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.

State Forest State Park

 

The curiously named State Forest State Park is about 2 hours west of us. Since we were not going anywhere for Thanksgiving, we decided to go camping.

The drive up the Poudre Canyon allowed us to see some of the devastation from the Cameron Peak fire, the largest fire in Colorado History. Many of the areas that we had hiked in the past were closed. 

 As we got close to Cameron Pass, the road became snowpacked. We went over the pass, past the Moose Visitor Center, and turned at the North Michigan Reservoir turnoff. I engaged the 4WD, due to the snowpacked roads. We had some trouble finding our campsite; we missed it the first time, and had to turn around. The campsite is very close to the dam. When we have stayed at the park in the past, we have been on the other side the reservoir, but that road is closed.

The moon rising over the mountains.

After we got the rig parked, we went for a hike on the beaver pond trail. The first part was nice, but then we got into an area that had been logged, with tree trunks blocking the trail, so we turned around.

As the evening went on, we watched the outside temperature go down. By 8 pm, it was 7 degrees outside. The furnace was running almost continuously.

In the morning it was -2 F, very cold. The camper continued to work, and it was not uncomfortable inside. However, the battery had dropped to 35% charge, having started the evening at 85% charge. When Richard started the generator, it was leaking gas a lot, so he shut it down. No way could we withstand another night of very cold weather without plugging in, or running a generator for a few hours. We stopped and asked about a campground where we could plug in, but no luck. We decided to take a hike and head home.

We drove to the end of the park road, and hiked on the North Canadian trail. The trail was packed down by tracked vehicles; when we went out of the track, we found somewhat difficult going, so we stayed on the track. The snow was not deep in most areas, except for north facing slopes. After hiking for an hour or so, we headed back to the camper, hooked up, and drove back to Fort Collins, getting home after dark.

We did learn some things. One is that if we are going to be camped in zero degree weather, the camper needs to be plugged in, or we need to plan to run the generator for several hours. The other is that the generator needs to be fixed or replaced. I bought the generator years ago, used, so it is perhaps 20 years old.

It was sunny, snowy, and beautiful. We will have to do it again.

Canyonlands and Mineral Bottom

 On Thursday we packed up and left the commercial campground. We arrived at the BLM Horsethief campground around 10 AM, only to find no empty campsites. We talked to a couple who were about to leave, and ended up in their campsite. It is right next to the dirt road, but beggars can't be choosers.

After setting up the camper, we decided to go to Mineral Bottom, which turned into quite an adventure. Two young men had a shredded tire on their van, and their jack would not lift the van high enough to change the tire. We found out they were highliners, which we understand to be slackliners, but further off the ground. Between the truck jack and a wood block from the truck, Richard was able to lift it high enough to get the job done. They were surprised that several people stopped and asked if they needed help, even after we were already stopped.

Two of the switchbacks

Mineral bottom is 13 miles of dirt roads, to the edge of the cliff. The road goes over the edge and then back and forth along the side of the cliff, with occasional switchbacks. Sandi was scared to death. We made it down, and enjoyed the scenery along the banks of the Green River. 

After a lunch break, we decided to head south on the White Rim road, which follows the river. We drove a few miles, and turned around before we got into Canyonlands Park. As we were returning, we found four college age girls who had stuck their rental car in the sand. They were attempting to dig the wheels out with their flip flops and a frisbee! After reviewing our options, Richard decided that their best option was to jack up the front wheels, put rocks under them, and then wood and rocks behind them. Richard had a wood block to put under the base of the jack. Once we were ready, one girl drove and everyone else pushed. It worked! I am not sure that I recall rescuing two different groups in the same day, but Sandi said we did our kind thing for the day. Maybe for two days. We got back to the camper about 4, and rested before dinner.

Studying the weather forecast for Sunday, we saw that the weather service predicted a major storm and extreme cold. This caused us to rethink our trip plan. We decided to come home early, on Saturday, to beat the storm. In order to do this, we decided to start the drive on Friday, and finish it on Saturday.

