Gallup, El Morro National Monument...

 October 8, 2018

We woke up in Gallup to Hilton luxury:  a warm room, two queen beds, television, and our own bathroom…with a beautiful view of Home Depot!

Our first stop this morning was the Gallup Coffee Company where they roast their own beans and also offer a variety of bake goods. Our to-go order include scones, bagels, Ethiopian and Columbian coffees; all fabulous!

Before leaving Gallup we took a quick driving tour, checking out some of the famous neon signs and artwork that decorate this small city that we liked a lot.

Trains are constantly moving through Gallup...reminded me of the scene in My Cousin Vinny 

Leaving Route 66 for a while, our next stop for the morning was the El Morro National Monument, 50 miles south of Gallup.  This monument was created by Woodrow Wilson in recognition of its unique place in the history of the Puebloan Indians and in the discovery and migration of the Southwest beginning in 1606 with Spanish explorers and continuing into the late 1800’s. The main wagon train route from Arkansas to California also passed through this area, stopping at the base of the cliffs where a large oasis existed.  Copying the petroglyphs of the Puebloans who lived at the top of the cliffs, the explorers and travelers inscribed their names and the often the phrase in Spanish “passo por aqui” (passed by here) to memorialize their journeys. There were over 2000 inscriptions on the rocks…an older variation of “Kilroy was here.”

Leaving El Morro we traveled across the El Malapais Lava Flow National Monument, much larger than El Morro and distinguished by its ancient lava domes and exposed petrified lava. 

On the northern edge of El Malapais we rejoined Route 66 in the town of Grants where we stopped for lunch at El Cafecito.  Stuffed sopapillas for our main dish and plain sopapillas with honey for dessert. Yummy!

Grants celebrates its Route 66 heritage, preserving the old neon signs, even for business and motels that have gone out of business.  They also lined the route with old satellite television dishes beautifully painted in Navaho style designs.

Approaching Albuquerque from the west on I-40

Leaving Grants, we headed for Albuquerque, switching between Interstate 40 and Route 66 for a while before we decided that the pot-holes on the old route were just too deep.  We had been to Albuquerque on our western trip in 1974, but all we remembered was eating in Old Town; we completely forgot how impressive its location is, right up against the mountains.  We took a very brief, 5 minutes, walking tour of Old Town. There were just too many gift shops for us, and so we headed out of the city via Central Avenue which is lined with many beautiful art deco/Navaho designed buildings.

Our final stop for the day a campground in Bandelier National Monument which is located just outside Los Alamos.  We arrived just as it got dark and thrillingly found a campsite next to another Sportsmobile Transit Van, from Maine!  Using our headlamps, lanterns, and campfire, we dined on hotdogs, potato chips, and s-mores.

Two Sportsmobile Transits Side by Each

Leaving Moab, On to Gallup

October 7, 2018

Sadly today we had to say goodbye to Alex after spending two wonderful weeks with him.  It was a real treat to has so much time with him...a rarity for parents with adult children!

We woke up to rain, so we decided we'd save our farewell hugs for the car wash in Moab.  The drive out of the canyon was a little scary since the whole road was just sloppy mud, but we made it, and enjoyed all the waterfalls that we saw along the way.

Both are vehicles were covered in red mud, so our first stop was the car wash.  Alex did all the work on both our vehicle and his.

It was 8:45 AM by the time we were ready to part ways, we headed south to Gallup, New Mexico, and Alex was headed back to his home in Silverthorne, Colorado.

After just one hour on the road we stopped in Montecello, UT, for a delicious breakfast.  We had lunch at this same restaurant last year.  We love it then and we still love it.  Joni had plain old eggs and home fries, but I took a chance and tried the Spanish Benedict...good choice.

Shiprock on the Navaho reservation.  This formation is visible from 80 miles away on the plateau of Mesa Verde

Our drive to Gallup took us through the Ute reservation in Colorado and the Navaho reservation in New Mexico.  The poverty is depressing and reminds you how badly the Indians were treated by the Europeans/Americans who settled the West.

After 18 days of sleeping in the van and 7 days without a shower we decided to get a room at the Hilton Garden in Gallup.

Our first dinner along Route 66 was at the El Rancho, an old hotel and restaurant that's been around since the 30's and catered to many Hollywood stars who were in the area filming westerns.

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The lobby at El Rancho reminded us of the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone.

Our last full day in Moab

October 6, 2018

Our last full day in Moab and it was raining... but we still had a great day and really didn’t miss out on anything.  We started the day at the laundry and once that was done we did some shopping at Gearheads, the best camping/hiking store I’ve ever been to.  Whatever you need for camping, they ever it in every size!

