the top of Mount Rainier. The park is still getting snow on the higher elevation roads so the road was closed shortly after the park entrance. Quite an impressive sight but no pictures of the peak - the sun really did a job on the photos of the snow covered mountain. 

Next trip: two weeks camping in Kira assuming the fire restrictions do not close more forests. 

Wedding and Day Two

We travelled to Seattle for the Josiah Fredette and Windy Dang wedding.  Josiah is the grandson of Gloria’s sister Theresa. They had a wedding at a Catholic Church with a Vietnamese tea party before the ceremony and then a wedding reception featuring a 6 course Vietnamese meal afterward. Windy’s parents came over from Vietnam and lived in Albuquerque where Windy and Josiah met.   Windy and her parents moved to Seattle a few years ago.  

The festivities started with a Tea party at 11:00. The purpose of this gathering is for both families to be formally introduced and a recognition of the elders.  They also honor family members who have passed away.  The wedding party carries in food and it’s placed it on the table. The parents uncover the food and present it to the bride and groom.  

The wedding took place at Vietnamese Martyrs Parish.  The service was conducted in both Vietnamese and English. 

The wedding reception was held at the Tea Palace in Renton, Washington.  

Day two:  got my calling and drove over to the Pacific Ocean.  It was raining on and off during the day but we have always enjoyed being near the ocean. It was a cool day. The temperature was in the low 50’s. 

Look at all that green stuff!  We’re not in Kansas anymore.