Friday morning, we drove into Canyonlands NP, and headed for the southernmost part of the Island in the Sky section of the park. We decided to take the Grand View Point walk along the rim, looking down into the canyons of the Colorado and the Green Rivers. There were many people with the same idea; the views were impressive, and the hiking moderate, about 2 miles round trip. We had considered taking the walk to the Mesa Arch, but that parking lot was full, so we drove back to the camper, packed up, and headed out. We refueled in Grand Junction, and then continued on I-70 to the campground at Island Acres, part of the Colorado River State Park. The campground was pleasant and not crowded; we enjoyed a hike along the river.

Saturday we headed home. The closer we got to Fort Collins, the worse the smoke appeared. The two largest fires in Colorado history are west of us. Luckily the snow should put a damper on the fires.

Overall, a good trip. We plan to return in the future and hike more in Canyonlands. October is a busy month in that area, perhaps another month would be better.

Moab and Arches National Park

 

On Sunday October 18^th we drove to Grand Junction, where we stayed at the RV Ranch. The drive on I-70 was routine, buying fuel in Arvada before we headed into the mountains.

On Monday we fueled up, and drove to Moab. Archview campground is north of Moab; we had a reservation for two nights, but were able to get that changed to three nights.

We drove through construction into Moab, and picked up lunch as Sultan's restaurant, which we ate in the town park. There were a lot of camper vans parked there, including people working on their laptops. We walked around downtown Moab, as Sandi had never been there before. Sandi did some shopping. Moab seems more upscale than in the past. The town was very busy, but we were told that October is their busiest month.

In the evening we drove into Arches National Park, which neither of us had seen before. It was very impressive and we took many photos. We plan to return in the morning.

Tuesday we got up very early, and were in the park before dawn. We took some photos of balanced rock at dawn, and took a short hike to see Delicate Arch, the symbol of Arches NP. Then we started to notice full parking lots. After that we stopped at the fiery Furnace, and continued to the end of the road. The area was closed, but we persuaded the ranger to let us through, so that we could check out the campground. The park was filling up, so we left. After a stop at the visitor center and bookstore, we left the park, and noticed that the entrance was closed, too many people. We drove over to check out Horsethief Campground, a BLM campground north of Canyonlands, and found a few empty sites. We also drove further down the dirt road, but the few campsites there were occupied. We did see some oil activity in that area. We continued into Canyonlands park, and stopped at the Green River overlook. We went back to the camper to rest, and later drove to the Windows area in Arches, where we were very impressed with the double arch, which is almost hard to believe. We left as it was getting dark.

Every parking area seemed to have a noisy raven, begging.

Landscape Arch is almost hard to believe.

Wednesday we got up early, and were on the road by dawn. We drove to the Devil's garden area of the park, and hiked to Landscape arch. We stopped on the way to see Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. By the time we started back, the trail was getting busy, and the parking lot was full. We gave our parking space to a needy tourists, and headed for Moab. Sandi visited the local yarn shop. We had a pleasant lunch outdoors at the Arches Thai restaurant. We decided to drive the La Sal Mountain Loop Road, which starts along the Colorado River, and then climbs 5000 ft to 10,000 ft elevation. The road has more switchbacks that I could count, and many very steep sections. This was new for both of us. We checked out Ken's Lake Campground, south of Moab, on our way back to the campground. The weather forecast is forcing a trip replan, as we don't want to drive I-70 in the snow. We canceled our reservation for Sunday night in Grand Junction, but we may still spend a couple of nights in Grand Junction.

Backpacking in Rocky Mountain Park

 I had not been backpacking for a while, but decided to go on a short backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park.   On Sunday, Sandi and I went to the park, got my wilderness permit, and took a hike.

