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Home, Sweet Home!
October 23:
We left the Tonopah area just after 8am, and had a nice drive on Hwy-95 to I-80.
Light traffic over the Sierras on I-80 and made it home just after 3pm.
TOTAL MILES: 4,827 miles.
Next trip, January 2018 = Lake Havasu Hot Air Balloon Festival.
The Milky Way Galaxy
October 22:
We went out after dark to watch the stars in the pitch dark desert sky.
The Milky Way Galaxy was clearly visible.
Tonopah, Nevada
October 22:
We got an early start from Las Vegas and started north across the desert along Hwy-95.
We made good time and drove by such towns as:
Indian Springs: Home of Creech AFB and their aerial drone UAV program.
Mercury: Home of the Nevada Nuclear Test Site & ‘Area 51’.
The above and underground nuke tests have stopped, but the facility is still in use today.
I spent a couple of weeks there a few years ago, training / playing with bombs / explosives for the government, just a 1/4 mile from ‘Area 51’ (all the facilities are listed as ‘areas’), and no, I never saw an alien there!
Amargosa Valley: Home of the Area 51 ‘Alien Center’, motel and gas station.
Goldfield: Home of the haunted & abandoned Goldfield Hotel.
Tonopah: Old silver mining town.
We’re spending the night at the I-95 Miller’s Rest Area, a few miles outside Tonopah, Nevada. It’s like a desert oasis in the middle of nowhere.
Tomorrow, we’ll arrive back home.
Red Rock Canyon
October 21:
Today, we awoke to calm winds and blue skies. The highs were only in the 50’s.
After wiping all the dirt / dust off the truck, from yesterday’s wind storm, we took a 45 minute long drive west to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Even though Red Rock Canyon is only 15 miles away from the Las Vegas casino area, it’s a world apart, with a looped roadway and numerous hiking trails. The area is also popular with rock climbers.
We’ve hiked some of the trails in the past, but today, we decided to tackle the Calico Tanks Trail.
The 2.5 mile trail is listed as ‘moderately difficult’ and climbs over rocks, to a rise in elevation of 450ft.
We put on our rock climbing shoes and started up the trail. We walked along dry creek beds and up into the Red Rock hills.
Along the way, we saw old areas where Indians camped and cooked 1000’s of years ago.
Near the summit, were large natural bowls in the rocks (the tanks) that collect water in the winter and spring.
Once at the top, we could see commanding views of the area, including downtown Las Vegas in the distance.
Tomorrow, we are leaving the Las Vegas area and traveling north along Hwy-95, and spending the night at Miller’s Rest Area, just north of Tonopah, Nevada.
A Windy Rest Day
October 20:
We stayed in camp today, one to recuperate from a week of hiking, and two, due to 35mph+ winds and blowing dust in the area.
Las Vegas, Nevada
October 19:
We pulled out of Virgin, Utah at about 11am, and headed south-west along I-15, quickly through the south-west corner of Arizona, and into Nevada.
The drive on I-15 through the Virgin River Canyon was spectacular.
We arrived in Las Vegas about 1pm (gained an hour switching to Pacific Time) and we’ll be spending three nights at the Hitch’in Post RV Park north of downtown Las Vegas.
It’s a large RV park with mostly pull-thru spaces and full hook-ups.
Nothing fancy, but it’s away from the noise of downtown Las Vegas and has an inviting pool area.
‘Angels Landing’ Hike – Zion NP
October 18:
Early this morning, we returned back to the Zion National Park.
Since our son hiked the Angels Landing trail last year, we couldn’t be outdone by a fit, 22 year old runner / hiker, and his bragging rights.
At 8:30am, we left the Grotto bus stop and head up to the Scout Landing trail to the Angels Landing trail.
The trail almost immediately starts out steep, with long trail switch-backs.
In a distance of two miles, there’s an elevation climb of 1,200 ft – that’s like climbing a 120 story skyscraper with a starting elevation of 4,000+ ft.
While on the trail, we had light winds at 52 degrees – perfect hiking weather.
We climbed the first section of switch-backs and at the top of the first mountain face, the trail levels out between two rock walls, then there’s a second set of switch-backs known as ‘The Wiggles’.
