Friday, October 25, 2019
End of our Trip for 2019
This has been one long trip. Very tiring. We are now in Phoenix and, as usual, the first 2 weeks are hectic. Lots of motor home odds and ends to catch up on, lots of odds and ends to order. Pretty much daily Amazon deliveries. From all the dust of the dirt roads the motor home needs a good cleaning.
To top things off, our regular campground raised their rates by 30% so we have moved our plans up by a year and will be looking for another place. We had looked last year so now we just need to finalize our selection.
This will be my final blog entry unless we do some interesting day trips around Arizona. I hope you have enjoyed the blog. We have made many memories from this trip.
To top things off, our regular campground raised their rates by 30% so we have moved our plans up by a year and will be looking for another place. We had looked last year so now we just need to finalize our selection.
This will be my final blog entry unless we do some interesting day trips around Arizona. I hope you have enjoyed the blog. We have made many memories from this trip.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Sedona
I had scheduled the car and MH for a servicing on Monday so we had to find something to do for the weekend. We decided to stop at Sedona. Such a lovely area that we really enjoy. We just drove around on some of our favorite roads. We decided not to go to Oak Creek Canyon since it was a weekend.
As usual, pictures just can't describ Sedona.
As usual, pictures just can't describ Sedona.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Provo and Cedar Breaks
After a few days of travel, we arrived in Provo for a week. Lots to do as w wind down our trip. Plans are mostly the usual but we found a Les Schwab across the street from us. They are known for their tires so we went over and they had tires for the MH. We asked that they get them in but we had the right of refusal based on the manufacture date. Mh tires don't turnover as fast as passenger car tires so you need to watch out for their manufacture date. We had excellent dates so we brought MH in and had new tires on the fronts in a couple of hours. They couldn't do an alignment so we will schedule that for when we get back to AZ.
Next was the car, that needed tires all around so the car went in the next day. Les Schwab was able to do an alignment on the car so that is finished. Our week in Provo is revolving around tires.
The next crises was our vacuum cleaner died. Finally found the model we wanted at a Walmart 10 miles away. Another trip out. This was how our week continued. This was a good break at the end of the trip.
From Provo, we drove to Cedar Breaks, a miniature Bryce at 11,000 feet. This is a small park and has few visitors, much less crowded than Bryce.
As we approached our campground we started seeing and smelling smoke. Of course, a forest fire. The fire was in a canyon south of the campground and north of the park. The wind was blowing NE so all was well
This campground is a Dark Sky campground. If you have never seen the stars when in an area without any lights it is a mind boggling experience. So many stars, har do imagine. I wish thre was an easy way to take pictures of the stars. I just feel so minuscule when I see all these stars.
The next day we drove over the Cedar Breaks. This was an interesting diversion. The usual animals encountered: Turkey, a few sheep, and deer. The morning temperature was 19 degrees and a 30 mph wind. We are at 7500'. Time for goose down coats since we are going p to 11,000 feet.
Then we rounded a corner and saw a herd of sheep with a rancher. We didn't think much about it and slowed down. We noticed a "sheep" sitting on the road and slowed down some more. This was not a sheep, but a dog guarding the sheep herd. till didn't think about it too much. Until the dog started becoming aggressive toward the car. We would stop, dog happy. We would creep, dog unhappy. We finally figured out the dog was trying to herd us away from the sheep. I would have been happy to oblige but I had no place to go other on the road. I have never ben herded by a dog before.
Once past the sheep, wandered through the caldera of an old volcano. This was so different. The amount of lava strewn about was unimaginable, went on for miles and miles.
Next was the car, that needed tires all around so the car went in the next day. Les Schwab was able to do an alignment on the car so that is finished. Our week in Provo is revolving around tires.
The next crises was our vacuum cleaner died. Finally found the model we wanted at a Walmart 10 miles away. Another trip out. This was how our week continued. This was a good break at the end of the trip.
From Provo, we drove to Cedar Breaks, a miniature Bryce at 11,000 feet. This is a small park and has few visitors, much less crowded than Bryce.
As we approached our campground we started seeing and smelling smoke. Of course, a forest fire. The fire was in a canyon south of the campground and north of the park. The wind was blowing NE so all was well
This campground is a Dark Sky campground. If you have never seen the stars when in an area without any lights it is a mind boggling experience. So many stars, har do imagine. I wish thre was an easy way to take pictures of the stars. I just feel so minuscule when I see all these stars.
The next day we drove over the Cedar Breaks. This was an interesting diversion. The usual animals encountered: Turkey, a few sheep, and deer. The morning temperature was 19 degrees and a 30 mph wind. We are at 7500'. Time for goose down coats since we are going p to 11,000 feet.
