Monday, October 13, 2014

RAWLINS WYOMING TO MONTICELLO UTAH…RAIN, SNOW, WIND, & LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL SCENERY ALONG THE WAY

DSC_0134

UTAH’S SNOW CAPPED MANI-LA SAL MOUNTAINS TOWER OVER MOAB

THIS IS SATURDAY’S POST……MY LAPTOP RAN OUT OF JUICE SATURDAY NIGHT

Big winds brought driving rain in the night.  When Pheebs & I stepped out of the rig this morning around 5 a.m. Wyoming’s mighty west wind blew my hat off with it’s sideways rain.  Cold & not the best start to the day. 

DSC_0019

Twisted around through Rawlins darkened downtown & sleeping Sunday morning streets following signs for Interstate 80.  Think it was just Saturday I said about not as much traffic on the Interstates out here in the West.  Imagine my surprise at the solidly heavy westbound truck traffic in the pre-dawn hours.  About as many trucks as I’ve ever seen on any Interstate anywhere.  Outnumbered cars by 10 to1.  The drive west on I-80 was right into the wind driven rain.  Not nice.   Only had maybe 30 miles to go before we turned south off I-80 onto highway 13 heading for Craig Colorado.  It was right at this turn where the rain turned to wet snow.  Really not nice!!

DSC_0001

Slushy snow lasted about 10 miles before turning back to rain as our altitude began dropping.  Had been around 5,500 feet at that turn.  My altimeter showed us gradually descending all the way down to Craig.  Glad to see the darkness give way to morning light.  Still cloudy & windy with occasional rain squalls along the way.  Rolling hills became a little rollier as we noticed vegetation increasing & small shrubs increasing.

DSC_0005DSC_0006DSC_0016DSC_0007

Spotted a Walmart in Craig & needing a leg stretch in we want.  Don’t be surprised if you see us on a Walmartian You Tube.  After 2 weeks on the road we’re quite the looking pair.

DSC_0020

DSC_0025 DSC_0033

YES THAT’S SNOW IN THE LEFT PHOTO

DSC_0039

DSC_0045

KELLY LOVES HER BLACKBERRY

DSC_0055 DSC_0043

I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE FAMILY WHO TAKES PICTURES

DSC_0047

CLOUDS SITTING ON SNOWY MOUNTAIN TOPS

DSC_0032

NOTICED GREEN MEADOWS

DSC_0037 DSC_0034DSC_0059

Thanks to Mike down there in that suburb of Congress called North Ranch for giving us route directions from Custer on down.  Really liked that scenic stretch of winding road from Craig to Rifle Mike.  So nice to see the scenery taking on it’s traditional South-West appearance.  Just love this kind of country.

DSC_0102

AHHHHH, NOW WE’RE TALKING SOUTH-WEST:)))))  (WEST OF RIFLE COLORADO)

DSC_0071 DSC_0077

OUR FIRST VIEW OF THE COLORADO RIVER THIS TRIP & TUNNEL AHEAD

DSC_0078

Our destination for the day was Moab Utah but we hadn’t figured on so many people being there.  We wondered if it was some kind of holiday or something.   We’ve been to Moab before so knew of some nice boondocking spots along the Colorado river just east of town.  Well, they were all full despite us driving the narrow twisting exceptionally scenic road for half a dozen miles or so.  It was already 3:30 in the afternoon & knew by the traffic we were going to have to get ourselves well south of Moab if we hoped to find a place for the night.  Fueled up & we were on our way.  Moab is a nice looking little town with all it’s artsy shops along main street.  I think NAN & JOHN were in Moab somewhere but Kelly’s still not feeling the best & did not want to infect anyone else with her cold.

DSC_0112

JUST COMING INTO THE TOWN OF MOAB FROM THE NORTH

DSC_0110 DSC_0113

ENTRANCE TO ‘THE ARCHES’ IS AT THE BOTTOM OF LEFT PHOTO & CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER IN MOAB

DSC_0130 DSC_0131

ROLLING ALONG MOAB’S MAIN STREET HEADING SOUTH

DSC_0121

NOTICE THE BICYCLE PATH  BUILT ALONGSIDE THE ROAD & COLORADO RIVER

DSC_0114 DSC_0117DSC_0125 DSC_0115DSC_0116

WE WERE LOOKING FOR A BOONDOCKING SPOT ALONG THIS ROAD BUT NO LUCK

And that brings me to a couple corrections in my Saturday post.  With the photo of Kelly tilted back in her navigator’s Captain chair I said something about her feeling better.  She was quick to let me know this morning the reason she was laying back in that chair was because she felt so sick.  I stand corrected.  Also I said our electrical problem has caused our coach interior lights not to work.  I was informed again this morning right quick that yes they do work!!  Kelly corrected the post.  Our inverter monitor on the wall doesn’t work though…& I got that right.