That section is about a 75 degree climb almost straight up, with a series of short narrow steep pathways.
At the top of the trail is an area known as ‘Scout Landing’. From there we could see mountain climbers below us on a nearby mountain face. We could also see the start of ‘Angel Landing Trail’.
That trail goes up father, but is a narrow, pathway along a stone face – all the while hanging onto a chain embedded in the rock. The fall off that ledge way is well over 1,000 ft straight down!
We walked the trail a short distance to get a feel of the pathway. We only saw mostly 20 year old males, continuing to the even narrower area of the ledges.
In total, we were gone 2.5 hours (1.5 hours up, .5 hour at the top and .5 hour hiking down).
On the trail we could see several active areas where the trail had been washed out by water and was being repaired.
We didn’t know how they trekked the concrete and tools up the mountain trail. Then we saw how, gas powered constructing buggies.
Tomorrow we head out of the Zion area, and spend three nights in the Las Vegas area.
Bryce Canyon National Park
October 17:
We left camp this morning at 6am, and arrived at the Bryce Canyon National Park, at about 8am.
The park was named after local pioneer Ebenezer Bryce and designated as a national park in 1928
Just before entering the park, the temperature outside was a bone-chilling 12 DEGREES!
Once the sun came over the mountains, it rose to 25 degrees and a perfect time to start our first hike.
We drove the canyon highway the length of the park and stopped at Yovimpa Point. The trailhead starts at 9,000ft and goes up from there, along the Bristlecone Loop Trail.
By the time we finished our drive and hike, the temperatures climbed into the low 50’s. When we left the park in the afternoon, it was up to the low 70’s.
We must be getting used to high elevation hikes, because we weren’t as winded as a couple of weeks ago.
We had a picnic lunch outside the Bryce Canyon Lodge that was built in 1924 and then walked the Rim Trail to Sunrise Point.
The park differed from Zion NP, in that Bryce was in a forest setting, rather than a high desert area.
Tomorrow we are returning to Zion National Park and take a hike that we didn’t have time for yesterday.
Zion National Park
October 16:
We got an early start from camp and drove the 20 miles into the gate of Zion National Park. We were on the hiking trails by 7:30am.
Zion is the #5 national park in the nation, with 4.5 million annual visitors per year. Even at just daybreak, the shuttle parking lots were half full.
We took the free park shuttle to the Kayenta Trailhead, and hiked up to the Upper Emerald Pools.
The elevation climb, over a 4-mile distance, was higher than a 20-story building, We also hiked down to the Lower Pools and to the Grotto Waterfall.
After our hike, the visitor center was then open and we learned about the area.
After lunch, we took the shuttle to the Weeping Rock Trailhead. We hiked to the face of the rock, that had water dripping from the cracks.
Per the rangers, the water percolating out of the mountain is over 1,500 years old!
We then picked up our truck and drove the narrow road to the mouth of the Mount Carmel Tunnel.
The tunnel was built in the 1920’s and only has a clearance of 11’-4”, if you drive down the middle of the roadway. The cars were smaller back then.
Rangers are at each end of the 1.1 mile long tunnel to block traffic, while the smaller RV’s pass through. Those RV’s have to pay an extra fee to have the lane blocked. Larger RV’s and trucks are prohibited from the narrow two lane tunnel.
Our large trailer would have never fit.
Tomorrow we are off to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Rest Day in Virgin, Utah
October 15:
We had a great time at the ‘one-man concert’ last night in the RV park’s social center. Mark “Brink” Brinkman sang many of his hit songs. He’s a very talented singer / song writer.
In the small canyon where we are staying, it was a chilly 28 degrees this morning. As the sun rose above the canyon walls, the temperatures rose quickly.
The weather was in the low 70’s today and we just hung around camp doing chores and enjoying the area.
For the next three days, we’ll be visiting the Zion National Park (only 20 minutes up the road) and Bryce Canyon National Park.
North Rim – Grand Canyon NP
October 14:
We got an early start this morning and drove about two hours south, into Arizona, to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim season.
Most of the north park (restaurants, hotel, visitor center, etc) will be closed until next spring. The remainder of the park (campground) will be closed at the first snow.