Then we rounded a corner and saw a herd of sheep with a rancher. We didn't think much about it and slowed down. We noticed a "sheep" sitting on the road and slowed down some more. This was not a sheep, but a dog guarding the sheep herd. till didn't think about it too much. Until the dog started becoming aggressive toward the car. We would stop, dog happy. We would creep, dog unhappy. We finally figured out the dog was trying to herd us away from the sheep. I would have been happy to oblige but I had no place to go other on the road. I have never ben herded by a dog before.
Once past the sheep, wandered through the caldera of an old volcano. This was so different. The amount of lava strewn about was unimaginable, went on for miles and miles.
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| And then more sheep!!!! |
Monday, September 23, 2019
Drive to Alpaca farm and feeding Alpaca
Today we drove from Red Lodge to an Alpaca Farm where we would spend the night. Last night we has snow on the mountain tops, beautiful. Probably roads are closed for today.
The drive was beautiful with the fresh snow. Only problem was the wind blowing hard from the south east. By the tim we arrived at the farm my shoulders were sore. I had to kep the wheel cocked at about 20 degrees from parallel for the entire trip.
Once at the farm we had a great time watching the Alpacas and are looking forward to a tour. Alpacas are such sweet, quiet animals.
Here are the pictures from our drive and the farm tour.
The drive was beautiful with the fresh snow. Only problem was the wind blowing hard from the south east. By the tim we arrived at the farm my shoulders were sore. I had to kep the wheel cocked at about 20 degrees from parallel for the entire trip.
Once at the farm we had a great time watching the Alpacas and are looking forward to a tour. Alpacas are such sweet, quiet animals.
Here are the pictures from our drive and the farm tour.
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| So quiet and peaceful |
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| Tehn we showed up with the food bucket |
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| I became a very popular person, so much fun |
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Beartooth and Chief Joseph Scenic Drives
We are now in Red Lodge, MT. The entrance to Beartooth Scenic Highway and Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. This town has single campground, Mom and Pop type, our favorite. We checked in, left payment open until we decide how long we are going to stay. The weather forecast isn't the greatest.
Since today is clear we decided to take an hours rest and then head to the Beartooth. We sure didn't know what we were getting into. We climbed, via may switchbacks, from 6500' to 11000'. Sometimes we had to turn the car around to be able to get the door open to get out due to high winds. This is a wonderful drive, not to be missed, put it on your bucket list if you are out this way. We felt we could touch the clouds and sky.
The Beartooth Scenic Byway:
We were following a motor home down the Beartooth. There are signs at the beginning saying no large motor homes or trucks but he ignored that. He was afraid of the road, it is narrow and twisty kept to the center and would almost come to a stop if anything came toward him. He rode his brakes. Finally he let us pass, I guess he made it down but when we passed him we weren't even at the switchback portion of the road. Hope he learned his lesson.
The next day we drove the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, not as spectacular as the Beartooth, not as high, but still a challenge.
We have had 2 days of rain so we will be moving on soon. An added incentive is new snow on the peaks, time to move a little more south. The challenge is which way to go. We can't take the motorhome over the Beartooth so our only option is to head north, go across Montana to get past Yellowstone and then head south. We don't like repeating roads but we don't have much choice since campgrounds are closing down.
I did some checking on places to stop and our first night from here will be an Alpaca Farm. We joined an organization called Harvest Hosts and they provide free overnight camping at wineries, museums, farms, restaurants and golf courses. There are no hookups but with the motor home that is not a problem. Looking forward to this stop.
Since today is clear we decided to take an hours rest and then head to the Beartooth. We sure didn't know what we were getting into. We climbed, via may switchbacks, from 6500' to 11000'. Sometimes we had to turn the car around to be able to get the door open to get out due to high winds. This is a wonderful drive, not to be missed, put it on your bucket list if you are out this way. We felt we could touch the clouds and sky.
The Beartooth Scenic Byway:
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| A few switchbacks, drove this road 3 times!!! |
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| The Beartooth |
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| Wonderful Valleys |
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| Well above the tree line |
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| A glacier lake |
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| We were surprised by the number of lakes and glaciers |
The next day we drove the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, not as spectacular as the Beartooth, not as high, but still a challenge.
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| In the middle of all the granite, a sandstone hill appeared |
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| At one of the turnouts was this sculpture of Chief Joseph |
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| Our Road |
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| Glaciers all over |
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| Open range, lots of cattle wandering around |
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| The steer wins!! |
We have had 2 days of rain so we will be moving on soon. An added incentive is new snow on the peaks, time to move a little more south. The challenge is which way to go. We can't take the motorhome over the Beartooth so our only option is to head north, go across Montana to get past Yellowstone and then head south. We don't like repeating roads but we don't have much choice since campgrounds are closing down.
I did some checking on places to stop and our first night from here will be an Alpaca Farm. We joined an organization called Harvest Hosts and they provide free overnight camping at wineries, museums, farms, restaurants and golf courses. There are no hookups but with the motor home that is not a problem. Looking forward to this stop.
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