We went out for a delicious lunch of burgers, wraps, & smoothies in downtown Moab at the Peace Garden (perfect name for the aging hippies!)  

After lunch we decided to return to Arches National Park.  We checked out the movie and gift shop at the Visitors’ Center, and then took a slow driving tour of park, retracing the roads we covered yesterday and some that we didn’t.  You can never get enough of such beauty.

These pix are all from yesterday's hike.

Our 10 mile drive back into Kane's Creek Canyon was a little more nerve racking than usual as the dirt/gravel road was a lot sloppier due to the day long rain.  Our vehicles were covered in the red Moab mud that will takes month to wash away.  Our first stop when we leave tomorrow will be a car wash.

Amazingly the rained stopped when we got back to our campsite around 6:30 PM, so Alex made a fire and we enjoyed left over pizza for dinner.  Anticipating more rain, we packed up all our gear and turned in for the night around 9 pm just as the rain returned!  

Lower Calf Creek Falls

October 2, 2018

We woke up to a light drizzle, which has become a steady rain.  We have no cell service at the bottom of this canyon, so we have so we have no idea what’s in store for us today in terms of the weather.  I think our planned hike is cancelled, but I’ll have to consult with my rest of my family, both of whom are still sleeping as I write at 8:15 AM.  

Well, the rain came and went throughout the day, but Alex badgered us into hiking and by 11:30 AM we were on our way to Lower Calf Creek Falls, a 6 mile round-trip.   For Alex it was a “walk in the park”, but for Joni and me it was a lot more challenging, but it was worth it.  

The trail followed the Fremont River, which is really just a narrow creek, through multiple canyons that towered overhead.  The foliage along the trail was incredible.  Although I could name only few of the plants, we probably saw 50 different varieties, most of which are unique to the high deserts of the West.  As we got closer to the falls, we saw lots of small trout darting around.

The falls were breathtaking, 150 feet tall and only visible once you’re within 50 yards due to the thick plant and tree growth that are stimulated by the water.  We probably spent 30 minutes staring at the falls, trying to decipher a pattern in how the water sprayed down the rocks.  

We returned to our campsite around 4:30 pm, exhausted but exhilarated.  We dined earlier than usual on hamburgers and potato chips, and closed the evening with a campfire.

Hiking in Arches National Park

October 5, 2018

 We left our campground by 8:15 AM, picked up coffee and some muffins in Moab, and headed to Arches National Park for a hike.

We visited Arches last year, but there were plenty of spots we had not explored so we chose a 6.5 mile hike in the Devils Garden area.   The hike started out easy, but after two miles, we were scrambling on all four and fearing that if we lost our balance our boys would be orphans!  

Other than that, the scenery on this hike was spectacular, here are the best of the 162 pictures that I took.

Landscape Arch

Double O Arch

After the hike we stopped for a late lunch/early dinner, it 4:30 pm, at Antic Forna, a pizzeria in Moab.  The pizza was great, as was the beer.

  

October 4, 2018

 Woke up to the threat of rain, but there was no wind so we put out the awning on our camping so that we would have some protection while we made coffee and had our breakfast. Suddenly the wind picked up, and it started to rain hard Joni and I rolled up the awning just before it was about to be blown off it’s mounting on our roof.  As we were doing this it started hailing, the size of marbles.  We saved the awning but we were soaked and the our bed, Joni’s sleeping bag, and we were soaked, and the van was full of hail. 

We changed into some dry clothes, brushed the hail out of the van (it melts slowly) and waited for the rain to stop which it did within 15 minutes.

We set up a clothes lines between the roof racks on our two vehicles and put Joni’s sleeping bag and the bed quilt on it.  The boy dried.

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing at our campsite,  enjoying an otherwise beautiful day.

On to Moab

October 3, 2018

After two wonderful days at the Calf Creek Campground it was time to move on to Moab, Utah, where we will spend our last three or four nights in Utah before heading south to Route 66. On the road by 8:30 AM, we headed north on the spectacular “Million Dollar Highway” which traverses the top of a canyon with steep drop offs on both sides.  The scenery is spectacular, but you have to keep your eyes glued to the road or it will be your last drive.

Last night at our campground we spoke with a woman who grew up in Boulder and attended school in Escalante. She shared that every day her school bus followed this route.  She said it was especially terrifying since the road was much narrower in those days.

Arriving in Boulder around 9:00 AM, we stopped to visit a fascinating museum dedicated to the culture of the Anasazi Indians.  The remains of this particular Anasazi village, which was occupied by about 200 Puebloans for about 50 years around 1100 AD, were discovered in 1958 on the Coombs family ranch where the museum now stands.  The Coombs donated the property and all the artifacts to the museum which provides a great picture of the Anasazi culture.  Similar to Mesa Verde, this small village, why this village was abandoned after such a short period is unknown.  Before getting back to the car we grabbed a couple of churros from Magnolia’s Street Food, a food truck run by the perky young Maggie.  Her menu looked enticing, lots of Mexican items, but we’d already had our daily does of Cherios “go power”.