The south rim (we visited there last year) remains open year round.
We hiked the Bright Angel Point Trail, explored the Grand Canyon Lodge (built in the 1930’s) and walked the North Rim Trail.
We didn’t do too bad, going up and down the sometimes steep trails, while being at a 8,200+ft elevation!
After lunch in the park, we started back home through the desert and spotted a sign for the Pipe Spring National Monument near the small town of Kaibab, Arizona.
We stopped by the visitor center and were just in time for a ranger led tour of the fort.
Being a water spot in the dry desert, Pipe Spring has been used for thousands of years by Indians as a source of water.
In the 1860’s, the Mormons built a fort to protect the water source and settlers in the area.
The fort was later used as a wagon stop and telegraph station. Gun ports can still be seen in the exterior stone walls.
The fort and grounds became a national monument in the 1930’s. The water still flows from the nearby natural spring and into the ‘cheese room’ in the fort.
Tonight, our RV resort is hosting a free country western concert at the park, with award winning songwriter & performer, Mark “Brink” Brinkman.
Donna can’t wait for the music to begin.
Virgin, Utah
October 13:
It was cold outside last night, 27 degrees when we awoke.
Since we had a short drive-day of only 80 miles today, we left the Beaver rest area at 11am. Check-in time for our destination wasn’t until noon.
We arrived in Virgin, Utah at the Zion River RV Resort and were immediately impressed.
Manicured grounds, large spacious full-service sites, a modern clean clubhouse and an inviting pool / hot tub area.
This RV resort will be a welcome sight after hiking and exploring the nearby national parks in the following days.
We’ll be here in Virgin for six nights.
Tomorrow morning, we are off to the north rim of the Grand Canyon National Park for the day.
Rest Area – Beaver, Utah
October 12:
We left the town of Moab at 10am and headed north to I-70.
West on I-70 took us into mountainous areas where in the 1950’s, a uranium boom occurred.
Mining was very active for several years in the mountains and passes along what is now the interstate.
Most of the small mining towns and camps are gone, but occasionally, a glimmer of a mining structures can be seen.
Along I-70, we traveled over many mountain passes with several over 7,000ft in elevation. No snow in this area of the high desert!
As we continued west towards I-15, heavy smoke could be seen in the distance. We speculated that maybe the fires from California are sending smoke east into Utah.
About 3pm, we arrived at a nice shaded rest area south of Beaver, Utah along I-15. The temperature when we arrived was 62 degrees, but will fall below freezing tonight.
We’ll spend the night here and venture into Virgin, Utah tomorrow.
The Arch That Almost Fell
October 11:
We returned to the Arches National Park, to hike a couple of trails we couldn’t get to yesterday.
We started out at about 9am, to beat the warmer afternoon temperatures. The park was busy, but not crowded. Most visitors are here like us, to beat the summer crowds, traffic and heat.
We drove to the far northern boundary of the park accessible by vehicle and hiked to Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch and Landscape Arch.
Landscape Arch is the longest arch in north America.
The arch had a large section fall from the bottom side of the arch in 1991. No one was hurt, but several hikers heard the cracking of the rock and ran to safety.
Hiking under the arch is now prohibited.
We leave the Moab area tomorrow morning and travel west on I-70 towards Wheatgrass, Utah.
We’ll be spending the night along a I-15 rest area. Then it’s off to Virgin, Utah on Friday.
Arches, Arches & More Arches
October 10:
We entered the Arches National Park at about 10am. We drove past the Fiery Furnace area and to the Sand Dune Arch trail-head.
Walking the trail to the arch, entailed narrow passageways and paths. It was like walking in a small valley of rock and stone.
We then decided to walk across the desert floor, following a 5+ mile hiking trail to Broken Arch and Skyline Arch. The temperatures were in the high 40’s when we started our hike, at an elevation of 6,000ft and bright sunshine.
Every turn of the trail, was a different photo opportunity and changing scenery. We went from flat desert, to climbing over rocks, to deep sand and far off snow capped mountains.
We met a lot of very nice fellow hikers while on the trail. By the end of our hike, we were in t-shirts.
Tomorrow, we’ll return to Arches NP to hike a few more trails.
