Western Trip 2014 Las Vegas to Mesa Verde

Las Vegas/Hoover Dam

We headed north to pick up UT 20 to go over to I15.  It was an up and down highway and when we were at the highest, the truck thermometer indicated the outside temp as 33.  We could see the condensation on the outside mirrors begin to shine with ice.  We got on I15 and traveled the 35 miles south to Cedar City where we picked up UT 56.  Once clear of the city limits, it became a narrow two lane state highway with trucks, buses, and RV’s moving in both directions at 60 -65 MPH.  After 60 miles and upon entering Nevada it changed route names (NV 319) and the road got a bit worse.  Finally we hit US95 and it was better, but was still 100+ miles of two lane.  Once we hit I15 we only had to travel 10 miles to get to the Nellis AFB exit.

We did not realize until we checked into the campground that we were now on Pacific Time.  Once into the base and campground we got ourselves setup and had some lunch.  Boy was it hot! 

We spent the rest of the day getting our bearings and checking out the BX and Commissary.  Both are pretty big as this is the home base for the USAF Thunderbirds as well the Navy Top Gun and Red Flag exercises (air to air fighter training).

Friday we were up pretty early so took advantage of the time to do our laundry and pack up snacks and drinks for the day.  We hit a quilt shop on the way.  It was nice but things certainly were pricey.  Judy came away with a couple of ideas though.

Before we got to the actual Hoover Dam, we stopped and walked about half way across the Mike O’Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial bridge.  You could get some good views of the dam from the walkway along the westbound lanes of the bridge. This bridge was built as a bypass to having traffic pass over the top of the dam.

After that hike we drove to the dam itself and paid $10 to park and then another $12 each just to go in the visitor center.  The visitor center was interesting and gave a lot of history, but nowhere did it say how many men died in the dam.  One sign noted that a number of deaths were attributed to pneumonia!  It was a marvel of construction.  Before they could even start the dam they had to carve out four tunnels through the rock to divert the river.  These tunnels are fifty six feet high and nearly ¾ mile long.

On the drive back to Nellis we passed a sign giving the temperature as 113 degrees!  By the time we got back to the Open Range we were beat from the heat.

Saturday we decided to do the strip so we headed down Las Vegas Boulevard.  We picked a real weekend to be here.  Seems it is some sort of a Mexican holiday and bus loads of folks from Mexico and local Latinos are in the city.  There was a big parade going on and streets blocked off.  We did see the Pawn Stars Pawn shop, Trump tower and lots of other casinos.  Actually we were not greatly impressed with downtown Vegas.

Grand Canyon/Mesa Verde

Sunday morning we were up and on the road out of the heat.  It was 80 degrees as we were hooking up and the truck A/C felt mighty good.  We traveled the same roadways as we did going to Hoover Dam on our way to the Nevada/Arizona line.  This time we stayed on US93 and crossed over that high bridge mentioned above.  The scenery changed and became more flat, but still a higher elevation.  We tried to get some pictures from the moving truck of the different boulders and rocks along the way.

Once we hit I40 the rough ride began.  I40 in Arizona has got to be the longest stretch of rough interstate highway.  We thought I70 in Indiana westbound was bad but this is worse.  Because of the time change on entering Arizona (now on Mountain time) we got into the Canyon Motel and RV park at a decent hour.  As Sept 14 was our wedding anniversary we had decided to go out for dinner.  Rod’s Steakhouse was recommended but it was closed on Sunday.  Instead we opted to head into beautiful downtown Williams on old Route 66.

Before dinner we checked out the downtown and some shops before heading to Poncho Macgillacudy’s.  We enjoyed a nice Mexican dinner – and in fact brought some home.

This is our site at Canyon Motel and RV Park.

Monday morning we had a leisurely breakfast before heading north to the Grand Canyon.  The drive to the park from where we parked took nearly an hour.  Judy had read a lot about the park so we knew pretty much what we wanted to do. We found a parking spot in the nearly full lot and stopped by the visitor center, but the line up to speak with rangers was quite long.  So we opted to strike out and walk the short distance to Mather Lookout.  Once there we could see why it is called the “Grand Canyon.”

We ‘hiked’ along the rim trail, stopping to admire the expanse and dramatic views. At one point we happened upon an artist who was just finishing a 12X15 painting of a tree.  This week in the park there are a number of artists painting park scenery and views.  The paintings are to be sold at a gallery to help support art in the park.

We took so many pictures.

At the Bright Angle Trail head we headed down the steep trail to the bottom.  We had decided to hike part way down…going all the way was too much.  Actually the down part is not too bad, though steep.  It is the return trip as it is all up hill.  We hiked down and found a nice spot to have a bite to eat.  As we were seated, three young ladies came hiking up and one asked if we wanted our picture taken.  She said we looked ‘cute’ sitting there.

