Canyonlands Park, Moab, and Hovenweep Monument

 Our trip started with a 300 mile drive from Fort Collins to Island Acres Campground, east of Grand Junction, next to the Colorado River. We did see a herd of a dozen Rocky Mountain Sheep near Georgetown, but otherwise the trip on I-25 and I-70 was routine. The snow disappeared after Vail. Island Acres was nice, as usual.

We got up and drove to Love's truck stop in Grand Junction, where we bought gas and propane for the RV. Then we drove to the visitor center in Fruita, where Sandi collected some maps and brochures, and Richard did a dump and fill. Then we drove west on I-70, and decided to drive the river road to Moab; it was beautiful, but twisty, and slow. It is definitely more work to drive an RV on that kind of road.

In Moab we parked at City Park, and ate paninis at the Moab Food Truck lot. The town and streets were busy. We strolled over to the bookstore, picked up an ice cream, and got back in the truck. We went off on an ultimately futile search for the small propane cylinders used in portable grills. Between going into stores and calling, we must have hit a half dozen places, but no luck.

After getting gas, we headed south to the Canyonlands Needles district, another twisty road with a lot of up and downs, so slow and hard driving in an RV. We entered the park, and found the turn off to the Needles Outpost, an off the grid place where the most important amenity is coin showers. We tried to get into one site, ultimately gave up, and found one that worked. By the time the camper was parked, it was 6:30, and Richard was tired. The views west were great, and we were camped right next to some interesting rocks. We talked to some young men who rented a tent on a platform that was listed on Airbnb. The décor was Arabian Nights; the cool amenity there was a sofa facing the sunset. We had planned to move to a BLM campground, but decided that we liked the Needles Outpost, and that the location was very convenient.

View of our campground

On Sunday morning, we went to the office to pay for a couple more nights. The owners are from Texas; they bought the park in poor condition a few years ago, and have been gradually improving it, mostly with their own labor. After stopping at the Park visitor center, we took a short walk on a trail to see an ancient grainery. We checked out the NPS campground, and found that the sites there were small, with only a few large enough for our rig. We took the pothole trail, which had nice views, but would have been more interesting if the potholes were full of water and life. The Needles rock formations were very impressive, formed by cracks created by motion in the supporting salt layer, 1000 feet below.

The park was busy, with several parking lots full, especially at trailheads. The Jeep crowd were lined up to start up Elephant Hill, which had an intimidating start. We headed outside the park to look for a viewpoint that a ranger had mentioned. After opening a wire gate, we were forced to go to four wheel drive. We parked near a cattle tank, strolled up the jeep road a bit further, and decided that the broad vista was not as attractive as other views inside the park. Sandi noticed many BLM road marker posts had been pulled out. We headed back to the camper, and Richard took a nap. Sandi cooked over a fire that Richard made. We had hoped for sunset photos, but the sky was overcast, so we toured the campground, and Richard climbed some of the rocks behind the campground.

On Monday, the park was much less busy. We took a short hike to the Cowboy camp, where we also saw a spring and rock art. We stopped for a picnic, and had a chat with one of the maintenance guys picking up trash; he was from West Virginia, and was happy to be on full time. We took a longer hike on the Slickrock trail, mostly walking on rocks. This trail has overlooks and great views of the canyons. Sandi cooked dinner over an open fire.

On Tuesday we got on the road about 8 AM, early for us, and stopped at Newspaper Rock to see the rock art there. In Monticello we were able to dump and fill, buy water bottles and gas, all at the Maverik, one stop. We proceeded to Edge of the Cedars State park in Blanding, which is a museum devoted to Ancestral Puebloan culture (Anasazi). It was a very good museum, driven by local interest and support. The glass wall storage area let us see a larger part of their collection. There is also a small archaeology site behind the museum. Their prize item in the collection is a Macaw feather sash, still brightly colored, demonstrating the extensive trade networks of the era. There were a series of exhibits showing how people reported finds to the authorities, so that they could be properly documented an preserved. We had lunch at Yak's Center Street Cafe, where we were able to order diner food without going inside, and have it delivered to our truck. It started to sleet and rain.

We had written directions on how to get to Hovenweep, but the directions were not as clear as they should have been, especially with respect to road names and signs. We drove through the Ute and Navajo reservations, and saw small herds of horses that we believed to be wild. The Hovenweep Visitor Center is closed midweek, but we were able to get a campsite. The rain continued into the evening.

There are several ruins in this photo, including one under a boulder.

On Wednesday, we woke up to snow and sleet. The roads were wet. We took a walk to the edge of the canyon to admire the ruins and take some photos. After reviewing the weather forecasts in various places, we read that the weather at Hovenweep was not going to improve. We decided to retreat to Moab, which had better weather. We drove back through Blanding, had another lunch at Yak's, and went to a fancy RV park in Moab, Spanish Valley RV. We read about some music downtown, and watched some pretty good local musicians play bluegrass in the evening. It was a small outdoor venue, an empty lot behind a restaurant. We did enjoy the music, walked to get ice cream, and headed back to the RV.

Castleton Tower

Thursday we decided to wander around. We headed towards Castle Valley, a small community rich in authors and environmentalists, including Terry Tempest Williams and Craig Childs. We happened to run into the town clerk, who told us some of the town history. It was originally a ranch, was divided up, and later incorporated as a city. This is around 30 minutes from Moab. We took photos of Castleton tower, and headed towards Fisher Towers, a very popular hiking and climbing destination. We had a picnic lunch there, and headed back towards Moab, and then crossed the river to find the road to Potash. At the end of the road we found a boat ramp, and a couple of NPS employees working on the ramp. We were directed to the best outhouse in the Moab area, extensively decorated by a local artist. Richard asked about campsites on the river, and we chatted with the rangers. We headed back to the RV, through heavy Moab traffic, and then to Antica Forma for a nice Italian dinner. We were hoping to see another concert, but it was canceled by the weather; it started to rain about the time we arrived. We had another ice cream. It rained hard that night.

Friday was our day to move to the Grand Junction area, Island Acres Campground, part of the state parks system. We bought fuel, propane, and RV parts in Grand junction, and ate Mexican food at El J's in Clifton. Sandi laughed at the street names in Grand Junction, such as F ½, 23 and ¾, an 23 and 1/10th. We got settled into the campground, and Richard decided to check out the nearby Cameo Shooting Complex. This is a very large area, with sporting clays, outdoor pistol and rifle ranges, as well as an archery range. This areas was formerly a coal powerplant, and is run by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Many groups came together to buy and build this impressive facility.

Saturday we drove back home, through some snow in Frisco and the tunnel.