Heading into Grand Staircase Escalante

September 30, 2018

Waking up to a blue dome morning we were back on the road early, heading south on the Notom-Bullfrog Road for another 12 miles, continually passing between the national park and the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, before intersecting the Burr Trail.  Although every filling in my lower jaw was loosened by the washboard surface of these roads, the scenery was breath-taking.

The Burr Trail is reputed to be the most scenic road in this national park, and it certainly lived up to the hype.  The road is extremely narrow, windy, and steep as it climbs switchback after switchback up the canyon walls to the top of waterpocket fold.  We stopped a few times for photos, but the danger of falling rocks and my fear of heights kept those stops to a minimum.

Once we reached the end of the Burr Trail we were in the town of Boulder where we dined at the Burr Trail Grill.  We loved the food, burgers & pies, and the atmosphere, outdoor/western/funky.  Leaving Boulder we continued along the “million dollar highway” to the town of Escalante.  The road which was built by Mormons in the 1930’s, was considered excessive costly at the time; nowadays you couldn’t build a off-ramp for that price. However, the views along this road are certainly million dollar views as you climb and descend through our nation’s largest national monument.

We lucked out again, getting one of the last two campsites at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. This campground had flush toilets, showers, and shaded canopies at every campsite.  We were actually in one of the group sites which overlooked a small lake. After a night in the dust bowl of Cedar Mesa, we were thrilled to have a shower.  A year ago, when we first arrived at Moab, we spent our first night in a group campsite, which we ended up sharing with a nice German family who were driving a large Winnebago rental.   So we had to laugh at the coincidence when another German family pulled up and asked to this site.  They couldn’t have been nicer!

Capitol Reef National Park

September 29, 2018

Travel day.  We left our campground in Dinosaur National Monument around 8:15 AM, and headed toward Capitol Reef National Park, 300 miles away. The drive was spectacular; it’s seems they could just create a national park or monument just about anywhere in Utah. I’m not sure there’s a prettier state. We arrived at the Visitors Center at Capitol Reef around 2:00 pm.  

The park is long and narrow in shape.  The main road travels along a towering canyon of spectacular cliffs and multi colored rock formations on the Freemont River.  The canyon was formed 70 million years ago when two different plates collided, and folded into what geologists call a “waterpocket fold.”  The fold was over 100 miles long and eventually the fault line eroded, primarily by the Freemont River, and left the incredible rock formations that are the Capitol Reef National Park.

Unfortunately the park was packed (since it was Saturday) and disappointingly we saw the “campground full” sign before we even were out of the car.  Alex always has a “Plan B” so we were not too worried.  After watching a film about the park, grabbed some maps, did a speed browse of the gift shop, and took off.  I couldn’t escape the crowds fast enough.

 Not sure what creature lived in this hole.  Don't think I want to know!

Plan B took us along the Notom-Bullfrog Road that paralleled the park.  It was paved for a while, but became gravel/dirt after about 10 miles. We continued on for another 12+ and eventually came upon the rustic 5 site Cedar Mesa campground that fortunately still had one vacancy.  We grabbed it and set up our chairs and wolfed down a very late lunch of beers and sandwiches, and enjoyed another evening under stars.

Exploring Dinosaur National Park

September 28 2018

Our day started slowly with a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs.  We were in no hurry to leave our campsite, the views in every direction were spectacular.

Around noon, we headed to the Visitors’ Center, checked out the displays, and watched a film about the National Monument.  A very short drive from the Visitors’ Center is the Quarry Exhibit Hall.  The hall looks like a giant green house built into the side of the mountain.  It features a great wall of bones of over 1500 fossils embedded in rock. Incredibly the remains of over 400 different types of dinosaurs were discovered in 1909 in this exact spot along the Green River.  These fossils are over 149 million years old.   Mind Blowing.

Leaving the Exhibit Hall we took a self guided tour along Cub Creek Road, the only paved road in this part of the National Monument, for about 10 miles.  

Along the road we stopped multiple times to marvel at a variety of pictographs and petroglyphs created by ancient inhabitants thousands of years ago.  At the end of this road is the old cabin of Josie Morris, a reputed from of Butch and Sundance, who was married 5 times, but preferred the single life.  While at Josie’s place, we rolled out the awning on the van, set up our chairs and table, and enjoyed a nice shaded lunch.