This is the trail back up, notice the droppings?

On our return to the top, we walked some more along the Rim Trail. We stopped near a lookout and found this squirrel begging for scraps.

This is what the rim trail is like - not a hard walk/hike and from many areas you can get wide views of the canyon and in a few spots even see the Colorado River.

At the train depot area we  hopped on a shuttle for a reide back to the truck.

 We were pretty tired by the time we got back to the truck – and had that drive back to Williams.

Before dinner we made one last trip into Williams to check out the Quilt shop and pickup a couple of items at the Safeway.

Up early and had to finish packing up in slight drizzle but by the time we were 30 miles down the road, it was dry and just cloudy.  Once through Flagstaff we headed north on US89.  Just north of where the East Entrance to the Grand Canyon we stopped at Cameron, Arizona   This an old stone trading post and hotel.  We had just started browsing when not one, not two but four tourist buses rolled. 

This is the "old" suspension bridge that was part of the original US160.

A while later and further up the highway we came to the “Four Corners” area where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico meet.  It happens to be on Navajo land and they have set up a tribal park around it.  We did go in and wonder the four states.  The point is now surrounded on all sides by adobe like structures housing Native American wares for sale.

We decided to try some “Indian Flat Bread” so stopped by a stand outside the market area.  Just inside a young indian man was drawing indian designs on flat and semi-flat rocks to be sold.  As our bread was frying we talked with him.  When he turned to us we could see that he was wearing a Cleveland Indians hat.  Asked about his feelings on the subject of the name, he said it was fine with him.  

A little further north we turned off on it US160 and across the Painted Desert area.  Again the landscape changed and you could see for miles.  Off in the distance were low mountains and bluffs long mesas and giant sandstone pillars.

As we approached Cortez the sky darkened and we could see lightening bolts across the horizon.  The last ten miles in the campground was in a driving hard rain.  It seemed to let up some as we led to our site and we were able to get unhooked and mostly set up without getting too wet.

This is our spot at Mesa Verde RV Resort – a little over a mile from the main entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. 

Thursday we headed to the park.  When we arrived at the visitor center we gathered some information and signed up for the 12:30 Ranger lead tour of Cliff Palace.  We had about two hours before the tour so we had time for at least one hike because it is a 20 mile drive to the dwelling sites.  And it took every bit of it as it was a real up and down drive along roads winding around the mountain sides and down into valleys and back up again.

We had time to do the Soda Canyon 2 mile hike.  At the end of the trail there are three lookouts from which you can get spectacular views.  From one we could see the Cliff Palace on the opposite side of the mesa.

Judy thought she might find a unique dead cedar branch to decorate as a Christmas tree this year.  But they were all too big to drag out, especially with so many people around.

At 12:30 Ranger Jim began our guided tour down 140 feet into the dwelling area.  It was a narrow and steep climb and in some spots we were going down on steps cut into the sand stone by the CCC.  At the bottom we sat on rock mostly in the sun as he gave his presentation on the history and what we do know about the people who lived here in the year 1200AD.

We walked ito the area and gathered about a “Kiva” or round house or building they used for religious or meeting ceremonies. In the center was a fire pit and on one side and opening that led to a vent shaft on the surface to bring in fresh air.  As we were preparing to move on, Judy feinted and dropped to the ground. The combination of standing, standing in the sun, and the altitude got to her.  It took several minutes but soon she felt better and was able to stand.  We moved on a bit and the wooziness returned so we rested some more and opted to take our time hiking up the steep trail and climbing the two wooden ladders.

Rather than taking any additional hikes we drove to the Museum for a short film then a stop at a gift shop/camp store on the way out of the park.  On the way home we decided to spend another night here and just take it easy. Saturday we head for Albuquerque and begin the journey back to Ohio. But it may take a while to get there.

Western Trip 2014 - Zion and Bryce

Western Trip 2014 - Zion and Bryce

Monday we got ready in the rain…it had spit rain a couple of times during our stay, but this was a real rain storm.  We both got more than a little damp before we had everything packed and hooked up.  As we pulled out of the campground the rain turned to a drizzle and by the time we were moving north on US191 it stopped.  The drive on I70 was different.  The rock formations and scenery changed, but our up and downs continued.  The elevation at the park we left was 4700 feet.  As we moved west we would go up to 5600 feet and drop back to 5000 then up to 6500 and so forth.  We crossed the divide at 7300 feet.

Along this stretch of I70 in Utah there are “Look Outs” but no real rest stops.  These Look Outs do have pit toilets and an area to walk the dog and of course a good view of something. This Look Out had a local Indian selling her wares.

When we hit the ‘bottom’ after the divide we were in a huge valley nearly 40 miles long and many miles wide.  Big farms and ranches and just a few little towns scattered and for a stretch of 100 miles, no services.