DSC_0068 DSC_0084 DSC_0096

STOPPING FOR A LEG STRETCH

Having been in Moab back in May of 92 I knew of a really scenic & peaceful spot south of town called Wind Whistle Canyon.  Remembered a campground or something there so that is where we headed.  It’s a couple miles off the highway on an old narrow paved road.  What I hadn’t remembered was how small the campsites were & we had quite a time navigating our length around the tight corners between the Pinyon Juniper trees.  No way could we fit into any of the sites so it was back to the highway we headed & motored south to the small town of Monticello.  Found us a dirt lot behind an abandoned building on main street & that was it for the night.

DSC_0139DSC_0141 DSC_0142

ROAD LEADING INTO WIND WHISTLE CAMPGROUND & WIND WHISTLE CANYON DEAD AHEAD

DSC_0143

We may make a run for Congress in the morning or like last year we might hole up at a small RV Park in Ash Fork & make the last relaxing leg of the journey to Congress Tuesday morning.  We’ll see how we feel Monday afternoon.  I think the sooner we reach Congress the sooner Kelly is going to bounce back from this cold & fatigue that has had her down.  We’ll see how the driving goes.   It’s only 400 & some miles & we’ve been averaging about 425 miles a day anyway………………………

DSC_0093

LITTLE MISS SMARTY PANTS:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man in a supermarket was pushing a cart which contained, among other things, a screaming baby. As the man proceeded along the aisles, he kept repeating softly, "Keep calm, George. Don't get excited, George. Don't yell, George."  A lady watched with admiration and then said, "You are certainly to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George."  "Lady," he declared, "I'M George!"

15 comments:

  1. 400+ miles a day is a long and tiring pull. The stress of looking for a night spot can't be fun either. I'm sure Kelly will be happy to rest and recover once you are home in Congress. You are in our thoughts, as all of our traveling friends.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you captured some nice scenery along the route today..sure hope Kelly feels better soon!
    as for Pheebes?..cute as ever!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your more than welcome for the tips on how to make the trip from Custer, SD. to Congress. We have done it so many times I could do it with my eyes closed.
    Thanks for the pictures, it brought back memories that I didn't get this summer... Be safe on your final approach... Coast on in here,,,,,weather is great. Fellow told me that our 100*+ days should be over for this year... Folks are rolling into North Ranch as if they discovered GOLD around here???

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful and well-known scenery for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. you drove right past us. We are about 8 miles north of Moab on road 191. love your photos the trip.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow some amazing pictures Al love it!!! It's so interesting reading your blogs !! Hope Kelly starts feeling better real soon say Hi for us.

    ReplyDelete

  7. We are near Goblin SP boon docking, can't post my blog here. Hope Kelly is feeling better soon. great photos as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great pictures. We always enjoy the drive thru Moab. Hope Kelly feels better soon.

    arlonHboozer.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Keep on travelling and relax when you get there.
    Get Kelly better sooner.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think this is your Sunday posting but then again I may be the one that is confused.

    So, the electrical problems do seem to be ONLY with the 110v side. You do in fact have 12v in the coach and the engine battery is starting the engine.

    No juice for the laptop means that battery has now died and you can only recharge from 110v? Yet now it is working. Where did the recharge come from if your inverter is still not working and you spent the night camped in a dirt lot? I am SO confused about your electrical issues!

    Happy Trails!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful Scenery... great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great photo tour with comments.

    Hope the last leg is as beautiful also.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A little information you might want to file away for the future, Al, Rifle, CO, has a really nice rest area right on the Colorado River. It also has a free dump site. We parked along the road leading out of the rest area with the truckers. We even had a picnic table just outside the door. There were also several fisherfolk along the river.

    LS

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a beautiful drive you had..Den won't do that many miles for that many days anymore...It beats the crap out of him if we do two in a road..Hope Kelly feels better..this crud hangs on for what seems forever!

    ReplyDelete
  15. We would take the drive from Craig to Rifle, CO when traveling back from Canada or Yellowstone. Always at night so I enjoyed seeing your pictures during the day. On one trip at night we saw over 56 deer. We were so glad they decided not to jump into the road. Almost "Home"

    ReplyDelete