We returned to our campsite around 5 pm, and soaked up the scenery for the rest of daylight until we dined under the stars on steak and Lisa Woodward’s home grown potatoes.

After dinner we sat around the campfire, watching the moon rise, and staring at the stars on a sky that was totally devoid of light pollution from any tony or village.

A fabulous day!

Driving to Dinosaur National Monument

Travel day.  Sadly we said goodbye to Alice, who has to work, and Alex, Joni, and I left Silverthorne around 11:30 AM, and headed toward Dinosaur National Monument, which straddles northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. We stopped in Steamboat Springs for lunch at a deli that all of us have visited before, and then continued west toward Dinosaur.  

The roads between Silverthorne and Steamboat, Colorado Route 9 and US 40, are very deserted, but pass through beautiful rolling hills.  Just south of Rabbit Ears Pass we saw a large forest fire toward the west.  We couldn’t see any flames, but plenty of smoke, and we could clearly smell it too.  We also passed a few reservoirs that we incredibly low.  This area has really suffered a terrible drought this summer.

After 5 hours and 250 miles of driving we arrived at the Green River Campground in Dinosaur National Monument.  This campground is absolutely beautiful; it’s surrounded by spectacular mountains in all directions.  The Green River is a tributary of the Colorado which it joins in Horse Thief State Park in Utah.    Joni and both agreed this rates as one of our top three campsites of all time all with the Badlands in South Dakota and Meat Cove in Nova Scotia.

Two Below Zero

 Alex works in Frisco at Two Below Zero, a chuck wagon dining experience in the summer and a sleigh ride dining experience in the winter.  Alex cooks, drives the sleighs, serves the meals, washes the dishes, and just about every other task for this family owned business that has been in operation for over 30 years.  Two Below is located in the White River National Forest and functions completely off the grid, so all water and electricity is brought in by sleigh and snow machines every day.  Their lease with the Forest Service requires that their buildings be temporary, so they use tent like canvas rooves, and can only operate for a limited number of days.  They serve over 100 guests at one seating, and their guests must arrive at their location via sleighs are pulled by mules.  Alex has only worked their for one year, but he loves it, and it was great for us to see where all this takes place.

Some of the seven wagons/sleighs at Two Below Zero

Winter Dining Tent at Two Below Zero

Dillon Lake

view toward Keystone ski area from Alex's back yard

THIS MAY BE MY LAST BLOG ENTRY FOR A WHILE, WE'RE HEADING OFF GRID INTO UTAH TODAY.

Chilling in Summit

Woke up to temps of 27°F outside the van and 37° inside. Now that’s cold!  But there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the forecast for the next five days is pure sun.

We spent a relaxing day doing laundry and simply hanging out with Alex, who has a month off from work. 

After breakfast Joni and I drove to Leadville, which is 35 miles to the south.   Alex lived in Leadville for two years and made this drive everyday.  It’s a beautiful drive through the mountains, climbing over Freemont Pass, 11,319 ft.  The scenery is spectacular and there is no development.  Unfortunately the lack of development is due to the toxic waste created by the mining industry.  This area is now designated as a Superfund site because the air, groundwater, surface water, and soil are contaminated with radionuclides and metals including molybdenum, uranium, and uranium daughter products from uranium milling by Cotter Corporation. It makes you wonder if this is what will happen to the areas in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument once the Trump administration declassifies 85% of that area in order to allow industrial development.   A true tragedy; who needs environmental protection?

Arriving in Leadville we drove past Alex’s old home and Perry and Ed’s Guest House which was operated by former Patriots tackle Nate Solder’s parents.  Their home is now for sale; I think the Solder’s have moved on.  Parking the car on Main Street we first stopped at the City on the Hill Coffee & Espresso bar for a late morning break.  We’ve been there before and can’t go through Leadville without stopping.  We then took a leisure stroll along Main Street, window shopping and trying to figure out what shops were new.  We then went into Melanzana, an outdoor clothing store that makes all their own fleece garments.  They are a booming business that can’t keep up with demand, so they’ve shut down their on-line business and only sell to those who visit the store.  Joni ordered a hoodie which they will send to her once it’s made, and I was lucky enough to find one right on their rack.

We returned to Silverthorne along the same route. Many of the major truck manufacturers use this route to test their new vehicles and we noticed a truck that was completely camouflaged but obviously be evaluated.