Wilson Arch
October 9:
Yesterday was in the high 70’s, but today dropped to the 50’s. The forecast for tonight is a chilly 32 degrees. We had sprinkles last night, but being the high desert, no rain is expected in the next several days.
We drove 30 minutes south of Moab to the Wilson Arch. We could see the tops of the hills were dusted with snow from last night’s storm.
The arch was named after Joe Wilson, who had an old desert cabin nearby.
An arch formation is formed over millions of years. Rocks form cracks and water saturate those cracks. Ice forms and melt with desert heat, then winds clean out sand from the cracks.
Water again fills the cracks and eventually, chunks of weak rock tumble out. The strong rock remains to form an arch.
We hiked up to the inside of the arch. The cold winds funneled into the hole of the arch and made it tough to stand, plus the rock drops 1,000+ft straight down behind the arch. The views up there were spectacular!
On the way back to town, we stopped at the ‘Hole-In-The-Rock’ 1940’s roadside attraction.
The stop used to be an old 5,000ft diner and house carved into a large hillside. Now it’s a quick stop to get an ice cream cone, see old desert relics or buy a painted Utah drinking glass.
After Lunch, we walked downtown Moab along the main street where the shops, taverns and restaurants are located.
Tomorrow, we’ll be returning to the Arches National Park, and due to the cooler weather, plan to do some hiking in the park.
Canyonlands National Park
October 8:
Today we drove about 30 miles outside of Moab to the Canyonlands National Park. Since it was the weekend, we did this park today, since it’s less crowded.
Even before entering the park, there were rock formations and deep canyons all around.
Even though Canyonlands is near Arches National Park, they are a world of difference.
Canyonlands NP reminded us more of the Grand Canyon, where Arches NP had more tall rocks.
We drove the park roads and stopped at all of the pull-outs and hiking trails. We took several hikes to over-looks on the canyon rims. Some had sheer drop-offs of 3,000+ft.
The temperatures were in the 70’s and with a strong breeze in some areas, it made the 7,000ft elevation hikes very pleasurable.
Moab, Utah
October 7:
At 10:00am, we left the Rifle Rest Area and headed into Utah and to the town of Moab, Utah.
Moab is within easy driving distance of three Utah national parks.
We are spending five nights at the Canyonlands RV Park.
The sites are somewhat cramped, but we have full hook-ups, it’s in town and close to the national parks.
After we arrived, we drove about five minutes out of town to the entrance to Arches National Park.
We obtained our national park pass, that allows us unlimited entrance for a year, to all US national parks until October 2018. Not bad for $80, since we’re a couple years away from the ‘senior pass’.
We returned to our camp, made a picnic dinner and headed back into the Arches NP for sunset.
At the advice of the ranger at the gate, we drove about 30 minutes inside the park to the Delicate Arch trailhead. We then hiked about a half mile to the arch overlook and waited for sunset.
Since there’s only one road inside Arches NP, we’ll go back after the weekend (and the crowds) to explore it fully.
Over the Colorado Rockies
October 6:
Yesterday was a beauiful day, sunny and in the 60’s,. The weather will be changing starting tomorrow, with clouds and by Sunday night, the Denver area will get it’s first large snow storm of the year.
Even the RV park crews are putting out roadway snow stakes and installed a snow plow blade on the front of their truck.
Looks like we’re leaving Golden just in time!
We left Golden at 11:00am and headed west on I-70. The interstate is a major roadway west into Utah and parts west.
We climbed into the Colorado Rockies and reached an elevation of 11,000+ft, when we got to the Eisenhower Tunnel.
The tunnel was completed in 1979 and is the longest and highest tunnel in the interstate highway system. The tunnel is actually two separate tunnels, each at 1.7 miles long.
After leaving the tunnel, we stopped near Vail for a break. It snowed off & on while we were there, but no snow / ice on the roadway.
West of Vail, I-70 travels along the Colorado River and into narrow canyons that snake west into open farming country.
We stopped at a rest area in Rifle, Colorado for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll continue west into Utah and to the town of Moab for several nights.
Last Day in Golden
October 5:
Did some food shopping & chores around camp this morning, and after lunch, we drove into historic downtown Golden.