As we turned off I70 on to US89 we began to follow the Sevier River through the valley.  Yes there were some ups and downs and it was not a real wide two lane highway. At one point we got behind a pickup towing a wide piece of farm machinery – it spread from the very outside edge of the berm to across the middle of the road.  It was just about this time we ran into some hard rain – needed to get the bugs off the truck and RV!

Found our way to the KOA in the big town (population 1485) of Panguitch which means “big fish” in Piute.  We could see the darkening clouds to the north and we no sooner got ourselves all set up when the clouds opened.  It rained hard for over an hour!

Panguitch (pronounced like pan-quwich) is unusual in that the town has digital over the air TV available.  Somewhere on the north side of town there is a digital antenna that rebroadcasts over the air TV stations,

Forecast calls for some rain on Tuesday morning and then clearing by afternoon so we decided to head to Zion National Park – about 52 miles south of the campground.  We were on the road  by 8:15 and reached the Visitor’s center after a long drive that included many climbs and dips and a 1.1 mile tunnel.  We did take a few pictures on the way in. 

This is called ‘Checkerboard.”

And we could see the Virgin River surging through the canyons.

Once at the Visitor Center we boarded a shuttle (no private vehicles allowed on the park road) and started our ride up the canyon.  Rather than get off at the Museum or the Lodge, we opted to get off at “Weeping Rock” and take the half mile walk/climb up to the rock.  It was quite something – hundreds of thousands of gallons spilling out of an opening in the ledge above.

As we started our hike down, the skies opened and it poured rain – and we got soaked!

When we got to the shuttle stop, the driver said that he had been instructed to hold fast as there was still another storm cell on the way.  So we sat on the bus and waited for nearly a half hour.  The driver then announced that he was to go up to the Big Bend area and turn around and take us all back to the Lodge.  There were mud/rock slides beyond the Big Bend area and also below the Lodge.

By the time we got to the Lodge there must have been 8 shuttles in the lot.  The sun came out so while we were waiting we hiked across the road and up to Emerald Pond Falls.  When we crossed the bridge over the Virgin River you could see big logs and other debris in the fast flowing water.  We heard that the river was flowing at a rate of 3000 cubic feet per second….cannot confirm the source.

When we got back to the Lodge we boarded a shuttle and sat and waited.  Seems there was a slide between the Lodge and the Visitor Center.  We had to wait for a ‘pilot’ vehicle to lead a convoy.  It was a slow go and we picked up a number of hikers along the way.  They were essentially closing the park except for those staying in the Lodge.  When we departed the bus a ranger greeted us with the news that the road east out of the park (the way we came in) was now closed due to slides before and after the tunnel.  She said it was due to reopen at 2:30 so we did a little shopping and had a PPJ.  When we got to the exit it was blocked and the ranger said the only way out was west, through Springdale. The crews found several areas where the roadway was undercut and had to have that evaluated before continuing cleanup.  At that point we headed west.  What should have been an easy 50+ mile drive turned into a 120 mile two plus hour drive.  We finally got home a little after 5 and the animals were certainly glad to see us – and we were glad to be back at the RV.

After a very chilly night we were moving a bit slow on Wednesday and beside fog rolled in so no real rush to get to Bryce Canyon.  It was after 10 before headed out route 89 to route 12 to the park.  We had been told that Red Canyon was a real eye opener and it was on the way to Bryce.  We were in a wide valley of scrub brush when we went around a curve and there it was - red canyon walls on both sides. This went on for several miles before making the turn into Bryce Canyon itself.

When we entered the park we tried to find a parking spot at the visitor center, but the lots were full.  So we headed into the park and using the maps given at the entry thought we would stop at the first look out.  But alas that lot was full.  We then thought we would just drive further into the park and see what we could see. We tried the first lookout point and that parking lot was full too so we headed further on.  The next lookout there was plenty of parking so we parked.  Just as we were told, in Zion you look up and in Bryce you look down.

Those tall sandstone columns are called hoodoo’s.  The park is full of them. 

At the last lookout we took a long hike and had lunch along the way.  This hike was about a mile and a half – at 8000 feet.

This is an old Joshua tree.  It died long ago and the wind is now carving it out.

That evening we drove into town ( a few blocks) to fuel up and check out the Cowboy Smoke House.  We had a good dinner and it was a good thing we arrived early.  When we walked in there were three others and when we left the line was out the door.

Thursday it was down-right cold when we got up – 40 degrees.  We had ‘dumped’ the night before so by the time Lilly had her walk in things were pretty much ready to hitch up and go.  We knew it would be a longer day because of the detour.  I15 in Nevada was still closed to all traffic and the short detour they had setup for ‘cars only’ would not accommodate our rig. 

This is the detour we had to follow to get to Las Vegas - the long way around!