POST #75

Not much to report here!  We left Wakeside Lake RV Park in Rexburg, ID about 8 AM and headed north on Hwy 20 towards West Yellowstone, MT.  We encountered a lot of snow on the sides of the road on the way.  No wonder all of the RV Parks along the way were closed...they all had a couple of feet of snow in them!

We probably might have stayed along the way..Either West Yellowstone or one of the nice National Forest campgrounds along the Gallatin River on Hwy 191.  But that was not to be...ALL closed!  We went thru West Yellowstone and a short distance north of town on Hwy 191 we encountered some bison on the road...

On the Hwy 191 drive you pass through part of Yellowstone Park on the way.  Where you cross into the park there were lighted signs stating "Yellowstone is closed.  No stopping allowed." About halfway through it was time to stop for a bathroom break. Pulled into a big pullout and went back into our RV bathroom ...just as I was finishing up, someone comes and starts banging on the drivers door.  Seems a Park Ranger was following.  I go back up and get in the drivers seat and roll down the window.  He says "No stopping...didn't you see the signs?!" I said "yes but it was bathroom time!"  He says "no stopping means no stopping!" I said "when ya gotta go...ya gotta go!"  He says "Don't stop again!"  I said "10-4" and moved on....guess I could have caught or transmitted the stupid virus by stopping to take a leak!

Anyway we got into Bozeman about Noon and had thought about staying over...but the museum is closed along with everything else so we just headed on home to Billings, another 138 miles..

We pulled up to our house at around 3 PM.  Went in and looked around...felt weird after being gone for 5 1/2 months!

So we had a great Winter Escape...not much went wrong on the trip except getting sick in February (Covid 19? Will be getting the antibody test to find out), the broken microwave at Thanksgiving, and not being able to visit a lot of interesting places due to all of the closures!

We look forward to the next Escape, be it this summer or in the late fall! 

Until Next Time!!

POST  #74

On Saturday , April 18, we continued our trek north after spending the night at a very nice RV Park in Perry, UT, which is a part of Bringham City, UT. 

Our goal for the day was the very beautiful area of Ashton, Idaho, about 20 miles north of Rexburg on Hwy 20.  A distance of about 210 miles...

Ashton is just on the other side if the Teton Mountain Range and Grand Teton National Park.

The weather was very nice, sunny, in the low 60s and light winds.  But guess what!?  All of the RV Parks in the area were CLOSED! Due to the swine virus closures or being early in the season?  These closures are getting old!  We had planned on a couple of days or more to explore the area, but just not gonna happen this year.

This Drive In is in Ashton, brings back memories of my younger years in Billings!

There was a Frostop in Billings at 15th and Broadwater.  Also one in the Heights.

 

It was demolished in the 80's and the mug ended up out at Oscars Park...

Anyway we  called around to various RV parks further north, but they were all closed...All the way to Bozeman, MT.  So we had to backtrack 25 miles back to Rexburg, ID and stayed at the Wakeside Lake RV Park.  Nice place! We stayed here for the nights of April 18 and 19.  Tomorrow we head north through West Yellowstone, and on to Bozeman, MT on the way home...

Until Next Time!!

POST #73

We ended up in an RV park in Beaver, Utah last night...Beaver Camperland...nothing fancy but clean, quiet and safe.

Today, April 17th, we will head further north and continue working our way home.  The goal is to make it through the busy Salt Lake City and find a spot.  We had originally planned on boondocking in a Walmart parking lot...but found a very nice park in Perry Utah.  About 255 miles...

If you have any interest in the drive to Perry UT, follow this link to a folder with some Dash Cam video of part of the drive..Click>>> HERE.  

This was all driving on Interstate 15...so not all that exciting...Except this!!

This was either a dishwasher or a washing machine!  Dodging it was a challenge due to the 18-wheeler right next to me on the right!  The truck driver worked with me so I was able to move right and miss it!

We made it to Perry OK and stayed in a very nice park...Golden Spike RV Park..

Tomorrow we head north into Idaho on our trek back home...shooting for Ashton, Idaho, at Near the Grand Teton Mountains.  We shall see how it goes!

Until Next Time!

POST #72

Today we leave Page, AZ.  The border with Utah is very close by so we will be out of AZ for the first time in about 5 months!  Today we are heading to Beaver Utah...A distance of about 188 miles...

We would have liked to stay around Page for awhile to see the sights..but all the BUR REC areas, camping, lake, dam....everything was CLOSED!!

On the way we drove over this bridge next to Glen Canyon Dam...

Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park are close by on this route, but of course they are closed due to the swine virus.  So I guess its will just a straight through drive...

If you have any interest in the drive to Beaver UT, follow this link to a folder with some Dash Cam video of part of the drive..Click>>> HERE.  Some very interesting and spectacular scenery along the way...

Until Next Time!!

POST #71

Well, we made it to Page, AZ today...April 15th...

If you have any interest in the drive to Page, follow this link to a folder with some Dash Cam video of part of the drive..Click>>> HERE.