Many taverns, small cafe’s and family-owned specialty boutiques lined the streets.
We liked the small town feel, but since the university is nearby, street parking was extremely hard to find.
For our last night in Golden, we all went out to a local BBQ joint, for some down-home smoked vittles.
Tomorrow, we travel west on I-70, over the Colorado Rockies to a rest area near Rifle, Colorado.
Colorado Springs
October 4:
After breakfast, we drove about an hour to Colorado Springs. The skies were clear when we left Golden, but by the time we climbed to over 7,000ft to Colorado Springs, we were socked in with fog.
Our first stop was the US Air Force Academy. This was a ‘must do’ stop, since Donna was born in the base hospital.
We toured the visitor center and walked to the Cadet’s Chapel and walked the Honor Court. Security was tight in the chapel and the fog was thick on the chapel hill.
After lunch, we drove a short distance to the Western Museum of Mining & Industry.
We were just in time for a guided tour of the facility and machinery. The large machines were all hooked up to live steam, so they were all fired up during the demonstrations.
We also walked the grounds and even were able to pan for gold. I was lucky, I found one ‘nugget’ that had to be worth at least $ .00020 cents!
The museum and docents were all top notch and if in the area, is highly recommended.
We then made a quick stop at the US Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs.
The facility is mostly geared for summer game sports. We spent time in the visitor center, but the grounds are all restricted.
Boulder Area
October 3:
Today was much warmer, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 50’s.
We took a drive out to the Boulder area and visited the Celestial Tea Factory. Even though we aren’t tea drinkers, we found the tour to be educational and fun. Sorry, no photographs allowed inside the factory.
After lunch, we drove up into the mountains to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, near the University of Colorado campus.
We learned how weather is measured, forecast and reported, all about hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather systems. The center had many hands-on demonstrations and experiments.
The late afternoon was spent with food shopping and chores.
Tomorrow, we are off to a full day of exploration in Colorado Springs (where Donna was born).
Capitol, Coins and a Beer
October 2:
Last night it snowed on I-70, above Denver, at 11,000ft. We’ll be traveling that route on Friday, but the snow should be gone by then.
This morning, we drove into Denver and toured the state capitol. We went on a guided tour of the interior hallways and rooms and climbed the near 100 steps to the exterior of the 1894 capitol dome.
On the west steps of the capitol, is the exact one mile elevation above sea level marker.
We then walked a few blocks downtown to the U.S. Mint. The mint struck it’s first coins in 1906 and continues to make all US coins west of the Mississippi.
The Denver Mint is the largest producer of coins in the world.
We learned about the making of coins and walked the old building’s hallways, which are as they were in the early 1900’s, and saw coins being made.
We also learned that just before World War II, the government moved all of the gold stored at the San Francisco Mint, to the Denver Mint, due to west coast security.
The gold was never moved back west, and in the basement of the Denver Mint, still sits FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS in gold!
The tour was very interesting and we got a free souvenir 2017 penny and a blank faced penny coin. (sorry, no photographs were allowed inside the mint).
We then drove just north of Golden to the Coors Brewery.
The brewery was started in 1873 and is the single largest brewery in the world. Over a billion cans of beer are made yearly.
We then grabbed a quick dinner in Golden and it started snowing outside.
The light snow continued into the evening. No worries, we don’t leave here until Friday and the snow will melt by then.
Arrived in Colorado
October 1:
We had a windy night last night, but little rain. We started south on I-25 at 9:00am.
Just before the Colorado border, was the Wyoming Rest Area & Visitor Center. The facility was one of the best rest areas we’ve ever visited.
Large RV parking, dump stations, visitor information and an indoor museum.
Driving into Colorado, we could see the snow covered Rockies to our west.
As we got closer to the Denver area, traffic picked up, until we were in the middle of 5-lane interstates, just like home.
We arrived at the Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden at about 1pm.
The park is mostly occupied by ‘snow-birds’, here for the winter. The park is shaded and has a nice feel, but very narrow roadways to the sites.
We’ll be in Golden for five nights.
A Stagecoach, a Robbery and a Head
September 30:
This morning we left the Black Hills of South Dakota behind us, and started towards Colorado.