Monday I drove to the Finch Lake trailhead, in the Wild Basin area, in the SE corner of the park.  The hike up was a grind.  My pack was 45 pounds.  The hike was 5 miles, about 1500 vertical feet up.  I found the official campsite, set up my tent, and cooked dinner.

Mt. Meeker in foreground, Longs peak left of Meeker

Tuesday I hiked and fished my way around the lake.  Unfortunately the fish had no interest in my Kastmaster lure, which usually works.   I am not 100% sure that I even saw fish dimpling on the water, so perhaps there were few fish in the lake, although the reports were of good fishing.     I was frustrated at first, but then settled down to enjoying the place.    The view of Longs and Meeker peaks from the other side of the lake was nice, kind of a unique view, as no roads will give you that view.

Camp Robber or Gray Jay

I had thought of hiking higher, but my boot was starting to come apart, so I did not.  With no fish and a bad boot, I ended up coming out Wednesday, a day early, after two nights, but I knew that was a possibility before I left.   It felt good to get out.  .

Paddling the Niobrara River, and Smith Falls

 

On Saturday, after organizing a bit and moving some boats around, we headed for the put in at the Fort Niobrara Wildlife refuge. We got on the water about 10 AM, with eleven people and seven boats. We took a brief hike to Fort Falls, and when we got back to our boats, we saw a lady in her kayak, towing a submerged kayak. Richard headed over to help, and we were able to get most of the water out. We took the kayak to shore. The occupant of the kayak was walking on the shore, but was on the opposite side of the river. We took a canoe over to ferry him across the river. They paddled with us for a while.

Fort Falls

We continued paddling until we found a lunch spot. We conti­nued on, with the winds increasing. The river is pretty and shallow in many places, with a rock bottom in the shallow spots. When we got to Smith Falls, we pulled the boats out of the water, and ran the drivers back to the put in. We announced we would serve ice cream at 7 PM, and everyone showed up. We had a nice group and some nice conversation.

On Sunday, we dropped some vehicles at Sunnybrook camp, and then came back to Smith Falls to start our paddle. The paddle was scenic; we had a bit of rain in the morning, and sun in the afternoon. We had lunch on a sand bar. We saw osprey, a great blue heron, a group of buzzards in a tree, and a bald eagle. We got off the river about three PM. We again had ice cream at 7; Kit bought wood for a fire. We swapped stories around the fire until 9 PM.

Monday we slept in, and drove to the Fur Trade Museum in Chadron, the best museum of its kind in the world.  We then headed for Chadron State Park.  The park looked nice, but we had some trouble finding a campsite that our rig would fit into; the campground host was nice and helped us find a spot.  Tuesday we drove home, using a Circle Tours booklet, which described the points of interest.   We stopped in Dalton at the Round Robin bar, with an early junkyard decor.  We saw Courthouse Rock and Jailhouse Rock,  and made a stop in Potter at the Tin Roof Soda Fountain.  The folks in Potter are working hard to make their town attractive and fun; Dalton was kind of dead, but had an old fire truck for sale.

Fort Robinson and Northwest Nebraska

 

On Sunday, we drove about 200 miles to Fort Robinson State Park. Google took us through the wilds of eastern Wyoming, including quite a bit of gravel road.

We arrived in Fort Robinson without reservations, but were able to get a full hookup site. Fort Robinson was built in the late 1800s, and used by the military until after World War II. It became a state park in the 1950s. Normally they would offer trail rides and a swimming pool, but all activities were canceled due to Covid. We walked around the grounds, which contain numerous old buildings now converted to lodging. We were told that it is very popular for family reunions, and we can see why.

Richard had printed road trips from DiscoverNebraska.com. On Monday, we decided to take the longest of the road trips, largely on gravel or dirt roads. Our first stop was at the Cheyenne Outbreak monument, commemorating when the Indians at Fort Robinson broke out and tried to go back to their homeland. The fighting killed 70 Indians and 11 soldiers, but ultimately the survivors were taken back to Fort Robinson. We then went north to Sowbelly Canyon. The name came from an Indian ambush that left the soldiers trapped with nothing to eat but sow bellies; they escaped after several days. This was very picturesque, with a small stream running down it, and cliffs on both sides. We stopped at Coffey Park for a picnic, a very pleasant spot. 