MOV10040 is going through the San Francisco Peaks Volcanic Field...you can see some very recent Volcanic Cinder Cones...The youngest one is Sunset Crater, which last erupted about 1085 AD...

Page is usually a very busy area due to it proximity to Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam.  BUT... everything was closed due to the swine virus!  No private campgrounds, no BUR REC camp grounds...Nothing!! We couldn't even drive down to the lake or marina.  All roads blocked!.  This is a really beautiful area!  We would have spent at least a week here if we could do anything.  Since there wasn't much of a choice of camping areas we ended up in the Walmart parking lot with about a dozen other RV travelers...

In the morning we will head north to Beaver Utah...About 188 miles...

Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park are close by on this route, but of course they are closed due to the swine virus.  So I guess its will just a straight through drive...

Until Next Time!!

POST #70

It seems that some of the photos in Post #67, Post #68 and Post #69 had somehow become corrupted and the photos were lost.  If for some reason you looked at those post and saw no photos...check again by clicking the links above.  I replaced the photos!

Tomorrow , April 15th, we will start working our way north towards home and see what we can find (that is if anything is still open!) Destination is Page, AZ, a distance of about 180 miles...

We'll see what we can find!

Until Next Time! 

POST #69

In this post as in earlier ones you can click the links for more interesting info and click on the photos for a larger view...

We are still here in Homolovi State Park, near Winslow AZ.  

There are several ruins of ancient Hopi villages in the area with two here in the park.  On April 11th we went back to the Visitor Center (Still closed), and then on to the Homolovi 2 ruins and archaeology site.  We walked up and toured the site...

For a video of the Homolovi Ruins from Arizona State Parks... Click >>> HERE

For an interesting video tour of Homolovi 2 by a tourist... Click >>> HERE ... 

There are signs describing various areas in the site...

This partially reconstructed Kiva was interesting...

Describing the San Francisco Volcanic Field, about 50 miles away....

Describing the Little Colorado River valley below the ruins....

There were warning signs down by the river warning of Quicksand, so we did not venture there!  Scary stuff!

Signs describing the Hopi Buttes, a volcanic area, to the North....

The East Plaza...one can still see the cleared area and rough outline...

As we were exploring the area surround the ruins there were several examples of "Desert Pavement"....

Desert Pavement forms through the gradual removal of sand, dust and other fine-grained material by the wind and intermittent rain, leaving the larger fragments behind. The removal of small particles by wind does not continue indefinitely, because once the pavement forms, it acts as a barrier to resist further erosion.  Usually the rocks are darkened by "Desert Varnish".  This "varnish" also darkens the nearby rock outcrops in the area and the Hopi People pecked petroglyphs into them...

We were going to follow the path down there but on the way we got sidetracked by this little guy...

This is a Hopi Rattlesnake

The Hopi rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper subspecies of the Prairie Rattlesnake, native primarily to the desert plateau of the northeastern portion of Arizona, but also ranges into northwestern New Mexico. Is named for the Native American Hopi tribe, which inhabits the region. Smaller than other subspecies of Prairie Rattlesnake, this subspecies generally does not generally grow much beyond two feet in length. It was not at all aggressive and only about 12 to 14 inches long.  We got it to move and rattle...had about 6 segments, but its rattle was so quiet we could barely hear it.

We had to leave before we could get down to the petroglyphs because the gate would be locked soon and we didn't want to stay the night!  spent too much time with the little rattler!

A lot of rain is expected tomorrow, Sunday, and also Monday, so we will probably be "housebound".  Can't do much else due to the swine virus 

We will be leaving Homolovi State Park on Wednesday the 15th and heading north, working our way to Billings.

This is a virus related video that might make you smile!  Click HERE...

Until Next Time!!

POST #68

In this post as in earlier ones you can click the links for more interesting info and click on the photos for a larger view...

On April 9th we went to the Visitor Center here at Homolovi State Park.  Of course it's CLOSED because of the swine virus!!  There was a reconstruction of a Hopi Indian dwelling...

As well as an Observatory for the Star Parties the hold there ...CANCELLED

Near the Visitor Center, about a 1/2 mile walk, is what is left of Sunset, Arizona—one of a series of farming communities along the Little Colorado River in the late 1870s...

Sunset was established by Lot Smith and his Mormon followers. Frequent floods forced the settlers to abandon Sunset in the early 1880s, and the community was eventually washed away. The cemetery, located on a small hill overlooking the river, survived and can be visited. Three of Lot Smith's children are among the cemetery population.   We walked up there...

For a video of the cemetery made by another tourist...Click HERE....

The original grave markers from the 1880s are still there...

It appears 3 of Lot's children passed away at a very early age...

Interesting and worth a look!

On the way driving back to camp we took a spur road and checked out an interesting rock formation.....

These rocks are remains of fossilized sand dunes...this photo shows a textbook example of cross-bedding which occurs only in wind driven sand...

We kept a watchful eye out for rattlesnakes...they are starting to become active!  Didn't see any that day.....

It was a fun day!  Really warm!...but quite breezy!

Until Next Time!