We past many small towns, some listed on maps, some just distant memories. We saw an old town, that only had their old schoolhouse left in an empty pasture.
The route along Highway 18 followed the old stage coach / wagon trail between Deadwood and Cheyenne.
The gold-boom began in Deadwood in 1876, and the gold was transported by stagecoach to Cheyenne, then by rail to the Denver Mint.
Of course, with gold and stage coaches, comes stagecoach robberies!
Where we had lunch along Hwy-18, was a rest area. In 1878, a stage was stopped and being robbed near the site.
Following a gun battle, one of the bad-guys was shot & killed. His friends buried him, before they fled the area.
One of the stage guards later located the grave, dug up Frank Towle, cut off his head and took the head to Cheyenne in a sack, for a reward.
After lunch, we traveled south to I-25 and to the Dwyer Rest Area, near the town of Wheatland, Wyoming.
The large modern rest area is off the interstate and has separate parking areas for cars, large RV trailers and commercial trucks. It also has free WiFi.
After we arrived, a lightening / rain / wind storm hit. Good thing we’re all here for the night.
Tomorrow it’s south into Colorado and a five night stay in Golden, Colorado.
2017 Buffalo Round-Up
September 29:
We awoke at 4:00am and headed to the Custer State Park, just a few miles outside of town, for the 2017 Custer Buffalo Round-Up.
Why so early, because over 40,000 people attend this annual event, including the Governor of South Dakota.
The state park is 71,000 acres and is home to the largest publicly-owned herd of bison in the world.
Nearly 1,300 bison freely roam the park, but each year they are herded up, given a check-up and many of the young bison are donated or sold to other parks and reservations, to mingle with their herds.
Cowboys from all over the state come on the last day of September each year, to help herd the bison down the mountain slopes, into large pastures and into corral pens.
We staked our vantage point above the pasture before sunrise. At 9:30am, the bison herds rumbled towards our viewing area, with the cowboys whooping and cracking their whips – which sounded like gunfire.
It was amazing to watch them corral 1,300 running bison.
One can only imagine what it would have been like in the 1800’s and before, with millions and millions of bison in a stampede.
Tomorrow, we are leaving Custer and heading towards Golden, Colorado.
Jewel Cave National Monument
September 28:
This morning, we drove about 15 minutes outside Custer, to the Jewel Cave National Monument. The 1.5 hour guided tour took us down 300 feet below the surface with 750+ stairs.
The cave was discovered by miners in 1900, after cold air was felt coming from a hole in the ground. Dynamite was used to open the hole and a vast cave system was discovered.
The cave was made into a national monument in 1908. So far, 145+ miles of passageways have been mapped, which is only about 10% of the cave system.
Many experts believe the Jewel Cave is the largest cave system in the world. New passages and areas are located each month by the park service.
After lunch, we drove the short distance into ‘downtown’ Custer. We walked the old-time streets and shops. We also visited the Custer Historical Museum.
The museum is in the old 1800’s courthouse. It has thousands of old frontier artifacts, the old jail is in the basement and lots of interesting information.
The courthouse was also the site of a court-ordered hanging, outside the back door.
Frontier justice at it’s best!
Tomorrow, we’ll be heading into the Custer State Park at 5:00am, to get a good viewing spot for the 2017 Custer Buffalo Round-Up.
Deadwood, South Dakota
September 27:
With fall in the air and clear crisp skis, it was 27 degrees when we awoke this morning.
We drove about an hour out of Custer to the gold mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota.
1870’s Deadwood was known for it’s fronter lawlessness, gold and Wild Bill Hickok.
We took a hike above town to the Roosevelt Tower, built in 1919 as a memorial to the late president. The top of the tower has commanding 360 degree views of the countryside.
We then visited the Deadwood History Museum and walked the streets of the old town.
After dinner in Deadwood, we drove to Mount Rushmore to see the lowering of the flag and the lighting of the mountain.
It was a nice ceremony attended by hundreds of hardy visitors in the evening chill.
Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse
September 26:
We left camp at 10am and headed east on Highway 16 into the Custer State Park. We stopped at the visitor center and learned about the park and surrounding area. We’ll be returning to the park on Friday for the 2017 Buffalo Round-Up.