 We turned north near Harrison, and headed into the Oglala National Grassland. This is ranch country, and ranch homes are very far apart. We turned east, and stopped at the church and cemetery in Montrose. The only house in Montrose was falling down, but the church of the Immaculate Conception was in very good condition. The church was open, and we went in. We also walked around the cemetery. Across from the church was the Warbonnet Battlefield, where the 5^th Cavalry stopped a large group of Cheyenne who were attempting to link up with Sitting Bull. The only casualty of the battle was the Cheyenne Yellow Hair, killed and scalped by Buffalo Bill Cody, who was a scout for the military.

Our next stop was Toadstool Geological Park. We took a one mile hike through the badlands area. The toadstools are not as impressive as those of Goblin State Park in Utah. We continued on Toadstool road until we reached the paved road north of Crawford. We got back to our camper around 5 PM, after stopping at the gas station liquor store for beer.

It was a lot of driving on dirt and gravel roads, and tiring. We resolved not to go as far on the next day. Sandy cooked pork chops for dinner.

Death of Crazy Horse

Tuesday was laid back; it was too hot to hike. In the morning we went to the museum, which covered the long history of the fort. Crazy Horse was killed here. The fort was repurposed multiple times, including as remount facility for training Army horses, and a German POW camp in WWII. The black Buffalo Soldiers were here. In the afternoon we followed the White River Road along the White River, which paralleled the old Chicago and Northwestern railroad grade. We stopped at the Glenhaven cemetery, with many graves from the early 1900s. We saw antelope and turkeys, in a pretty valley. Sandi cooked shrimp kabobs for dinner.

On Wednesday, the weather was cool, so we went for a hike. We drove up the Smiley Canyon road, and saw the herd of bison. The road was blocked by a herd of horses, who may have been hoping for a handout. We pulled forward slowly until the horses moved out of the way; some of them may have gotten bumped by the truck. The Turtle Rock trail goes from the Smiley Canyon road to the top of the cliffs overlooking the valley, and back again. It was a steady climb, with some nice views.

We decided to drive to the town of Harrison to have lunch, as there were no picnic areas off the Smiley Canyon road. After lunch, we noticed that the historical museum was open, and decided to take a look. The cattle brand display in the window drew our attention; the barb wire collection was excellent. Our guide was a retired school teacher, who had taught at one room school houses. We learned that Sioux county still had two one room schools. The Harrison Hotel, built in 1886 as a railroad hotel, is still open. We took a little tour. Sandi cooked bison burgers for dinner. ;-)

On Thursday, we had hoped to do some hiking, but the smoke was bad. In the morning, we visited the sites of the Red Cloud Indian Agency, and the German POW Camp. We also stopped at the museum bookstore to pick up some gifts. After a lengthy nap by Richard, we drove to the Council Tree, the site of a large council in 1875, during which the US government attempted to buy the Black Hills from the Indians. We also drove up Soldier Creek, to the end of the road, and found the small primitive campground there.

On Friday, we decided to visit the Crawford Livestock Market. We pulled our rig next to the stock trailers and chatted with a cowboy named Ferguson, who went to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, “East Campus.” Richard took some photos of the cattle being moved. Sandi did her best “Hi y'all”, and mentioned that she had grown up on a farm. We did get some heckling, and people asking us why we were there. They sell thousands of cattle per week.

We drove east to Smith Falls State Park, stopped in Valentine for provisions, and managed to make a wrong turn. We got there about 6 PM, after losing an hour for the time change. Our group started to show up, and we met some folks. The campsites were huge, but no utilities. The park has bathrooms and pay showers.