Leaving Boulder, we followed Route 12 as it climbed over a 9600’ pass near Boulder Mountain.  As we did so the scenery changed quickly, now resembling Colorado more than Utah, with plenty of green pines and yellow aspens. During this climb we passed through open range country with plenty of cattle grazing right on the edge of the road. We soon joined Route 24, which took us back to village of Fruita, where the Visitors’ Center for Capitol Reef NP is located.  The original settlers of this tiny village which maxed out at 8 families, planted apple, cherry, and peaches around the fertile lands along the Freemont River.  That is why they called it Fruita.  We separated from Alex and this point, he drove on to Moab, and Joni and I took another scenic route into the canyons of the park and back.  The orchards are still thriving, and there’s a small store from the original settlement that sells a variety of homemade pies, which we had for lunch.

Leaving Fruita, we drove straight to Moab, about 150 miles away, arriving around 3 PM.  We stopped for a few groceries and gas, and then drove onward to the same campground where we stayed last year along Kane’s Creek Canyon. Moab is a bustling city, a mecca for off roaders, but the 9 mile gravel road to our campground, which is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, discourages most, and our campground had only one other site occupied.  Such a contrast to the campground at Capitol Reef , which was full at 11:00 AM.

We reunited with Alex at the campground, set up our shade dome tent so that it would be obvious that our site was occupied, and headed back to Moab for a delicious dinner of Mexican food.

We were back at our campground just before dark, and spent the rest of the evening enjoying a campfire under the stars.

Hole in the Rock Road

October 1, 2018

We hit the road early by our new camping standards, 8:15 AM, and headed into the town of Escalante to pick up some groceries, coffee and banana bread.  We really liked Escalante, it’s like a tiny version of Moab, clearly focused on outdoor recreation.  

The early start was dictated by the threat of rain and flash flooding, which were predicted for this afternoon.  It has only rained twice here in the last 12 months, so rain is a big deal, and flash floods are extremely dangerous to hikers and campers.  We stopped at the national monument visitors’ center, obtained a camping permit, just in case we found a wonderful spot, and discussed our plans with the ranger.  He strongly discouraged us from our planned hike, but with the rain not predicted until mid afternoon, our drive to the “Devil’s Garden” would be without peril. 

To reach the “Devil’s Garden” we had to drive 12 miles down the “Hole-in-the Rock Road”, another dirt road of continuous washboards.  This road, built by Mormons, is 52 miles long, the last 8 miles can only be traversed by 4WD vehicles.  The road stops at the northern edge of Lake Powell.  Alex is planning on revisiting this road with Alice some day.

As we proceeded done Hole in the Rock Road we rarely exceeded 10 mph; every filling in my upper jaw was now loosened, but it was worth it!

“Devils’ Garden” is a filled with red and cream-colored sandstone formations known as hoodoos, which look like gigantic dribble castles.  As you look at each hoodoo from a different angle you imagine a different animal or face, often a celebrity.   These formations are a popular destination, despite the road, so there are a parking lot, a pit toilet and picnic tables.  Before we explored the garden we brewed some fresh coffee and consumed our banana bread.

Leaving the garden, we returned to Escalante in search of firewood, to no avail, and then headed back north, along the “Million Dollar Highway” to our next campsite at the Calf Creek Recreation Area.  

We again lucked out, securing what our fellow campers acknowledged to be the best site at the campground, which sits at the bottom of towering canyon.  This setting was spectacular.   I think I have to revise our campground ratings, this one is now in our “Top 3”.

It sunny and warm with little wind at the bottom of this canyon, so we set up our shade dome tent for the first time.  The storm is now predicted for later tonight, 3 AM, so we’ve really had a perfect day weather wise.  A small stream actually cuts this campground in half, so if there is flash flooding we may be stuck here, but we’ll take that risk.  If the weather is decent tomorrow we plan to take a short hike up to a waterfall and then spend another night here before moving on to Moab.

As darkness approached we dined on sirloin steaks purchased from the Mercantile in Escalante and the last of Lisa Woodward’s home grown potatoes.  Peanut butter cookies complete this meal with our campfire  now providing just enough light and entertainment to end this day.

For the past two days we have spent all of our time either in the national park or the national monument. The beauty of Grand Staircase Escalante is beyond my words.  The thought that 85% maybe deregulated and open to private industry for the oil and gas industry is a great tragedy.

Our mileage total for today is only 55 miles, most of which were on washboard!