We then headed north towards the Mount Rushmore National Park. Being fall, the trees are turning their bright red and yellow colors.
During our drive into the park, we drove through a couple of tunnels and old bridges build when the road was constructed in the 1920’s. We could see Mount Rushmore in the distance, from the many picnic over-looks.
Once at the park, we toured the museum, the old construction buildings and walked the Presidential Trail up to the bottom of the rock pile.
The heads of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt was started in 1927 and stopped in 1941, after the death of the Mt. Rushmore creator.
Due to issues with the mountain, the heads are in different places as first designed (Jefferson was suppose to be located on the far left). Also, due to cracking in the rock, Jefferson’s and Roosevelt’s heads had to be placed further back in the mountain.
Mount Rushmore was a sight to behold indeed!
We then drove about 10 miles to the Crazy Horse Memorial. The memorial was started in 1948 and is still under construction, by the family of the creator (who also worked at Mt. Rushmore).
The size is far larger than Mt. Rushmore, with all four of the Rushmore heads fitting in just the one head of Crazy Horse. The museum, galleries and presentations far exceeded our expectations.
Each of the parks have nighttime shows. We returned to Crazy Horse after dinner for their nighttime laser show.
We will be returning to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow night, for their evening mountain lighting ceremony.
South Dakota
September 25:
We all went out to dinner last night at the highly rated Fire Rock restaurant in Casper. The food and steaks were excellent!
After breakfast and getting the trailer ready for travel, we headed east from Casper along I-25. We could see the fresh dusting of snow on the nearby hills, from last nights cold weather storm.
We traveled north-east on Highway 18 into South Dakota. The landscape went from barren natural gas and oil wells to flat farming and cattle lands.
We were able to see deer, numerous small herds of antelope and one buffalo on today’s trip.
We arrived just outside of Custer at about 2pm. We’ll be spending five nights at the Buffalo Ridge Camp Resort.
Buffalo Ridge was a Flintstone Bedrock RV park years ago, but has been transformed into a more quiet/rustic park with modern amenities.
Casper, Wyoming
September 24:
Last night after dinner, we all went to the RV park’s recreation building to check out the pool table.
After several games played, it was obvious that there was a problem with the table, as Patrice and Donna beat Gordon and I at pool.
It rained last night with the wind-chill in the low 30’s. The highs during the day is only 42 degrees.
We didn’t have any snow last night, but the forecast is once again for snow showers tonight. The fireplace in the trailer is roaring!
After breakfast, we drove into downtown Casper and walked the old streets and shops. Being a Sunday, the local history museum was closed.
Tomorrow, we are leaving Casper and driving north-east along Highway 20 and 18 to Custer, South Dakota.
We will be in Custer for five nights.
Names Carved on a Rock
September 23:
We all ate at the Little America truck stop grill last night and it was a good filling dinner.
Just as it was getting dark and we retired into our RV’s, the temperature dropped from the 40’s and light rain to the 30’s and a mix of light snow and slush.
Nothing stuck to the ground or iced up, but it was fun to see.
Today, we had a nice drive east on I-80 to the town of Rawlings, then north-east on Highway 220 towards Casper. We had light rain and temperatures in the low 40’s.
Traffic was light on the highways, with mostly trucks traveling on the road. We did see several large-wide loads being transported between the many natural gas and petroleum facilities, that dot the landscape.
We stopped at the Independence Rock Rest Area for a break. When we started reading the nearby information signs, we found out how important & interesting this area was.
The rock was named Independence Rock on July 4th, 1830.
Starting in the 1840’s, pioneers, trappers, settlers and civil war soldiers passed by the rock on their way to out west.
During the height of the migration west, over 500,000 pioneers passed by and some carved their names and dates into the stone face, with some still visible today.
Independence Rock was well known back then , as the half-way point between Missouri and California, along the Oregon Trail.
After hiking around the rock, we continued our journey to just outside Casper, Wyoming, to the River’s Edge RV Park, along the Platte River. We’ll be here for two nights.
Little America!
September 22:
We had a little rain last night and lows in 40’s.