We lunched at the Dillon Dam Brewery, where Alex and Alice both worked.  It was our first meal there and we really like it.

We spent the remained of the day hanging out at Alex & Alice’s place, re-organizing & fine tuning our camping gear in preparation of our two week trip into Utah.

For dinner the four of us went Mexican…great food and huge portions.  I think we brought home more than we consumed.

Mountains, Mountains Everywhere!

For our first morning in Colorado, we woke up to rain and deer in our campsite; both left shortly and we enjoyed a fabulous morning exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. Joni and I were last here 13 summers ago, but it seemed like the first time, the spectacular scenery overwhelmed us. 

We packed up and were on the road by 9 AM, our latest start since we left NH.  Within ten minutes we came upon 2 male mule deer with a huge racks grazing by the side of the road.   (Just like NH, you see the crowd before you see the animal.)  

Continuing on, we drove up to Bear Lake and enjoyed great color on the Aspens whose bright yellows contrast sharply to the dark green Ponderosa pines.  Retracing our route, we drove along a road just below our campground and encountered the same herd of elk that we’d seen the night before, but now we were much closer and we weren’t fighting the setting sun.  There was just 1 majestic bull surrounded by a harem of 40 cows. King Tut on four legs!

Continuing our drive across the park we followed Trail Ridge Road, which reaches a maximum altitude of 12,183.  The higher we ascended the colder and windier it got.  There were plenty of pull offs with spectacular views at every one.  It was hard not to stop at every one and take photos.

On our way out of the park we stopped at Milner Pass for the mandatory shot of us straddling the Continental, and finally a quick stop at the Kawuneeche Visitors Center.

We had a late lunch in the village of Grand Lake at a water front snack bar recommended by our son Alex.  His local knowledge paid off.  As we left Grand Lake the rain started as we continued our planned route through Winter Park, over the Berthoud Pass, where the temp dropped to 37°F.   The 11,306 ft. altitude turned the rain to snow.  The slippery roads and low clouds took all the joy out of this part of the drive.

It was still raining when we arrived in Silverthorne, but we were so happy to Alex and Alice again that the rain didn’t matter.  After catching up with each other for several hours, we went out for a delicious dinner of Indian and Himalayan food.  

Our first full day in Colorado was a good one!

The view from Alex's yard!

The Rockies...Finally!

We made it to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado today.  

Today we drove 438 miles in 9 hours.

Our four day totals from Sugar Hill, New Hampshire to Rocky Mountain National Park are 2121 miles in 41.5 hours.  Wow! 

The deer aren't spooked by humans.

We made it to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado today.  

Today we drove 438 miles in 9 hours.

Our four day totals from Sugar Hill, New Hampshire to Rocky Mountain National Park are 2121 miles in 41.5 hours.  Wow!  

That’s a lot of driving, but as we sat at our campsite, sipped a beer and enjoyed panoramic views of the park and Longs Peak, we agreed it was worth every minute and mile!

We were on Interstate 80 by 7:15 this morning.  As we progressed into western Nebraska the scenery became flatter and browner, and much more like Kansas than Iowa.  Occasionally there would be patches of green, irrigated wheat or corn fields. Interstate 80 parallels the Union Pacific’s main east west route, so we kept pace with a variety of trains along the way.  

We stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming for a delicious brunch at the “Egg and I”. It’s part of a highly rated chain that we visited in Memphis last spring.  There’s a restaurant in Hyannis with the same name, but I’m sure it’s not part of the chain.

Before getting back on the highway, we took a brief driving tour through downtown Cheyenne, which has a charming main street with beautiful old buildings.  

Cheyenne’s is located in the southeast corner of Wyoming, so we were quickly into Colorado and by 4 PM we were at the park’s visitors’ center.  The traffic leaving the park was very heavy, and all the campgrounds in the park were full, so we were very glad to have reserved a spot. 

As we pulled into our campsite we immediately saw two mule deer searching for crumbs just three sites from ours’, and as we set up our gear we were treated to additional mule deer and a herd of elk that were grazing in the distance.  What a welcome!

Our dinner was very simple; grilled cheese with fresh tomatoes from Lisa Woodward’s garden.  As we ate we were serenaded by faint calls of trumpeting elk in the distance.  Amazing!