We got our morning get-ready-to-leave chores done and hit the road at noon along with Gordon & Patrice. Since we are staying at a truck stop tonight, we weren’t in a hurry to leave.
From Salt Lake City, we continued east on I-80. We could see a dusting of snow from last night on the mountains above the city. We continued past Park City and the Olympic Village, and into Wyoming.
Along I-80, just west of Rock Springs, Wyoming, we stopped for the night at the Little America Travel Center.
It’s a restaurant, store, motel, fuel station and truck service center. It also has a gigantic well lit truck / RV parking lot.
Forecast is for rain / light snow showers at night and lows in the low 30’s.
It’s a 270 mile drive along I-80 to Rawlings, Wyoming, then north-east along Highway 220 to Casper, where we’ll be spending two nights.
Utah State Capitol & Temple Square
September 21:
After a warm afternoon yesterday in the low 80’s, today is cloudy with highs in the high 60’s. Colder weather is forecast for the region with rain by tonight & snow on the highest mountain peaks.
After breakfast we drove a couple of miles into downtown Salt Lake City. We had seen the state capitol from a walking trail yesterday and wanted to check it out. We’ve been to most of the sites around town, but had never visited the capitol.
The Utah State Capitol is perched on a hill overlooking the city and is very impressive. It was built between 1912 and 1916 from granite.
We walked the halls, visited the lawmaker’s chambers, the governor’s office and walked the grounds.
We then drove a short distance to the Mormon Church complex. The temple spires can be seen for miles and the building was completed in 1893 after 40 years of construction.
We walked the manicured grounds, visited the Tabernacle building and the visitor centers. Except for the main temple building, the grounds are open to the public.
Tomorrow we are headed east on I-80 to Rock Springs, Wyoming and staying the night at the Little America Travel Center & Truck Stop. Then it’s off to the Casper area.
Arrived in Salt Lake City
September 20th:
After breakfast, we crossed the Utah border, changed the clocks ahead one hour and continued east on I-80 towards Salt Lake City.
We crossed the vast Bonneville Salt Flats which is home of the U.S. land speed record. We could see racers out on the flats as we traveled by.
The salt flats were dreaded by the pioneers crossing in the 1800’s, even more than Indian attacks and the Sierra mountains.
The salt flats were all mud, with a thin crust of salt on top. Wagon wheels and animal hooves would break through the crust and get stuck in the wet mud.
That, coupled with the summer heat, would force the pioneers to cross the area at night. Some had to leave their stuck wagons and dying animals behind at this point. It’s hard to believe anyone made it across.
We arrived in Salt Lake City just after noon.
We are staying at the KOA for two nights, and are meeting up with our 20+ year Oregon camping friends, Gordon & Patrice here. They used to have an Arctic Fox trailer, and now travel in a motor-home.
We’ll be traveling together for the remainder of the trip.
West Endover, Nevada
September 19th:
We had a nice quiet night at the I-80 rest area and continued east on I-80 after breakfast. The weather was breezy, cloudy and cool, but no rain.
Just west of Elko, is the Bureau of Land Management’s California Trails Interpretive Center. We’ve passed the facility several times over the years, but since we had time, we decided to stop by the free museum.
We learned that a large stretch of I-80 in the area is built on top of the 1850’s overland wagon trail. The center had 1800’s era displays, artifacts and two movie theaters.
There were tens of thousands of pioneers that traveled through this area between Missouri and California. Even the Donner Party traveled this trail.
One fact we didn’t know about, is that the pioneers had a saying on the trail of “Seeing the Elephant”. The elephant was the ‘bigger than life’ experience of the trail.
If traveling near Elko, we highly recommend a stop, and the parking lot is big-rig RV friendly.
We arrived in West Endover, Nevada about 3pm. West Endover is at the Nevada / Utah border and has a couple of large casinos, a visitor center, a truck stop & other services.
We found a nice quiet out-of-the-way spot in the large free Peppermill Casino truck / RV parking lot.
We stopped by the visitor center and they highly recommend the Rainbow Casino buffet for dinner. We gave the buffet a try, and for a casino in the middle of the desert, the dinner was very good.
We’ll be spending the night here, and arriving in Salt Lake City around noon tomorrow.
Rocklin Roamers 